Riverfront UR: Accessibility, Property Analysis, and Future Developments
- 1. Riverfront UR: Accessibility, Property Analysis, and Future Developments GEOG 345: Society, Economy, and Nature: Global Perspectives on Sustainable Development, University of Richmond UR Riverfront Proposal, Fall 2017 Students Introduction Future Developments Market Data & Analysis The University of Richmond sits less than a mile from the most ecologically and historically important river in Virginia yet many students have never even set foot in the James. This poster analyzes the accessibility, cost, and potential outcomes of a University of Richmond-owned Riverfront property on the James River. Such a property promises to engage all five goals of the strategic plan by 1) creating innovative paths to academic excellence, 2) providing an open-air outreach space to recruit academically talented students, 3) increasing the diversity of high impact practices on campus, 4) creating new opportunities for enhancing alumni engagement, and 5) inspiring environmental, financial, and social stewardship through an intentional enduring bond with Virginia’s most important body of fresh running water. The University’s proximity to the James River provides an opportunity to invest in the engaged education of the student body while also purchasing property that will only go up in value over time. Riverfront UR would be a center for forward thinking pedagogy while promoting the University’s brand both locally and globally as an integral part of a sustainable river city. A UR Riverfront site will provide the University of Richmond with new opportunities for education, research and recreation. Enhanced student interaction with the environment will increase students’ ability to critically analyze topics such as conservation, sustainability, and development. Faculty across all disciplines and schools would be encouraged to incorporate the river in their lesson plans in creative and innovative ways. The proposed site’s close proximity to campus allows for class outings and field trips to take place within one block period. The site will encourage students to utilize the river to its full potential. Possible facilities on the site include a kayak launch, outdoor seating area, dynamic classroom space, campfire pit, and paths for walking, running and biking. Student organizations, wellness classes, and the Office of Outdoor Adventure and Recreation can take advantage of these recreational facilities both during class periods as well as on the weekends. Additionally, University of Richmond can enhance student experiences by pairing the Riverfront site with existing programs and activities. New living learning programs could be formed to incorporate the riverscape while Earth Lodge and the James River SSIR activities would be enriched. Harleen Bal, Environmental Studies Ellen Brooks, Geography and the Environment Ethan Boroughs, Geography and the Environment Olivia Folger, International Studies Kidest Gebre, Interdisciplinary Studies Table 1. Price comparisons across river properties recently sold, given lot characteristics and river access Table 2. Price comparisons across river properties for sale , given lot characteristics and river access Methods We initially gathered data from the City of Richmond Real Estate Assessor and Zillow to evaluate the market values of (1) recently sold properties and (2) properties for sale in our targeted zones along the James River. Among the data we collected was: market price of property, size of property in acres, flood risk, tax value of the property, distance from campus, ease of river access and whether the property is an open lot or contains a structure. We then worked with a real estate agent to create a chart to evaluate a property’s estimated price per acre based on the combinations of the following factors: whether it is an open or occupied lot, and ease of river access. To do this, we summed the list prices of the properties and divided by acreage according to the various groupings of factors (i.e. open lot with river access, occupied lot with river access). Figure 2. View of proposed optimal plots upstream from Huguenot Bridge.Figure 1. Canoe at dawn on the James River. Accessibility to the James River The University of Richmond is in close proximity to the beautiful and historical James River, with the start of the Huguenot Road Bridge only 0.9 miles from the forum on campus. Despite this proximity, access points to the river are farther away because the land on the northern side of the river is privately owned with gated access. The Huguenot Flatwater boat launch is 1.9 miles away and Pony Pasture Rapids are 3.2 miles away. Both of these park reserves are across the Huguenot Bridge which can seem daunting to students who wish to walk, run, or bike to the river. Also, Huguenot Flatwater is primarily a boat launch rather than a riverbank used for casual waterfront relaxation or recreation. Earlier in the semester, our class biked to Pony Pasture to begin research on how the University could better take advantage of the river. The class trip took over an hour, incorporating some time to stop on the bridge as well as at Pony Pasture. We found that while Pony Pasture was accessible, it was necessary to budget more than a class period for meaningful discussion along the way. Students also biked to Huguenot Flatwater, which took less time (17 minutes), but still significantly more than the two routes pictured in the map above (9:42 and 7:38 minutes respectively). We mapped out these two riverfront routes on bike rides through residential neighborhoods that border the river. The plots upriver of the bridge remain undeveloped and can be accessed by crossing the railroad tracks that run parallel to the river. Most of the plots downriver of the bridge contain at least one residential structure. All properties lie almost entirely within the 100 year floodplain. Outdoor Space ● Boat Launch and swimming dock monitored by OAR (note: the school already owns 12 kayaks) ● Hammocks (already supplied by OAR) ● Firepit ● Outdoor classroom/meeting space/council ring ● Backcountry tent camping ● Nature trails with signage ● Fitness trail ● Bike trail along with a bikeshare program ● Forestry inventory ● Sculpture garden Building/Indoor Space: ● Collaborative and dynamic classroom space for classes to work together ● Recreational and lounging space for students to spend time together ● LEED certified and off the grid (solar panels, water energy, wind energy) ● OAR recreation center and office space ● Locker room so students can change after swimming/boating in the river Figure 4: Indoor community and study space.Figure 3: Gardens outside a dynamic classroom space Savannah Kelly, International Studies Alexis Szepesy, Environmental Studies, Geography Conor Tenbus, Geography and the Environment Rena Xiao, International Studies, Geography Parcel # Acres 1 92.25 2 69.75 3 22.5 4 20 5 3.03 6 13.8 7 14.32 8 13.59 9 7.21 10 11.55 11 18.13 12 4.27 13 9.97 14 2.1 15 1.69 16 5.89 17 11.37 18 3.5 19 0.1 20 2 21 1.19 Occupied lot, no river access Open Lot River Access Open Lot w river access # of properties (recently sold) Ø 1 4 6 Price range (recently sold) Ø 130,000 1,350,000- 4,504,120 175,000- 1,350,000 PPacre (recently sold) Ø 147,727 645,226 924,079 Occupied lot, no river access Open Lot River Access Open Lot w river access # of properties (for sale) 1 Ø 5 1 Price range (for sale) 999,999 Ø 599,950- 2,150,000 $359,000 PPacre (for sale) 781,249 Ø 643,016 618,811 Occupied lot, no river access Open Lot River Access Open Lot w river access # of properties (total) 1 1 9 7 Price range (aggregate) 999,999 130,000 599,950- 4,504,120 175,000- 1,350,000 PPacre (aggregate) 781,249 147,727 644,440 806,458 Table 3. Price comparisons across river properties, aggregated sale and recently-sold properties Analysis According to the figures of the recently sold properties, we found that pricing on the upper end (open lot with river access) reached $924,079 per acre. Pricing on the lower end (open lot without river access) is estimated at $147,727 per acre. Our aggregated data between the recently sold and for sale properties tells a similar story: here we estimate $806,458 per acre for an open lot with river access. Additionally, we find that the value of occupied lots with river access rests somewhere in the upper-middle at about $644,440 per acre according to our aggregated estimate. Thus, to reach the goal of the UR Riverfront project, we may expect to spend between $644,440 and $924,079 per acre to acquire river access. Finally, we identified four of our 11 recently-sold properties as high-risk for flooding according to the FEMA floodplains map. These four properties fall under the “100-year floodplain” category, which designates the land as being at 1% risk of flooding annually. All 21 target parcels fall within the “100-year floodplain” category. In Virginia, the average annual flood insurance premium is $583, but this estimate will vary depending on the property characteristics. The map below shows the riverfront near UR campus, where we denote: target parcels, parcels for sale and parcels recently sold. Target parcels refer to best-case-scenario properties closest to campus with easy access to the river. For the purpose of price analysis and comparison, we evaluated surrounding properties to establish a very rough estimate of property values. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 10 11