Need information about the Fan District (Richmond, Highland Springs: low income, real estate, apartments)

[melody58]

I have been at my computer all day trying to get a feel for the Fan District. The internet images kind of remind me of DC. I will be doing a pre-move visit to Richmond in June, but I would like to just kind of do as much research as I can before then. So these are my questions.


1. Does anyone know about West Grace Street?

2. Is the Fan District a section where mostly students live or do families and single seasoned adults live there too?

3. Can one drive to the Highland Springs area within 30 mins?

4. Are the apartment building owned/managed by the same real estate companies?

5. Are there people on this site who live there and can just tell me what it is really like?

6. Can someone tell me why there are so many bad reviews about some of the apartments?

7. Are Cary and Shockhoe very close by, and is there a big difference between these communities?


Thanks in advance for anyone who responds.

[richmondpics]

I live in the museum district, just west of the Fan - busy now but I will do my best to expand on the Fan later.

Quickly though -

2. Lots of students because of VCU but definitely a mix of young families and young professionals as well
3. Yes
4. Several that manage many of them, but certainly lots of smaller owners as well. Craigslist can be a good resource
5. Soon
6. Some of the apts have terrible management companies and there are some properties which are poorly maintained. That said, there are also many great management companies and well maintained properties. Best advice is to make sure you visit before committing to anything
7. Carytown (maybe?) is immediately west of the Fan in the Museum District and Shockoe Slip/Bottom are just a couple miles from the Fan.

[oleo]

Parts of W Grace are known as "hell blocks". A lot of students live in that area, but the level of crime is very high because it is right next to W Broad St. A friend of mine was assaulted at the corner of Grace & Allison St at just 7pm walking home from a local restaurant. Many of the landlords are scum lords. Waybright Investments comes to mind instantly. I can't remember the names of some of the others, but if you mention them I would probably remember. I lived on W. Grace Street for 3 years while I was a student at VCU. I've seen just about everything, including some guy taking a dump in the alley right behind my apartment. The area is quite odd. There are students, families, drug dealers, people who sit on their porch all day, there are a couple mental hospitals along the street, so you get to hear and see some crazy people walking about.

Where the hell is Highland Springs? Never heard of it.

[540_804]

I live on West Grace...its not bad. But its not great. I live on VCU campus so my W. Grace 'experience' would be quite different than someone who doesn't live on campus.

I wouldn't particularly recommend anything on W. Grace St that lies east of Lombardy and west of Belvedere. I would assume those are part of the hell blocks of W. Grace that oleo is referring to. That area isn't bad but its just so many students and a handful of homeless people that may harass you from time to time.

I would maybe even suggest looking a couple of streets over (away from W. Broad) at Franklin/Monument Ave,West Ave, Park Ave.

[melody58]

Thanks so much for the insight. Do you know about River City Real Estate and the buildings they manage?

[540_804]

Here's their website (though im sure you've seen it): The BEST VALUE in Fan and Downtown Living!

They have two major developments in the downtown area (The Tobacco Factory and the Parachute Factory). Their downtown developments are pretty highly spoken of but its evident that these properties were aimed at affordability so they don't really have the "luxury" of a lot of downtown properties.

Most of their Fan properties are in fairly desirable locations and their pricing is affordable.

I can't tell you much about their reputation as a management company though, except what I've read from their reviews (which may or may not be helpful to you): river city real estate richmond va - Google Maps

To be honest, most of the reviews are not particularly flattering so you may want to really investigate.

[540_804]

By the way...after reading the reviews...most of the good ones seem fake. Maybe as a prank by a random internet user or planted by River City properties themselves...even the user names of the reviewers are cause for suspicion. Who knows....

[oleo]

Originally Posted by melody58

Thanks so much for the insight. Do you know about River City Real Estate and the buildings they manage?

Yep. They have a few apartments in the fan area, I actually looked at some of them on W. Grace near Boulevard. I think they also had a few on South Thompson Street across from that community center, it's like right next to I95. I don't really have an opinion of them though. It's typical fan apartments. Old, beaten up, typically leased to students and low income people. However, I do remember hearing that they rent out to like 10 Mexicans in a 2 bedroom apartment. Have fun with something like that. There is a Subway open till 3am on the corner of Broad/Boulevard, so you will have some late night traffic in the area, just FYI. The cops are at that 24hr CVS on the corner there too just about every week.

[colinedward828]

1. Does anyone know about West Grace Street?
A: Avoid West Grace Street. It's home to slums and other bad apartments. Not all of the street is bad, but it's not a good place to live. Grace borders Broad Street, the dividing line between good and bad areas of Richmond.

2. Is the Fan District a section where mostly students live or do families and single seasoned adults live there too?
A: The Fan is the best place to live in Richmond. Students live there, but it's very residential and home to some of the most expensive places in the whole city.

3. Can one drive to the Highland Springs area within 30 mins?
A: Yes. That's where the airport is, and you can get there from downtown RVA in 20-30 mins.

4. Are the apartment building owned/managed by the same real estate companies?
A: No. There are tons of places to rent from. By all means AVOID River City Real Estate and Waybright. I rent from River City Real Estate, which owns a poor selection of apartments on Grace Street and North Boulevard. They also own the slums at Gilmour/River City Court and have a new, equally horrible place to live called the Parachute Factory. River City Real Estate is run by rip-off artists. Waybright is not as big a company, but it is badly run as well. Avoiding these two is a no-brainer. But there are other landlords that are also bad. Again, AVOID AVOID AVOID River City Real Estate.

5. Are there people on this site who live there and can just tell me what it is really like?
A: I live in Richmond. It's a cool place to live but do your research before you get here about who to rent from. Don't just take our word for it.

6. Can someone tell me why there are so many bad reviews about some of the apartments?
A: Richmond suffers from a lack of oversight of management properties. The state is very pro-landlord, and tenants need to know what they are doing before they sign a lease. I'm not sure if RVA has a slumlord problem, per se, but there are many lousy landlords in the city. Check out the Better Business Bureau for ratings of the bigger real estate companies.

7. Are Cary and Shockhoe very close by, and is there a big difference between these communities?
A: They are a few miles apart. Cary is more commercial, with lots of shops, but the businesses are bordered by many apartments and houses. Shockoe is almost exclusively made up of commercial and rental units. No houses there.

[melody58]

Thanks Coline