Garrett Shifflett and Ross Fickenscher, who brought Pemberton Lofts, The Continental, Ballad Brewing and other projects to the River District, plan to bring 115 high-end apartment units to Craghead Street in Danville.
The project, expected to begin construction October and be complete in January 2023, would be located in an existing 106,000-square-foot building in the 400 block of Craghead Street, between Wilson and Newton streets.
Shifflett’s and Fickenscher’s project also would include a 3,000-square-foot commercial space.
“We’ve seen in our past projects; we’ve done really well,” Shifflett said Tuesday. “It’s our understanding that there is a housing shortage in the area.”
Each apartment will have one to two bedrooms and range from 700 to 1,100 square feet. Rent would be from $950 to $1,150 per month, Shifflett said.
Shifflett’s and Fickenscher have been behind past residential projects downtown, as well as another recent plan to convert 618 Craghead St. into 88 apartments. They hope to have the project complete in May or June 2022.
The 618 Craghead St. location is four stories and 68,000 square feet. Those units would be about 600 to 1,000 square feet each, have two to three bedrooms and rent at about $900 to $1,200 per month.. The rent would cover utilities, internet and cable.
Hampton Wilkins, owner of Wilkins & Co. Realtors, said the apartments that Shifflett and Fickenscher plan to build in the 400 block of Craghead are needed. There is a shortage of about 50 units in the River District, Wilkins said.
“I could fill 50 units today that we don’t have,” Wilkins said Tuesday.
The building is owned by Richmond Cedarworks, LLC. Shifflett and Fickenscher are buying the property from the company.
Solex Architecture will design the project, while Aoss Ventures, owned by Shifflett and Fickenscher, will build it.
As for the project’s design themes, the interior will be modern, and the exterior will have a historic look, Shifflett said.
“We like the juxtaposition of the modern and the historic,” he said.
The Danville Planning Commission on Monday unanimously voted to recommend approval of a special-use permit for a maximum-density waiver for the project in the Tobacco Warehouse Commercial Zoning District.
John R. Crane, Register & Bee – Original posting here