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Council to vote on $750K for Fulton’s Studio Row apartments
Ned Oliver has the details this morning on richmond.com of a proposed $750K grant from the city towards the development of the Studio Row apartments in Fulton:
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ administration is recommending the city contribute $750,000 to help fund a planned 266-unit apartment development in Fulton Hill.
[…]
The city’s top economic development official, Lee Downey, said the deal represents a standard performance agreement and said the city expects to break even after four years because of the new tax revenue that would be generated by the project.
The project will bring more than 200 market rate apartments to a new development around the former Robert Fulton School. There will be a mix of market-rate one- and two-bedroom apartments, with spaces for a gallery and a coffee shop, and underground parking.
One building of the project will cascade down the closed cobblestone street in front of the school. The other will be across Carlisle south of the school building. The proposal calls for reopening Northampton Street between Goddin Street and Carlisle Avenue.
City Council’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 11, 2016, at 6:00 PM at City Hall.
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The proposal calls for reopening Northampton St. between Goddin St. and Carlisle Ave.
Any word on parking for this place? In an early plan, about 200 underground parking spots were discussed.
I wonder what, if any, thought has been given to the increased traffic from this facility, coupled with Stone’s increased traffic volume.
@1 The images shown on RTD’s website seem to indicate a combination of garage, surface, and parallel spots. Garage access on the ends of the buildings. Can’t find the land use application online though.
I’d love to see a list of similar apartment developments that have gotten this type of financial incentive from the city.
Is this the first time something like this has been proposed and, if so, why is the Mayor proposing it for this particular project?
And, if it has been done before for similar apartment developments, has the city recouped the monies it, in essence, gave the developers through subsequent increased tax revenues?
Great more corporate welfare. Doesn’t the primary owner of Fulton Hill properties live in the old Robert Fulton School Building? We got our money back for the redskins training center this should work as well.
@3 Ray…
I was thinking the same thing. Why should Richmond City taxpayers fund any portion of a project for a private developer?
I know the immediate response could be that if Stone Brewing got a sweet deal from the city to build a brewery, why shouldn’t all new projects in this part of the city get some incentives?
There is some rationale to incentivize Stone since it’s an economic generator. It’s tough to say how much this development is going to contribute economically to justify a grant of this size.
Here is a link to the legislation for the performance agreement. There are links on this page to all the related ordinances and the plans for this proposal: https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2536640&GUID=8AE3A19D-9110-4D8D-BE90-CC39E2F18267&Options&Search
More discussion for those of you who are just joining the conversation: /tag/studio-row-apartments/
@7 Jon…Thanks for link…very helpful. Are you able to summarize what type of recourse the city would have to recoup funds should the performance fall short of the projections in the agreement?
There was something in the Times Dispatch within the last couple of weeks about an apartment development in Manchester, they were doing a similar small number of lower priced apartments, but I think all they got was a tax abatement. Can anyone find the article? The developers turned out to have “miscounted” the lower priced units and had to lower the price on a couple of others., which was the point of the article. But I have no memory of them getting anything like this, in terms of a grant…..
It was the Terraces at Manchester, and here is a link to the article. Those developers must be drooling at the idea that they could have just asked for a gift – what they got was a tax break.
http://www.richmond.com/local/city-of-richmond/article_074c8662-a48e-5315-97b7-7b96f37ec834.html
I am waiting for Robin Miller, Dan Gecker, Salomonsky etc. to all tell council that they want a gift too. This was supposed to be about affordable housing, not gifts to developers. Newbille has taken money from Freund so obviously she will vote for this.
While this may seem trivial considering some of the other issues – why not reconnect Carlisle Avenue Diagonally along the side of the building? Connectivity is a good thing. And the building next to the cul-de-sac is going to look like some 60’s/70’s era college dorm architecture experiment gone (as they always did…) wrong – not because the building design is good or bad but because the siting is odd. Just a thought or two…
crd #11 –
How much money did Newbille get from Freund and was it from her or her company?
Also, do you know if she gave to anyone else?
@ Lee #12
It appears they are going to reconnect the two portions of Carlisle based on the images that RTD has.
http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/richmond.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/a7/aa742bb7-8dc7-55b3-8cb2-eb92cda498ae/5678dd84b912e.image.jpg?resize=760%2C501
Both Carlisle Avenue and Northampton Street will become private roads according to the legislation before City Council.
@13 ray, off the top of my head, not aware of exact amounts over the years. It’s available on Virginia Public Access. Since she’s a privately held company I don’t know that it matters whether it’s her or her company but off the top of my head I think it was her company. I will look it up at some point.
@ 14 – Thanks for that link! That looks *much* more sensible. Still a bit odd with the residential cul-de-sac right next to it, but it looks much less like some sort of traffic control / brutalist-planning experiment gone wrong.
@crd http://www.vpap.org/donors/36856-margaret-j-freund/?start_year=all&end_year=all
Thanks John M and crd.
This VPAP site you’ve tuned me on to is a great resource.
Here is the link for her company gifs to the politicos:
http://www.vpap.org/donors/155964-fulton-hill-properties/?start_year=all&end_year=all
@19, @16, and @13 It looks like the last time Freund or her company gave any money, according to these links was in 2013, and 2001-2011 – all totaled about $16,000 – so $1,000 a year… One didn’t realize she was such a heavy hitter politically (this is sarcasm). What does $1,000 a year buy in Richmond politics; maybe tickets to the Flying Squirrel’s or two tickets to a business casual dinner? You’re right she is *so* influential because of her DEEP pockets (also sarcasm).
These are not Presidential campaigns, ANTI-NIMBY.
That’s a LOT of money for local campaigns. I suspect she’s one of the bigger contributors to local candidates.
Just wondering how new tax revenue will be generated from this project? Is it solely from increased property tax due to the development? In that case, a four-year tax abatement agreement offers the developer a similar financial benefit (albeit no cash in-hand) and the city does not put any tax payer dollars at risk. With a direct cash investment, the city assumes all the risk but has nothing to gain. The developer recently completed a building at the end of E. Broad and E. Marshall. The company’s track record for completion and rental of units for that building should be enough of an incentive for investors to finance this Fulton apartment complex. If it’s not, than the city has no business investing here either.
@#20 You have made favorable comments in the past about Margaret Freund and her work. Are you affiliated with her in some way or just a fan of her developments?
@23 I’m an admirer of change agents and people willing to make an impact; who improve other people’s circumstances. Freund does it through developing real estate, it’s her canvas. Others use art, or poetry, music, or philanthropy to better their fellows. That’s all. This project is positive thing for Greater Fulton and responds to a lot of what the neighbors think is missing – more investment from stakeholders (i.e. Freund and the City).
Again, I’m just interested in what I posted in #3:
Is there a list of similar apartment developments that have gotten this type of financial incentive ( a $750,000 “grant”)from the city?
Is this the first time something like this has been proposed and, if so, why is the Mayor proposing it for this particular project?
And, if it has been done before for similar apartment developments, has the city recouped the monies it, in essence, gave the developers through subsequent increased tax revenues?
Thanks John M for the link to VPAP. According to that, I admit, neither she nor her company have given much – which leads me to wonder why I’ve heard otherwise, but I have no proof so I rest on that issue..
@25, I don’t recall hearing anything about any other developers getting this sort of grant. There was something in Manchester, Gecker etc did a new project there, but they got, I think, some sort of tax abatement for setting aside some apts. at less than market rate. Search the Times Dispatch website, I seem to recall seeing it there…but no grant that I am aware of. I do find this weird. Fulton has Stone coming up, and I’ve heard that Triple Crossing is also planning something there….the bus service is sketchy at best, I got that from someone who lived there…and there is no grocery store for residents there. Not sure why the city sees the need to gift someone to build apartments, Stone’s tax burden is a much greater gift to the city. As will be Triple Crossing. As would an Aldi down there.