Proposed apartments aimed at students

Virginia Commonwealth University's swelling enrollment could help attract development to Richmond's North Side.

A Georgia-based company is proposing to build a 192-unit apartment complex along Chamberlayne Avenue that would be geared for students at VCU and Virginia Union University.

The gated complex would be built on 11 acres east of Chamberlayne, just north of its interchange with Interstates 95 and 64, between Mitchell and Bacon streets. The industrially zoned property includes the vacated, fenced-off remains of the Usry mobile-home court.

Phenix Investment Associates of Scottdale, Ga., specializes in student-housing developments and says it saw the North Side site as a place to alleviate some of the pressures from VCU's growth on the Fan District and Carver neighborhoods.

"It's a matter of looking at what land is available in close proximity that could be utilized in a way that hasn't been viable or looked at," said Seth McMillan, a local consultant working with Phenix.

Phenix is seeking a special-use permit for the apartment project, which would represent an investment of $32 million and be called The Bellamy at Bacon's Quarter.

Officials are aiming for an opening in fall 2010. The City Council and the Planning Commission could review the proposal in March, McMillan said.

Phenix is developing similar student-housing projects in Kentucky, Georgia and North Carolina, according to the company. Those projects, plus the one in Richmond, collectively represent 2,764 beds, 817 units and $120 million in investment.

City Councilman Chris A. Hilbert, who represents that area of Richmond, said he's encouraged by the prospects for development that would lift a haggard stretch of Chamberlayne.

"It's certainly not the gateway to the North Side that we'd like to have," he said.

The Richmond Police Department recently moved its Fourth Precinct to 2219 Chamberlayne Ave., several blocks north of the proposed apartment-complex site. The precinct had been on Fifth Street in downtown.

Hilbert credited the out-of-town developers with recognizing the site's proximity to VCU and its potential. "It's really starting to gain momentum," he said of the area.

The apartments would be open to anyone but marketed to students, offering study areas in its clubhouse and daily shuttle service to at least VCU and possibly to Virginia Union, McMillan said.

The apartment complex would have 648 rooms and consist of three four-story buildings, with central courtyards, plus a 4,500-square-foot clubhouse and a pool. Rents are expected to be $500 to $600 per bedroom. The complex would have at least one off-site parking space for every bedroom.

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or .