200-unit Northside development on hold, site goes back on the market

The 1.7-acre parcel sits just northeast of Virginia Union University. (BizSense file photo)

For the second time this year, Northern Virginia-based development firm Sugar Mill Construction has put one of its Richmond project sites back on the market.

The company recently listed for sale the 1.7-acre assemblage at 2500-2536 N. Lombardy St. in the city’s Northside for an undisclosed amount. Included in the offering are approved plans for a six-story, 200-unit mixed-use development that Sugar Mill began planning in early 2023 but never began building.  

The site sits near Lombardy’s intersections with Overbrook Road and Chamberlayne Avenue, near Virginia Union University. A smattering of small industrial buildings populate the property. 

S.L. Nusbaum’s Reid Cardon and Nathan Shor have the listing, which went up in recent weeks. Sugar Mill, through its brokers, declined to comment for this article. 

Though Sugar Mill never began work on the development, it did have it successfully entitled with both a rezoning and special-use permit last fall.

Sugar Mill bought the majority of the land in a series of deals in 2022 for a total of $1.7 million, and the half-acre it doesn’t own at 2530-2536 N. Lombardy St. is also included in the offering. All of the involved real estate was most recently assessed by the city at a combined $1.12 million. 

A rendering of the proposed development. (Courtesy S.L. Nusbaum)

The listing marks the second time Sugar Mill has looked to punt on a Richmond-area development. In the Southside it had plans approved for a three-story infill development off Westover Hills Boulevard, but is looking to sell that site and related entitlements as well. 

Multiple other proposed development sites and their city-approved plans have hit the market in recent years, particularly after late 2022 when interest rates began rising. Scott’s Addition, Jackson Ward and the Westwood area have all seen developers put proposed projects on the market. 

Just up the street from Sugar Mill’s Northside property, a mystery developer is seeking to redevelop the vacant Animal Motel building at 2412 N. Lombardy St. A rezoning for that proposal has not yet been approved by the city. 

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