A brand new neighborhood is coming to Richmond’s Pulse bus rapid transit corridor

Rarely do 37 acres of prime urban land along a top-notch transit route become available for revitalization all at once, but the planned Sauer Center development represents just such a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Located along Broad Street’s Pulse bus rapid transit corridor, the newly released Sauer Center master plan envisions over two million square feet of new construction in the middle of some of Richmond’s most in-demand neighborhoods: the Fan, Scott’s Addition, Carver, and Chamberbrook. In a city where 23% of land is tax-exempt, facing a housing shortage of 23,320 units, a development turning empty lots into places to live is seen by many as a huge improvement.

“It certainly is exactly what we wanted to see happen with underutilized and vacant land along the Pulse corridor,” said Office of Equitable Development deputy director Maritza Pechin. “We rezoned everything Transit-Oriented Development 1 here to facilitate this exact type of development. The fact that in the renderings they have some tall buildings and are intent on creating a sense of place with the architecture is exciting. Richmond continues to be a place that people want to come to.”

Pre-Pulse, much of Richmond’s Broad Street corridor was underutilized either as abandoned buildings left over from the 1968 race riot or as car-centric commercial areas. Part of the promise of the Pulse was to breathe new life into the city’s once grand boulevard. Since the BRT’s launch in 2018, the population within a half mile of Broad Street has grown 6.4% whereas suburban Henrico County only grew 1.3% over the same time period.

From cardamom to construction cranes

Leveraging over a century and a half of spice-fueled wealth, the Sauer family first began purchasing the parcels that comprise the project in the 1960s. After acquiring the final one-acre piece of the puzzle late last year, the master plan was perfectly poised to proceed.

At the helm of Sauer Properties, the family firm behind the project, is former Richmond urban planner Ashley Peace who cut her teeth working to revitalize the Nine Mile Road corridor in the city’s East End, which now houses the nonprofit Market at 25th and the Kitchen at Reynolds.

“I’m such a proponent of comprehensive planning because it sets the tone and the course of how the physical environment should be developed,” she said in an interview. “A great plan is going to outlive any of our efforts and initiatives.”

The recently released second phase of the Sauer Center will build upon the initial efforts to revitalize this once-abandoned area of Broad Street, which included a Whole Foods and CarMax offices. Back in the mid-2010s when phase one was underway, simply luring a grocer to the city was seen as a big win. With the launch of the Pulse in 2018 and the construction of the Allison Street station right out front, today the development feels over-parked and car-centric — a wrong Peace hopes to right going forward.

“This next phase will look much more urban and dense,” she said. “All of our individual buildings will be self-parked and have the parking we think is needed to meet market demand. Over time we hope people will get comfortable with less parking due to all of the retail amenities nearby. One day, the next generation of our company will come back and redevelop the Sauer Center phase one.”

A range of housing types

Currently a residential study is in the works to help Sauer Properties decide how densely to build the planned mix of commercial, residential, and office buildings. The company could go up to 12 stories by-right thanks to the TOD-1 zoning; however, Peace anticipates “a mix of townhomes, high-rises, and everything in the middle as opposed to the formulaic studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartment buildings that are common today.”

“All of our decisions are data driven,” she said. “If we can go denser we certainly will as we evolve over time.”

Aiming for density doesn’t mean Richmonders or prospective residents should expect to see any five-over-ones, however. Peace favors housing that encourages residents to venture out into the community to access amenities like gyms or recreation, rather than more self-contained developments with private amenities.

“Is the enclosed, self-sufficient apartment building with 300 units really a long-term solution?” questioned Peace. “The amenities are already here with the Fan, great parks, and the Pulse rapid transit up and down Broad Street. We don’t just want people isolated in an apartment building. We want this to be a great place to live.”

Unlike with the Diamond District where the city-owned land allowed local officials to include affordable housing in the master plan, the Sauer Center’s privately held parcels mean that most, if not all, of the housing will be market rate.

“The challenge is that there is really only one tool to do affordable housing, and not all developers do [Low-Income Housing Tax Credits],” explained Pechin, with the Office of Equitable Development. “Sauer is not required to do affordable housing, and under our legislative reality there is nothing we can do to require affordable housing. Until the legislation changes on the state level, we are where we are.”

Although the development may not generate any units at lower price points, recent studies have shown that increased housing production significantly slows rent growth and has actually helped fight inflation.

“It’s important to also provide rental housing at the highest income level so those individuals move there and not to lower-price-point units and push out those folks who can only afford entry-level rental units,” said Pechin. “We don’t have enough rental housing at the high end of the market to meet the demand of those who are coming to Richmond. Those apartment buildings also generate a lot of revenue for the city to do good things like fully fund our schools. It’s not a bad thing to have high-end rental units in a neighborhood.”

Public spaces make for great places

Inspired by the 23-story Central National Bank building downtown, Sauer Properties is planning a 12-story Art Deco tower to serve as the centerpiece of the new neighborhood. Peace hopes that the project’s adherence to clean, classical architecture and great public spaces will be key draws of the development.

“We don’t want it to feel Disney and just replicate beautiful old buildings, but at the same time how can we construct buildings that look like they evolved as part of the historic fabric of the city?” she said. “Construction materials and fire codes have changed, but the most beautiful old buildings are not that ornate. If you walk around the Fan, the structures are actually very simple, and there is an elegance and a staying power in that.”

Both public and private stakeholders have had long conversations about how to make the Sauer Center feel cohesive within the city, given its diverse surroundings that include historic districts like Carver and the Fan as well as newer neighborhoods such as Scott’s Addition and the Diamond District.

“We’re definitely thinking about boring but important things like what light fixtures are going to be all along Hermitage Road so when you’re walking from the VCU Athletic Village to the Sauer Center that walk is wonderful because there are sidewalks that are an adequate width but also street trees and light fixtures,” said Pechin.

Peace has also been working with the Spy Rock Real Estate Group which is planning an adjacent 300-unit apartment building to make sure pedestrian connectivity and landscaping align. Inspired by the pocket parks of the Fan and the Low Line in Shockoe Bottom, Sauer Properties is also exploring how their developments can reduce stormwater runoff and fight the urban heat island effect.

“Currently, we have no trees in this area,” said Peace. “If you were to measure the heat island effect here it would be horrible. We have so much impervious surface that creates a lot of stormwater runoff so we want to add in landscaping and green spaces that can help address all of that.”

Although the second phase of the Sauer Center will likely take 10 to 15 years to complete depending on how densities pencil out and the potential entrance of a large employer looking to secure an urban office campus, city officials are already effusive about the growth planned in a corner of Richmond that has long sat vacant.

“I’m very excited about all the development here in the city,” said Ann-Frances Lambert, the 3rd District councilwoman who represents much of the Sauer Center’s land. “That whole area is growing now because the Diamond District has catapulted other developments to happen. All of it is a win-win for the city.”