Armitage Building beside Libby Hill slated for mixed-use conversion

The century-old warehouse has been covered in graffiti in recent years, but has remained in use as a storage facility. (Mike Platania photo)

An aging building along one of eastern Richmond’s main thoroughfares is planned to get new life through a mixed-use redevelopment.

The Wilton Cos. is planning a renovation of the Armitage Building at 3200 Williamsburg Ave. The project would see the 130-year-old warehouse converted into about 145 apartments and 6,000 square feet of commercial space. 

Reaching four stories on its eastern end and two stories on the western side, the Armitage Building is alongside a graded part of Williamsburg Road just east of Libby Hill Park. Once the home to roof materials firm Armitage Manufacturing Co., it’s been leased in recent years to a handful of businesses for storage, Wilton CEO Rich Johnson said. 

The project would see the 154,000-square-foot building retained and renovated. The only significant new construction would be an approximately 130-spot off-street parking deck. 

Wilton has owned the building since 2016. Johnson said the company has had a few different ideas for the property over the years. 

“That building has been there a long time, and it’s certainly not an addition to the neighborhood in its current state,” Johnson said. “It’s something we’ve been focused on for a while, but we’re glad we’ve got a plan now that seems to make sense, and we’re excited to move forward.”

A rendering of the planned renovation. (City documents)

Most of the apartments would be market-rate, with 20% of them available for renters earning up to 80% of the area median income. 

Johnson said Wilton would like to get both restaurant and retail tenants for the commercial space, preferably businesses that would serve the building’s residents and users of the nearby Virginia Capital Trail. 

Johnson said the project could cost between $35 million and $50 million, and that the company is planning to pursue historic tax credits to assist with financing the development. 

3North is the project architect, and the engineering team includes Koontz Bryant Johnson Williams, Speight Marshall Francis, and Pace Collaborative. Wilton is seeking a special-use permit to entitle the project, with Roth Jackson’s Jennifer Mullen representing it in that process.

The Armitage Building is just up the street from Stone Brewing Co.’s massive production facility. Johnson was the chairman of the Richmond Economic Development Authority when the city made the deal with Stone to open the facility. He said he often eyed the Armitage Building when in the area while Stone’s facility was under construction. 

“Every time I was down there on that job, I’d look across the street and see our own building and I was like, ‘We’ve got to do something with that.’ … Jump forward, and we’ve finally found something that’s a ‘go’ deal,” Johnson said. “It’ll be transformative to the neighborhood, we believe and hope.”

The Armitage Building sits along a westbound stretch of Williamsburg Avenue that’s been shut down for the last two years as part of the city’s Combined Sewer Overflow project. A series of underground pipes along Williamsburg between Libby Hill and Gillies Creek parks have been getting replaced since 2023, and work’s set to be completed this fall, according to a Department of Public Utilities announcement from January. 

The building’s also across the street from where the former Fulton Gas Works facility once stood before it was demolished in recent years. Remediation work for that site continues.

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