Manchester block sold to Charlottesville developer for $3M

Dennis’ Truck & Trailer Repair had operated on Maury Street for 30 years. (Mike Platania photo)

A developer from Hooville with a knack for apartments has made a sizable play in Manchester. 

Castle Development Partners recently purchased the 2-acre plot at 301 Maury St. for $3.15 million, per city records. 

The property spans the entire city block bound by Maury, East Third, Everett and East Fourth streets. It had been home to Dennis’ Truck & Trailer Repair Inc. from 1992 until recently, when the company relocated as part of the Jan. 18 sale. 

Based in Charlottesville, Castle Development specializes in apartment buildings with more than 120 units and that cost between $25 million and $100 million, according to its website. 

While the Dennis Truck & Trailer deal looks to be Castle’s first in the Richmond city limits, the firm has been active in Chesterfield County with projects including the 452-unit Center West apartments near Westchester Commons and the 473-unit Mall Drive Apartments near Chesterfield Towne Center. It also built The Greens at Virginia Center in Glen Allen and the Beaverdam Creek Apartments in Mechanicsville.

It’s unclear what Castle has in store for the Manchester land. No plans have been filed for the site as of press time, and the company did not respond to requests seeking comment. 

Dennis’ Truck & Trailer President and CEO Deborah Gentry said that after the sale the company consolidated its operations into its second location at 6570 Emmaus Church Road in New Kent. 

“We’re still going strong as ever. … Our trucks are still all over Richmond and surrounding areas,” Gentry said in an email. “We received a good offer for the property and just decided to take it.”

The city most recently assessed the real estate at $1.15 million. 

The Maury Street site is in a part of southeastern Manchester that’s starting to draw more development interest. Within eyeshot of Castle’s new parcel is 500 Maury St., where local developers Duke Dodson and Tom Papa are planning a 6-story, 163-unit apartment building. A few blocks to the northeast is the former Caravati’s parcels that will soon house 230 new apartments across two buildings, and on the other side of Everett Street from Castle’s parcel are the Stella 360 apartments, which Property Results listed for sale last year as a redevelopment opportunity.