Structural Engineers
Source: Richmond BizSense
Author: Mike Platania
The transformation of a Monroe Ward parking lot into one of the tallest new buildings in the city is complete. Construction of the 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth building at 321 W. Grace St. has wrapped up and residents began moving in earlier this month.
Located just blocks from VCU’s Monroe Park campus, the sizable building is the first project in the region for Pinecrest, a Chicago-based developer that specializes in student housing. With students in mind, Parc View offers 168 fully furnished units, most of which are two or more bedrooms. At capacity, the building could house around 500 people.
Pinecrest CEO Tyler Perlmutter said the building is now over 80 percent leased, and that units are renting at around $2.80 per square foot. Units range from around 600 to 1,500 square feet, putting rents at about $1,700 to $4,200 per month.
“We feel really good about where we are right now with leasing,” Perlmutter said. “In student housing you’re typically trying to get to about 80 percent (occupancy) your first year.”
Pittsburgh-based Rycon Construction was the project general contractor. Hickok Cole was the architect. Perlmutter declined to disclose the project cost.
The amenities in the building are also student-centric, from the 67-space parking deck to a common study area and art studio. It also has a rooftop deck with lounge seating.
Parc View also has a 1,600-square-foot retail space that’s being marketed for lease by JLL’s Gareth Jones and Spotty Robins.
“We really want a tenant that’ll be an amenity to the building,” Perlmutter said. “We were thinking like a quick-service food place or a fitness user like a yoga or pilates studio.”
Resident move-ins mark the end of a roughly four-year development cycle for Parc View.
Pinecrest first filed for a special-use permit for the development in the summer of 2020, when the half-acre site was a surface parking lot. A few months later Pinecrest bought the land for $2.5 million and by last summer the building had topped out.
Pinecrest typically looks to eventually sell the buildings it develops, but Perlmutter said they’re not pursuing that path with Parc View.
