Thalhimer Realty Partners starts construction on next phase of mixed-use project in Manchester

Published June 5, 2018 by Paula C. Squires

Thalhimer Realty Partners Inc. (TRP), the investment and development subsidiary of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, has started construction on City View Marketplace, the next phase of its City View Landing development in Manchester.

Construction on the $25 million mixed-use development began in early May. The project includes five buildings totaling 13,270 square feet of commercial space and 161 apartment units. The apartment-portion of the project is known as the Flats at City View. 

Also included in the development is a 2-acre pad site for a future grocery store.

Buildings A, B and C will front Hull Street with ground-floor retail and restaurant space and a small number of apartments above.  The 104 of the 161 apartment units will be located in a separate building, Building D. 

Building E will be home to 10 duplexes totaling 20 rental units.  Buildings D and E are located along 5th and 6th Streets between Hull and Bainbridge.

Amenities for residents of the Flats at City View will include a business center, community lounge, heated saltwater pool,  fitness center and outdoor courtyard with grills, fire pits and soft-seating.

“The number of apartment buildings in Manchester has doubled in the past 10 years, with 1,305 apartment units added in the last five years alone. The average rental rate in the area has increased to $975 per month and occupancy is above 95 percent.  All of this population growth has led to a demand for retail services in the immediate area that don’t exist right now,” Drew Wiltshire, managing principal for TRP,  said in a statement.

“When we ask the residents that live in the apartments we own and manage, they all tell us they really want places to eat, pick up groceries and that provide other neighborhood retail services.”

The project’s architect is 3north.  Purcell Construction is the general contractor, and Union Bank is providing the financing.

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Residential Property Services group will manage and lease the 161 apartments. Thalhimer’s Connie Jordan Nielsen and Alicia Brown are handling leasing of the retail and restaurant space.  Thalhimer Realty Partners said it is in discussion with grocers for the 2-acre pad site.

The retail and restaurant space should be completed by April 2019. The final apartment units will be ready in June 2019.

TRP purchased the 17.9-acre Reynolds Metals Co. South Plant site in Richmond’s Historic Manchester District in December 2013 for $9.25 million. The property, totaling 7½ city blocks bound by Hull, 4th, 7th and McDonough streets, was designated by the city’s Riverfront Plan as one of the most significant riverfront properties in Richmond. 

TRP said it worked closely with the city of Richmond to reconnect the street grid of the project and contributed $2.5 million in private investment for infrastructure improvements.

TRP began renovations and site work on the $35 million first phase of the City View Landing project, City View Lofts, in late 2014 transforming the three existing warehouse buildings, totaling about 225,000 square feet, into a mixed-use development that included 219 apartments and 20,000 square feet of office space.

The one- and two-bedroom loft-style apartments range in size from 503 to 1,136 square feet and are divided among the three adaptive re-use buildings.  The apartments are currently 97 percent leased.

The office space is 100 percent leased to Authentic, a digital technology company occupying 11,500 square feet; COLAB, a web development company occupying 4,500 square feet; and CarLotz, a consignment store for used vehicles occupying 5,500 square feet.