Rockefeller (Former Union Mission) and Savoy Projects Delayed

In late 2009, the big news was that a developer from South Carolina called US Development was looking at several historical buildings in Downtown Norfolk to purchase and renovate into apartments.  Specifically, the company was targeting the Union Mission building and the Savoy (aka "The Leaning Tower of Granby").  The only action so far has been the Union Mission vacating the building.  Now, according to Inside Business, it appears that Downtowners looking for an affordable apartment may have to wait even longer, as deals for the buildings have been delayed again.

The former Union Mission

According to the article, US Development has plans to turn the 100-year old Union Mission into an apartment complex called The Rockefeller.  It will include 125 apartments with rents starting in the high $800s for studio and one-bedroom apartments and up to $1,770 for two-bedroom apartments.  The original target were tenants who made up the "working class" of Norfolk, including restaurant employees, who could not typically afford to live in some of the other apartments downtown.

US Development can't move ahead with their proposed plans until the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approves the financing package on each building.  However, the developer remains optimistic that a deal will be closed shortly.

"We expect final HUD approval any day," said Jeff Prioreschi, Vice President at US Development. "Once this happens we will deploy all resources to close as quickly as possible.  We expect this to take approximately 60 days from approval and will start staging and construction immediately after closing."

"The Leaning Tower of Granby"

As far as the Savoy is concerned, the original plan was for 40 apartments and retail space on the first floor.  US Development is optimistic on this one as well.

"We are finishing our financing package and feel we should have final approval by early fall and close on the property shortly after that," said Prioreschi.

If everything goes US Development's way, we could be hearing about some actual residential development from the company this fall.