The NY Times real estate section can be such a cool read. I’ve compiled some recent articles I found of interest:
The beloved Liesfeld farm in the far west-end/Short Pump area will soon be no more, replaced by Unicorp’s uber-$400 million development, West Broad Village (260-foot office building, Henrico’s tallest, 1,000 residential condos , 300-room hotel/conference center, retail shops , and 7,286 parking spaces). (Richmond Times-Dispatch: Work at Short Pump farm site likely soon | Henrico Citizen: Commission Endorses West Broad Village). I take umbrage at the remarks made by the developer’s lawyer Andy Condlin in the Henrico Citizen article: “It’s the Fan [District] without the crime and without the parking problems,” Condlin told the commission. “Our proposal will raise the bar to a level not seen in Henrico County, Richmond and probably in Virginia as well.” Shame on Mr. Condlin for attacking one part of the city (the glorious Fan district no less) to hype up his self-interested project in the burbs. Besides, the comment is ludicrous. It’s like saying Busch Gardens is superior to Europe. With that said, your community ombudsman for this development: Chris Evans, Wythe Trace Homeowners Association and Micky Ogburn, Windsor Place Homeowners Association.Â
…On the other side of the county, Forest City Enterprises, Inc of Cleveland and Pruitt Associates of Henrico recently unveiled plans for the $90 million development The Shops at White Oak Village (in Varina near I-64 and Laburnum Avenue. 136 acres, 914,000 square feet). Unlike the potential backlash in Short Pump, Varina folk are excited about this project: “descriptions of the proposed shopping center and the type of tenants it hopes to attract produced some hushed “ooohs” and a sprinkle of “aaahs”.”..and this is why, ladies and gentelemen, Ralph Axselle is the best in the business. Henrico Citizen: Developers Share Details for New Shopping CenterÂ
At the end of the day, this development frenzy will have to reach a tipping point. Chris Rock once made the observation that there are two types of malls: Malls that white people go to and malls that white people used to go to (think Cloverleaf, Regency, Downtown Richmond). In the ripple of these new developments, I wonder how much vacancy will be created in Richmond’s existing retail spaces. When the smoke clears, will the net be zero? where out of towners win and the local land barons lose (Ukrops, Wilton). Stay tuned.
This is sad, maybe. I just got an email from C3’s Michele Stuchell (a Richmond jewel), Executive Director of C3. Apparently, she is stepping down as C3 re-organizes its operations. “…we are restructuring, “pruning†in order for C3’s growth to accelerate in the future, so we can implement our model of a creative hub with free agents, non-profits, and small businesses, in a space where C3 programs continue to serve the creative community of the Richmond region.” They will soon vacate their current building at Play. see Evolution for C3 | Also see, Jeffrey Kelley’s TD article
After an ambitious beginning, the organization was recently going through an identity (and, probably, cash flow) crisis. For all you Richmond-haters, this isn’t another “Sixth Street Market” example. I think C-3 will continue to thrive in this new virtual structure (in many ways, the organization itself is being re-formed in the image of the constituents it serves)
The Holy Keepers of real estate data (the National Association of Realtors, ie, the Brokers Templar) issued a press release highlighting slower sales in new and old homes (Existing-Home Sales Flattening, Prices Cooling NAR). NY Times chimes in: Sales Slow for Homes New and Old. As for Richmond, we are bucking the national AND Virginia (-16.8% sales) trend. According to the Times Dispatch, both sales and median price are still on the rise. “We still have a good market in Richmond, unlike other markets,” he (Wes Atiyeh, president of the Richmond Association of Realtors) said. “We’re not in a ‘it-will-sell-in-a-day market.’ We’re back to a more normal market, but a good one.”
Today’s Washington Post Real Estate Mailbag smacks down the notion of discount brokerage. You get what you pay for is the essence of the author’s argument. Nevertheless, as home prices go up, I believe that the Richmond market will begin to embrace the concept even more. Locally, Option 1 and Assist 2 Sell (two different business models) seem to be emerging as direct threats to the existing broker players in Richmond. WP: Downside to Using Discount Brokerages
Here are some other interesting Post articles:
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This article U.S. Cities in Harm’s Way by SustainLane ranks cities in the order of potential for natural disaster (ie, earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes). I guess Richmond is too small a MSA to warrant a ranking. We’re probably somewhere in between hurricane prone Virginia Beach at #35 and DC at #27. Gaston showed how vulnerable we can be (especially East of the fall line). If you wanted to add man-made disaster potential (ie nukes, Red Dawn scenario), then Virginia with all its military bases and proximity to DC would probably be one of the worst. Easy to love.
CNN article (Real estate bargain bin) looks at government HUD foreclosures as a place to find real estate bargains.
A quick search of Richmond showed some slim pickings (four houses). Anyhow, bookmark these website for future reference: HUD 1 | HUD 2
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TD Metro Business analyzes the roller coaster interest rates for commercial loans. full article
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Style Magazine’s OP-ED wisely addresses the ramifications of unplanned exurb sprawl: Richmond’s Impending DroughtÂ
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