Proposed High-Rise Condos Offer River Views to Some, Will Block Others

A group of Church Hill residents and state preservationists are questioning the city planning staffs reversal on controversial elements of a proposed luxury condominium high-rise that would block panoramic views from Libby Hill.

The building would rise from a steep slope of ground between Cary and Main streets just east of Tobacco Row in Shockoe Bottom. At Cary Street, it would stand 16 stories tall, including three levels of underground parking. Thirteen stories would be visible from Main Street and Libby Hill behind it.

Developers David White and Louis Salomonsky call the project The James at River Bend, and it would house 65 units, including four penthouses with commanding river views. The penthouses are set back from a facade dotted with roof terraces -- a design thats meant to mimic the landscape, the developers say. The land, which is occupied by a stand of trees and the small outpost of an old gas station, isnt zoned for residential use, so the developers are asking the city for a special-use permit. Their request is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on April 21. City planning staff told White in August that it couldnt recommend approval of the development for numerous reasons. That particular patch of land was inadvertently excluded from the 2008 Downtown Plan, staff wrote in a letter to White, but should be subject to its guiding principles including the preservation of river views and urban character. Among the concerns:

The height of the building would cause it to stand out in the landscape and considerably alter views from surrounding areas. Though the building would not obscure the most notable view of the bend of the James River, it would change river views from Libby Hill Park.

And the proposed building neither respects nor reinforces the scale and character of the adjacent buildings. The proposed height is considerably taller than buildings within the vicinity.

But by January, planners had softened their stance. In a brief to the city administrator, staff again notes that the building will stand out and alter views. However, they added, that is the nature of an evolving urban area. The site can support additional height but done in a way that respects its context.

The building doesnt enhance and reinforce [this] historic urban character, staff reaffirms, but adds, The biggest question becomes can a building that is clearly different in form than the urban character in which it sits, reinforce that character? The direct answer is yes.

Precisely how the project will do so remains a work in progress, staff wrote.

The developers and city planners have been ironing out their differing visions, but project opponent Eugenia Anderson-Ellis of the River View Advocates says the buildings height and mass hasnt changed.

The height is the issue, she says. The height has always been the issue. The building would stand 190 feet at Cary and 160 feet at Main, according to Whites proposal, which notes that most of the neighboring Tobacco Rows apartment buildings are 80 to 115 feet high. Anderson-Ellis says she and other opponents met with city planning director Mark Olinger several times. We really dont know why they did an about face, she says. We never got a decent answer. Olinger declined to comment, saying it was premature to discuss the project before the Planning Commission hearing.

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Proposed High-Rise Condos Offer River Views to Some, Will Block Others