Developers filing plans for hotel-anchored second phase of Jackson Place project

A hotel-anchored development that’s been years in the making for a vacant corner of Jackson Ward appears to be a go.

Local developer The M Cos. announced it is going forward with the second phase of Jackson Place, a mixed-use development at the northern end of Second Street between First Street and the Third Street exit off Interstate 64.

The phase will consist of up to 41 townhomes and a five-story, 106-room hotel to be developed by locally based Shamin Hotels. It will fill about 3 acres of the vacant, grassy site across Second Street from the development’s first phase, which was completed by Enterprise Community Development.

A site plan shows the five-story hotel at Jackson and Second streets in yellow and the planned townhomes in orange. (Image courtesy The M Cos.)

Jackson Place’s initial phase included two apartment buildings and retail space in the city block bordered by Second and First streets and Jackson and Duvall streets. The properties for both phases are owned by the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority, which has been looking to develop the land for years.

M Cos., led by principal Michael Hopkins, was one of two respondents to a request for proposals that RRHA put out for the second phase in 2019. The RFP called for additional mixed-use buildings with as many as 63 housing units, 2,500 square feet of commercial space and a 115-room hotel.

Hopkins described M Cos.’ proposal as in keeping with the conceptual plan that resulted from charrettes that Urban Design Associates held with the RRHA, Historic Jackson Ward Association and area residents and stakeholders. The other response to the RFP was said to be higher-density, with as many as 200 housing units.

Mike Hopkins

Hopkins said the time since his proposal was selected in 2023 has been spent working through project details amid changing economic factors.

“We were just working through the details to make sure we’re going to deliver this type of product that the community and the city want to stand behind,” he said. “Homeownership is a very important asset in the city right now. We did three community meetings in this process to make sure what we were going to present was in lock and step with the City Council’s vision and the community’s vision.”

The for-sale townhomes will be so-called “workforce housing” and targeted to buyers with incomes below the area average median income. The homes will range from 1,300 to 1,800 square feet in size and be priced starting below $400,000.

Premiere Homes RVAJP, a residential arm of M Cos., will build and sell the homes, which are being designed by SWA Architects.

The hotel is planned to be an extended-stay property and would rise at the corner of Jackson and Second streets. The townhomes would line existing streets that run through the rest of the site, with some off-street parking provided behind the buildings.

Shamin CEO Neil Amin said the company has been eyeing the Jackson Place site for years, noting its visibility from the interstate and proximity to the VA Bio+Tech Park and other downtown destinations. He said a brand for the hotel is not yet lined up.

Neil Amin

“We have been pursuing that property for a very long time. Over the past 10 to 15 years, we probably pursued it multiple times over multiple RFPs that were issued for the site,” Amin said. “We’re really excited to move that project forward along with Michael’s team and the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority to contribute to the neighborhood as much as possible.”

Shamin would purchase the hotel portion of the site, which Hopkins said M Cos. has under contract. The 25 parcels that make up the site are assessed by the city at about $2.5 million combined.

Hopkins said a development plan for the hotel is planned to be submitted to the city in the second quarter of this year. Construction on the hotel and homes is anticipated to start in early 2026 and take three years to complete. Hopkins declined to disclose an estimated project cost.

Emerge Construction Group and Thomas Builders are lined up to build the hotel, which is being designed by Baskervill. Parrish-Point is the civil engineer on the project.

M Cos. is working with Emerge on the five-story mixed-use building that Virginia Union University is planning at the former Budget Inn of Richmond motel site at Lombardy Street and Brook Road.

M Cos. also is on the Thalhimer-led team that’s developing the mixed-use portion of the Diamond District project. Its other work over the years has included Douglas Development’s apartment conversion of the 23-story Central National Bank building downtown, and several projects for the late local developer Louis Salomonsky.

Having put in several years on Jackson Place, Hopkins said he is happy to get the project to this point but also described it as business as usual.

“It’s exciting, but it is work,” he said. “We want to be a good community stakeholder and that’s why it took the right amount of time to get the right product.”

The Van de Vyver apartments as seen along First Street. (Photo courtesy Enterprise Community Development)

The project would finish out what Enterprise Community Development started with the $30 million first phase, which includes The Rosa and Van de Vyver apartments and 6,000 square feet of retail space.

The Rosa consists of 72 homes for low-income seniors, and Van de Vyver consists of 82 mixed-income units, including 36 units designated for workforce housing. All residents of The Rosa were relocated from the aging Fay Towers, a 200-unit senior community managed by RRHA in nearby Gilpin Court, which is planned for redevelopment.

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