Construction Starts on 7 West News by Michael C. Hild - August 14, 2016August 14, 201650 I am not sure exactly why, but I decided to go biking through Manchester Saturday while temperatures soared into the high 90s with a heat index of 108. Luckily I was rewarded with some new sights for my effort. Perhaps the most interesting of all the scenery I spied was the new construction that has begun at 7 West. If you are unfamiliar with the 7 West project, it is a 12 unit contemporary Town Home development being led by Jeremy Connell’s Pareto, LLC, Mario DiMarco Architects, and One South Realty Group’s Patrick Sullivan & Rick Jarvis. Based on the signage, the General Contractor for the project appears to be Hunnicutt Construction. The project is an ambitious addition to Manchester where development activity has consisted mostly of apartment projects and duplexes. Located at the Southeastern edge of the Manchester bridge, the town homes will offer river views and are priced in a range from $699,000-$869,000 a piece. While those are not unreasonable prices when considering the incredible view of the James, it will certainly test the upper end of the Manchester market and set the bar for what people are willing to pay to be part of one of the most rapidly transforming areas of Richmond. The City of Richmond’s Riverfront Plan for Manchester calls for converting the large Norfolk Southern Railyard that sits directly between 7 West and the flood wall into public green space called “Manchester Green.” The idea is for the City to purchase the Norfolk Southern parcel, fill it with enormous amounts of dirt in order to raise the grade of the parcel so it is level with the top of the flood wall, and put public green space atop that will afford incredible views of the river in a parklike environment. However, that plan has seen little to no action behind it since it was created in 2012. I suspect that potential 7 West property owners will be keenly interested in seeing the City move forward with its plans and hold them accountable for doing so. If the City does in fact deliver on the Riverfront Plan, the 7 West owners would have an incredible view not only of the James, but a serene public green space buffer between their homes and the river. Regardless of the City’s intentions, based on the photos below the contractor has already begun clearing the site of excess vegetation. I suspect demolition of the existing buildings will be next. It will be interesting to watch this ambitious project unfold. According to the 7 West marketing site, 2 of the 12 units have already been pre-sold.
I’m all for bringing tax revenue to the area and developing it, but not if it impacts the local businesses negatively. They have been loyal to the area and deserve respect. Reply
Lisa, can you please clarify what local businesses are being negatively impacted by 7 West? We weren’t aware of any when writing this article. Frankly, we thought the buildings in the photographs were vacant given their apparently poor condition. Thank you. Reply
I don’t know and I hope none. I know a concern at one point about the area development was Legends would have a building rise up in front and they would lose their river view. I hope that is not the case. I am a homeowner in Blackwell and I am in favor of development, just not at the sacrifice of long time locals. Reply
Got ya. 7 West is actually west of Legends on 7th Street and it won’t block the view from Legends. Reply
I think she is referring the the 16 story project scheduled to be erected where the old Paper Board Co. building by the flood wall is located. This project will completely block my current spectacular view of the city and, likely, many other’s (possibly Legends) which would be a shame. Reply
Julie, understood. But that is a completely different project, with different developers/owners than 7 West. I suspect the 16 story project you mention will be much more controversial given the view-shed conflicts you reference. We shall see… Reply
It will be interesting to see how all the different development projects impact the area, in ways both negative and positive. Reply
Hey this is Rob at Ironclad Pizza. If it’s the building lot I’m thinking about it’s gonna be a small style apartment building with a 1500sq ft place for a restaurant. Reply
Let us hope that projects like these will spur Council into committing to the Manchester Plan (as I have) – and good on Pareto and OneSouth for more investment in Manchester! Reply
I am all for development, I live on 13th and Stockton, however no one seems to care that this side of the river is a food desert! We need a grocery store. Where they built the storage place would have been perfect. I personally don’t care if it is a Food Lion or Super Walmart (don’t really like them, but I’m just saying). I hate that once I get home, that’s it. Reply
