The Cold Storage Project

Answer:  ”About 700 apartments.”

Question:  What is happening at the corner of 17th and E Broad?

The Southland Wine Company Loft leased in under 4 months and are just one of many option in the new development node within walking distance to the MCV Campus

The Richmond Cold Storage complex is a series of warehouses that produced ice (thus the name) as well as a few other warehouses and vacant lots that have been either converted to apartments (via Historic Tax Credits) or have become “ground-up” urban infill.  When all said and done, the apartment count in within a 2 block radius of the corner will be somewhere between 700 and 800.  When you include the project being developed on the entire block at Main and 21st, the count comes closer to 1,000.

That is substantial development in a relatively small area in a very compressed time frame and the good news is that they are leasing well for prices that can only be described at as pleasing to the developers that built them.

This new node of development in the northern end of  ”The Bottom” is an excellent trend for an area that has always struggled to sustain commercial/retail momentum.  By targeting the “all inclusive” model at the Medical crowd and within walking distance to the Medical complex, the apartments seem to be creating their own momentum.  The apartments are shifting population trends into eastern sections of the City and adding living options that did not exist in the area prior to just  few years ago.

Cold Storage, Cedar Broad, Southland Wine Company and Raven’s Place are all part of the overall development area that will impact the City for decades to come.

Ignore Absorption Rates At Your Peril

What is an ‘Absorption Rate’?

definition

I firmly believe that being able to calculate an absorption rate is one of the most important skills a Realtor can possess.  The fact that it is not required part of any listing presentation is beyond me.

It is one of the first things that I talk about when sitting down with a buyer OR a seller.

When I hear people refer to a market as being ‘oversupplied’ or having ‘too much inventory’ it makes me shake my head because it does not tell anywhere near the true story.  Absorption, inventory, supply and demand, while all related, need to be viewed over time for any real substantive information to be gleaned from the exercise.  Likewise, if you do not identify the type of property you are really trying to measure, you will not get an accurate picture, either.

Ask yourself….would you be better off if you knew the number of months worth of housing supply that zone 22 currently has….OR….would you be better off knowing the number of months of supply of 4 bedroom colonials in the Godwin School District during the summer months year-over-year dating back to 2007?  Which answer gives you a better pricing strategy?

Ask your Realtor to compute the latter and see what you get.