VCU foundation buys market site

By Karin Kapsidelis

Published: January 15, 2009

A Virginia Commonwealth University foundation has purchased the property at Grace and Harrison streets where Ukrop's operated a store until last spring.

The VCU Real Estate Foundation bought the property last month for $9 million from BET Investments Inc., a Pennsylvania-based development company.

But VCU's plans are on hold for now because Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. has a lease on the property through 2018, said Brian Ohlinger, VCU's associate vice president for facilities management.

"It's a great block," Ohlinger said. The property, just under 2.5 acres, had been highlighted in VCU's 2004 master plan as a site to consider purchasing if it became available.

The master plan identifies the property as having potential for mixed-used development that would include parking, student housing and retail outlets.

Ohlinger said plans for the property, which is vacant, would be determined after negotiations with Ukrop's are completed.

"Ukrop's is a friend of the university and we're not going to run them off," he said.

Ukrop's would not discuss its lease on the property. "We don't disclose details about our real estate transactions and agreements," said Colleen Cress, assistant to Brian K. Jackson, vice president and general counsel for Ukrop's.

Jackson, a member of the VCU board of visitors, could not be reached for comment.

The city's assessed value for the building and parking lot is $3,006,000. Ohlinger said the purchase price was based on two appraisals. He said VCU most likely would acquire the property from the real estate foundation before it is developed.

BET Investments purchased the property from Safeway Inc. for $2.1 million in January 2002, according to the property report from the Richmond assessor's office.

Safeway operated a grocery store at the site from 1980 until 1993. Farm Fresh operated a store until 1996, followed by Community Pride until 2003. Ukrop's leased the property that year but closed the store in May 2008 because of slow sales.

Contact Karin Kapsidelis at (804) 649-6119 or .