Developers Roper, Emerson grab extra land downtown for $100M student apartment tower

The developers recently bought the two buildings for a combined $3.5 million. (Mike Platania photo)

Local developers George Emerson and Phil Roper just picked up more land to continue their transformation of the area around the downtown YMCA.

The longtime duo, whose firm recently rebranded from Plus Management to Real Estate Services Co., last month paid a combined $3.5 million for the buildings and land at 9 W. Grace St. and 11 W. Grace St.

The sellers were the buildings’ current, respective occupants: recording studio Red Amp Audio and nonprofit shelter operator HomeAgain.

The two parcels will be combined with neighboring parking lots the developers have owned for several years to make way for a $100 million, 11-story apartment building that will span 1-17 W. Grace St. and house a 680-bed student apartment building.

The April 16 sales give Emerson and Roper control of the entire block and allow them to go bigger than they had initially planned in the neighborhood. 

In 2023, they bought the adjacent YMCA building for $3 million and kicked off a project to renovate the Y and convert the offices above it into 36 apartments. 

They had also previously bought the two parking lots on each side of the Red Amp and HomeAgain properties for a combined $3.9 million, and were initially planning to build around those buildings. They had envisioned a 6-story building at Grace and Adams and an 11-story, 160-unit building at Grace and Foushee. 

But Roper said the recent addition of the Red Amp and HomeAgain properties allowed them to reconfigure the development and add some density. 

“It’s a big building. We’re in the process of finishing up the design now,” Roper said. “It took about three years to get (the Red Amp and HomeAgain) parcels worked out.” 

A conceptual massing of the planned building. (Courtesy Real Estate Services Co.)

With 680 beds spread across 250 units, the new building would be targeted toward college students. Roper said they’ll be furnished and each individual bed would be available for lease. 

“We’ve never done (rentals) by the bed before. We’ve been looking for it for years because it saves the parents from having to bring furniture in and doesn’t wear the building out as quick. And you can make a little bit more money if everything works right,” he said. 

Also planned is about 6,400 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that’d front Grace and Foushee streets, and a 288-space parking deck that’d be partially below-grade. Planned amenities include a pool, courtyard and club room. 

A site plan for the development.

The development is estimated to cost around $105 million. It’s being designed by WPA Studios, the local architecture firm formerly known as Walter Parks Architects, and MA Design, a firm out of Columbus, Ohio. Roper said they’ll also have an equity partner in the project: Uptown Rental Properties, a Cincinnati-based student housing developer. 

Roper said he anticipates construction to begin in spring 2026 and last about two years. A general contractor has not yet been selected. 

In the meantime, Red Amp has leased back its space and continues to operate on Grace Street. It’s unclear what will become of HomeAgain’s eight-bed shelter next door. 

The properties’ B-4 Central Business District zoning allows for a mix of uses and has no height restriction, but Roper said he expects they may  need additional city approvals due to inclined plane penetration restrictions. The 15-story Parc View at Commonwealth tower, which wrapped up construction a few blocks down last year, had to get a special-use permit for a similar reason.

Emerson and Roper’s portfolio includes a number of developments in Chesterfield County, such as The Jane at Moore’s Lake apartments in Chester and The Vue at Westchester Commons. Roper said they’ve got a handful of more developments in the pipeline they hope to announce this year. 

BizSense reporter Jonathan Spiers contributed to this report. 

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