The Decatur Warehouse Conversion

Address // 39 E 3rd Street, Manchester
Developer // Bill Chapman Enterprises
Architect // Several
Marketing // Studio Savvy Designs
Photography // Lee Brauer + Kent Eanes + OBEO
Brokerage // One South Realty
Resale Agent // Rick Jarvis

3 High End Residential Lofts + 1 Commercial Space

(Please note that One South did not represent the initial sale of the property but is the only firm who has represented a successful sale of any condo in the property as of the time this article was written)

In the early 2000’s, the Manchester District received its historic designation and unleashed one of the fastest transformations of a city district in Richmond’s history.

Fountainhead Development purchased a warehouse from Mead Westvaco called ‘Plant Zero’ to be redeveloped into artist studios, apartments and a cafe. On the rear of the property was a 3 story brick section of the warehouse built prior to the main portion that was destined to become the studios. Bill Chapman, acting as lead developer for Fountainhead, purchased the 10,000 SF building with the idea of creating upscale lofts (in lieu of apartments). He found several partners who wished to purchase their space ‘in the raw’ and build it out in custom fashion.

The result was 3 unique stunning luxury lofts with panoramic views of Downtown and private parking. I became involved in the marketing of the properties for resale as their owners sought new development opportunities and have (as of 2012) helped record the two highest residential sales in the Manchester District and thus far have been the only agent involved in their sale .

The Decatur, in my opinion, is hugely important to the development of Richmond in that it offeres an ownership option whose scale and design suits a luxury buyer. With so many lofts, the spaces are built to apartment specs and not ownership specs. The Decatur proved that the markt wants and will absorb luxury lofts in its emerging urban core.