Big deals: Top 10 commercial real estate transactions for 2021
The riverside building at 501 S. 5th St., adorned with the CoStar logo, is now owned by the publicly traded real estate data company. It paid $ 130 million for the former WestRock building in 2021. (BizSense file)
It took nearly $ 1 billion – $ 979 million to be precise – to acquire the top 10 most expensive commercial properties sold in the Richmond area in 2021.
While the list included a data center and office buildings, seven of the ten were apartment complexes, underscoring the point that apartment buildings were arguably the hottest commercial real estate sector in the Richmond area this year.
Including the top 10 and other apartment properties that didn’t make the list, more than $ 1 billion has been spent in multi-family stores by local and foreign buyers in the past 12 months.
Here are the 10 largest commercial property deals in the Richmond area in 2021 (as of press), in descending order:
- Headquarters of Urology in Virginia$ 52 million
The only doctor’s office deal on the list was the acquisition of Virginia Urology’s headquarters near Stony Point by a JLL-affiliated REIT. The seller was Highwoods Properties, who built the property in 2018.
Artistry at Winterfield$ 62 million
In a deal that was closed shortly before the end of the year, local company Capital Square snagged the 200-unit artistry at the Winterfield complex for $ 311,000 per door, the highest price in Chesterfield County’s recent history. The deal crowned a busy year for Capital Square, which will be mentioned again later on this list.
Innslake Square$ 63 million
The 221-unit complex was the first multi-family project to be completed in the developing Innsbrook Office Park, and it was also the first to be sold, with NorthRock Cos. from Utah has closed the property in the past few weeks.
- Imperial place$ 75 million
Before a major renovation and renaming, the Northside retirement home was snatched by New York’s Bluestone Group late last winter.
Avana Copper Spring, $ 85 million
At the beginning of October, Greystar’s purchase of the Henrico complex with 366 units for a few weeks was the largest apartment purchase in the region this year. However, a new high should be set by Halloween.
Livingston Apartment Flats$ 86 million
Capital Square had an affinity with Chesterfield Apartments in 2021. In addition to the Livingston and Artistry deals, the local company also bought the 192-unit Sapphire at CenterPointe Apartments in Midlothian for $ 48.3 million in the spring. In total, Capital Square lost $ 196 million on Chesterfield apartments in 2021.
Crystal Lakes Apartments. $ 106 million
This was the largest number of units on the list, with Crystal Lake’s 716 homes going to local company Levco Management.
The apartments in West Broad Village. $ 111 million
The 339 units of The Flats at West Broad Village sold for $ 111 million. (BizSense file)
Capital Square’s largest deal in 2021 broke Henrico County’s records. When it bought the Short Pump complex of 339 units, it marked the largest home sale with both a total price and a price of $ 327,000 per door.
Former WestRock building, $ 130 million
CoStar’s mammoth deal on South 5th Street preceded an even bigger investment the real estate data giant was planning for Richmond: the nearly half a billion dollar expansion of its campus next door.
Bank of America campus. $ 208 million
For the Mapletree Industrial Trust, a REIT from Singapore, a long-term corporate lease proved very valuable. With Bank of America’s lease running at least 2027, the 730,000-square-foot computing and office center sold for more than double its estimated value of $ 92.3 million, taking the top spot in 2021.
Projects to be seen in 2022
Looking to the future, the region’s housing market will certainly continue to fill up.
One of the densest plans in the works comes from Washington-DC’s Level 2 Development and SJG Properties, which have teamed up to purchase land on Arthur Ashe Boulevard near Scott’s Addition at a record price per acre. The duo are planning a mixed-use 300-unit project called the Leigh Addition for the site.
There is also considerable multi-family cooperation between local developers and outsiders.
A planned 254-unit apartment building would replace a parking lot in Jackson Ward. (City documents)
Thalhimer Realty Partners and Crescent Communities of Charlotte have submitted plans for a 272-unit project across from The Diamond. Son site. Over in Jackson Ward, SNP Properties and Philadelphia’s Parkway Corp. replace a lot on West Marshall St. with a 12-story mixed-use building.
Manchester has been a hot destination for multi-family developers in recent years. This trend continued through 2021 and is expected to spread by 2022. TRP is planning an eight-story apartment tower along Hull Street, and Fountainhead Real Estate Development and WVS Cos. began exploring options for redeveloping the Plant Zero site. WVS and Fountainhead are also preparing to build the final two buildings on the lock project along the Kanawha Canal north of the river.