In 2002, Richmond was NOT a condo town.
The Emrick Flats in Jackson Ward was one of many historic buildings converted to open loft styled condos during the late 2000's
By 2008, Richmond had over to 30 projects to choose from.
In the early 2000′s as home prices were beginning their year over year rise and the leading edge of baby boomers approached retirement, the RVA Condo craze began. During the run, Richmond (specifically Downtown Richmond) added 2 towers, rehabbed numerous old apartment buildings, built new ground-up infill projects, converted warehouses, hospitals, churches and schools and pretty much added what amounted to 700+ units that didn’t exist before.
It was a big jump.
When the dust settled, the developers in Richmond (and some from outside) had created a new market in areas that had severely lacked any new product for literally decades. In the Downtown market, lofts and flats were the most common with several high rise options. In points further west, old apartment buildings were the primary source of product and many were bought, renovated, converted and sold. When the market adjustment occurred in the summer of 2008, MLS showed over 400 condos available in Zone 10. The number was probably greater by about 20-30% as few projects listed every unit for sale in MLS.
The Vistas on the James tower is one of two hi-rise condo projects built along the river during the 2000's
Since the 2008 adjustment, the condo market has stabilized to a consistent level of inventory (around 200 units at any one time) and there have been no new projects added to the mix. Likewise, due to the nature of a condo (usually smaller size), there have been fewer incidences of foreclosure and short selling. With the ability for a condo owner to reasonably rent their unit to cover expenses and the exploding demand in rental market (think VCU and MCV!) owners had the ability to minimize the financial hardship of a condo that has lost value much better than the owners of a $500,000 suburban home.
As condos are more of an urban than suburban product, the majority of the condos exist in Zone 10. For this exercise, we segmented the market into Downtown and West of VCU/Fan and Museum District. While there are some notable projects outside of these two markets, 90+% of the condo trade exists inside the boundaries of the city and more specifically, east of Powhite.
Downtown Condos
- Emrick Flats — First truely industrial design in RVA
- The Marshall Street Bakery — Historic Jackson Ward
- The Reserve — A Blend of Contemporary and Warehouse along Tobacco Row
- Warehouse 201 — Authentic Industrial Chic
- The Decatur — Luxury Custom Loft
- Vistas on the James — High Rise along the River
- Riverside on the James — High Rise along the Canal Walk
- Miller and Rhodes — Mixed Use – Struggling
- St Patricks — Historic Renovation of a School House on Church Hill
- The 212 — Traditional Design close to Med School
- 2C — Modern and Industrial in JW
- Studio 516 — The CondoMINIums
- Nolde Bakery — A Failed Conversion…
Fan/Museum District Condos
- Iron House — Popular with VCU students
- Lock Lane — Fabulous Location near Libbie
- Cary Mews — High Modern meets Contemporary Warehouse
- Cary Place — New Construction along Cary Street
- The Windsor — Great Spot and close to VCU
- The Sydney — Heart of Fan
- Summit Lofts — Warehouse Renovation in Scott’s Addition
- Fountain Lake — Waterfront at Fountain Lake
- Tuscan Villas — Walk to Museums along Boulevard
- Mulberry Place — Fan District Renovation of Beautiful Building
- The Ambrata — Affordable in Museum District
- Fan Gallery — Industrial Renovation west of VCU
- The Hamlett Cleaners — Walk to EVERYTHING!
