Bill Barnett’s Lay of the Land Article

February 17, 2023 – Richmond, Virginia – BizSense Article

When he’s not helping others buy and sell land, Bill Barnett is often out there enjoying his own.

The senior vice president and partner at Commonwealth Commercial spends much of his free time on the 175 or so acres he owns along the Chickahominy River in Charles City County.

That’s when he’s not at his primary home in Mathews County, where he can be found fishing in the East River and Chesapeake Bay.

An avid fisherman and hunter, the 76-year-old said his personal love of land and of experiencing nature has carried over into his profession brokering real estate deals. Now in his 50th year in the business, representing buyers and sellers of typically rural acreage, Barnett said the blending of business and pleasure gives him a sort of cred with his clients.

“I have a passion for the outdoors where I can walk the walk, not just talk the talk, and help people who enjoy that kind of property,” he said. “Whether it’s for development, or somebody who wants a place to just have a personal retreat or a family retreat, if you have experienced that, you have a lot more empathy with what their goal is.”

A Charles City native, Barnett bought his land there about 25 years ago, though it was only three years ago that he built a cabin on it, bringing his dwelling count to three. He and wife Cindy, an agent with residential brokerage Long & Foster Real Estate, also have a home in town near the University of Richmond.

“We’re over-housed,” Barnett said with a laugh. “It’s not financially the most prudent plan.” Barnett at the 175 acres he owns in Charles City County.

His Charles City purchase continues a family tradition that goes back centuries. Barnett said a search of county deed books revealed that his ancestors owned land in Charles City as far back as the 18th century.

“The earliest Barnetts that I could find, they bought land in the 1770s and paid for it in shillings. It was still a colony of England.”

Barnett said the cabin allows him and his two daughters more time to enjoy what he proudly describes as primarily swampland.

“I bought it because it was swamp, because it’s bald cypress trees. A friend of mine, when I took him hunting, he turned to me and said, ‘Where are the dinosaurs?’ It looks like a primeval place,” he said. “But to me, it’s fascinating, because of the animals we see.

“I grew up hunting and fishing in places that a lot of people wouldn’t want to go. But it’s teeming with wildlife, so it’s just fun to watch otters and minks and coyotes and bobcats and eagles, as well as ducks and geese, deer and turkey,” he said.

While his affinity for wildlife may seem to some to contradict his hunting hobby, Barnett said they actually go hand in hand.

“These animals – any site has a carrying capacity. Only so many deer can live here before it becomes overpopulated and they become sick or starved,” he said. “To harvest a reasonable amount of game is just part of the life cycle, otherwise it’s going to be eaten alive or die from disease.”

Barnett’s hunting and fishing have taken him to locales across the country, as well as to countries in Latin and South America. While sometimes exotic, he said such travels also increase his appreciation for what his home state has to offer.

“If you travel – somebody said this, I didn’t come up with it – the biggest single benefit is greater appreciation of where you are, your home,” he said. “For me, I bought a center-console boat, 20-foot low-rise, to explore the Chesapeake Bay. I said I want to learn more about what’s right here, not just Argentina or Nicaragua or Louisiana.

“I’ve been up and down virtually every mile of tidal rivers on the western shore” of Virginia, he said. “The Eastern Shore is a bit different. Virginia’s blessed with a resource; you just have to look at a map to go experience it.”

Barnett, who joined Commonwealth Commercial in 2001, got his start in real estate by accident, following his dad into the business.

“My father was a residential real estate broker. I didn’t have any interest in selling homes. I wanted the outdoors,” he said.

He went to work for Crawley Joyner, whose Joyner & Co. is now Joyner Fine Properties. Barnett worked for his mentor for 27 years until the business was sold and he switched to Commonwealth Commercial, then a 5-year-old firm.

“I was the only person that came in 2001 that had a dedicated career to land brokerage,” he said. “Now we’ve got probably 10 brokers there that specialize in land: recreational, timber, farms. Some of it is going to be developed or has been developed. I got to work with some wonderful projects, whether it was Innsbrook or Deep Run Business Center or some industrial properties in Chesterfield.”

Among his biggest and most notable deals was the 2014 sale of Brandon Plantation, a 4,600-acre property with a 12,000-square-foot mansion along the James River in Charles City County. Barnett said the sale, in which he represented the buyer, was only the third time the 18th-century property had changed hands.

Barnett also represented, with Joe Buhrman, Henrico County’s Scott family in their sale a year later of Scott Farm, a roughly 100-acre tract now owned by Bill Goodwin’s Riverstone Properties and positioned for development as part of the massive arena-anchored GreenCity project.

Other notable recent deals include 220 acres in Hanover County, where grocery chain Wegmans is planning a distribution facility and regional headquarters. Barnett represented the seller in that deal, along with Buhrman and Chris Jenkins. He also marketed, with Ryan Fanelli, the 900-acre Malvern Hill Farm that in 2018 was bought by the Capital Region Land Conservancy.

Barnett attributes such deals to the relationships he’s built with fellow landowners over the years.

“I’m blessed with the people that I know. I don’t want that to come across as journey-proud or beating my chest with my fist,” he said. “But you spend a lifetime trying to do the right thing, and if that happens, sometimes you earn the trust of people to handle their business for them.”

While he has now worked half of century in real estate, Barnett said retirement remains beyond his view.

“I don’t work the same kind of hours I used to, but I am still full-time in the business because I wake up in the morning and say to myself, ‘What’s going to happen today?’ And I go, ‘Well, I don’t know. Let’s go find out.’ I don’t need an alarm clock, but I wake up between 5 and 5:30 every day and I’m excited.”

Laughing, he added, “My goal in life would be to meet every farmer in Virginia before I die. That won’t happen, but that’s my goal.”

Bill Barnett

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Commonwealth Commercial Manages Massive Land Sale to DHL

Richmond, Va. – Commonwealth Commercial Partners (CCP), an industry leader in commercial real estate, recently played an instrumental role in boosting economic development and creating job opportunities in Stafford County, Va. The company negotiated and executed the sale of 55 acres from R Income Properties, LLC to DHL Logistics for $4,055,000 in Stafford County’s Venture Business Park.

DHL has announced plans to build a 500,000 square foot high-bay distribution facility with highly mechanized equipment for material building to serve the Mid-Atlantic region. The initiative is expected to create close to 600 jobs requiring managerial and high-tech skills that will generate $1 million per year in tax revenue.

“This was a very complex commercial real estate transaction involving multiple partners, including state and government entities, in Virginia and Maryland,” said Craig Pelouze, Senior Vice President at Commonwealth Commercial. “It’s a deal that is destined to transform the area’s economy and attract a large tax base to Stafford County.”

He noted that Matan Properties, an industrial developer in Frederick, Md., is also under contract with CCP to purchase the remaining 31 acres in Venture Business Park to develop several hundred thousand square feet of office warehouse, resulting in total land sales of almost $9.5 million.

Pelouze and Sam Worley, another Senior Vice President at CCP, represented R Income Properties, which had owned the land for over 20 years. These talented team members have many years of experience representing buyers and sellers of rural land and investment properties.

For more information about Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC, which is proudly celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021, visit commonwealthcommercial.com.

About Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC

Founded in 1996, Commonwealth Commercial is a leading full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Richmond, Va., with offices in Hampton Roads, Va.; Nashville, Tenn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Tampa, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Mo.; St. Louis, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; and Minneapolis, Minn., and is active in Connecticut and Illinois. The company provides demonstrated expertise in the areas of leasing, purchasing, selling, developing, consulting, property management and asset management services. To learn more, visit www.commonwealthcommercial.com

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Developers pay $12.5M for Lacy’s 3.3-acre tract on Arthur Ashe Blvd.

Posted on 7/14/2021 by Mike Platania at Richmond BizSense

A new high mark has been set for land on a per-acre basis in the Scott’s Addition area.

The 3.3-acre assemblage at 1117-1209 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. sold earlier this week for $12.5 million, city records show.

The buying entities are tied to D.C.-based Level 2 Development and SJG Properties, who are planning a major mixed-use project for the site. The seller in the deal was local investor Ed Lacy, who’d owned many of the parcels for decades.

At about $3.8 million per acre, the deal marks the highest sales price on a per-acre basis in the neighborhood in recent memory.

The previous high mark for the land in and around Scott’s Addition was $3.6 million per acre, set last year by South Carolina’s Greystar when it bought a whole city block at 1601 Roseneath Road. It paid $8.6 million for the site, where it’s planning a 350-unit mixed-use project with locally-based Capital Square.

Continue reading the full article

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Commonwealth Commercial Completed Seven Transactions Last Week

Richmond, VA – April 5, 2021 – Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC is pleased to report last week’s completed transactions.

  • LaQuita McCrae leased 1,156 SF at 2825 S. Crater Road in the City of Petersburg.  Eric Hammond represented the Landlord.
  • Virginia Financial Center leased 1,724 SF at 9401 Courthouse Road in Chesterfield County.  Tucker Dowdy and Jamie Galanti represented the Landlord.
  • Glass Doctor leased 2,269 SF at 11010 W. Broad Street in Henrico County.  Jim McVey represented the Landlord.
  • Virginia Interactive, LLC leased 7,200 SF at 2022 W. Broad Street in the City of Richmond.  Tucker Dowdy and Russell Wyatt represented the Landlord.
  • MBS Productions Services, LLC leased 12,500 SF at 1800 W. Marshall Street in the City of Richmond.  Ben Bruni and Russell Wyatt represented the Landlord
  • Atkinson Investment, LLC purchased 4,434 SF at 6039 Mechanicsville Turnpike in Hanover County from Nighthawk Properties, LLC for $325,000.  Eric Hammond and Tucker Dowdy represented the Seller.
  • Adana Investments, LLC purchased 25.927 acres at 8501 Courthouse Road in Chesterfield County from Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc. for $60,000.  Chris Jenkins and Bill Barnett represented the Seller.

 

About Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC

Founded in 1996, Commonwealth Commercial is a leading full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Richmond, VA, with offices in Hampton Roads VA, Nashville TN, Jacksonville FL, Tampa FL, Charlotte NC, Raleigh/Durham NC, Greenville SC, Columbus OH, Kansas City MO, Minneapolis MN and Houston TX. The company provides demonstrated expertise in the areas of leasing, purchasing, selling, developing, consulting, property management and asset management services.

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230-Unit Apartment Complex Slated For 6767 Iron Bridge Road

Richmond, VA – Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC is pleased to have facilitated the 13± acre sale at 6767 Iron Bridge Road located in Chesterfield County, VA. Sam Worley, Ryan Fanelli & Craige Pelouze of Commonwealth Commercial represented the Seller, Austin Woods Development Co. The purchaser was Waverton Development Inc. This transaction closed on August 20, 2020 for $4,025,000.

Commonwealth Commercial placed the property under contract in March 2019, and the seller obtained zoning so the buyer could construct 230 apartment units, a clubhouse with pool and related accessory uses. Financing for the development was obtained through VHDA with Keith Wells at Northmarq Capital acting as the mortgage broker. Construction has begun and preleasing will begin early 2021, with first move-ins in the second quarter of 2021.

This same buyer purchased land in Watermark, across the street from this site in 2010. They developed the Meridian at Watermark, a 300-unit Class A investment community. The Austin Woods site will be a continuation of their success at Watermark.

This apartment complex at 6767 Iron Bridge Rd will be complemented by the 207-unit townhome community that will be built by Ryan Homes on the 58± acres surrounding the property. Additionally, there is a 4.5± acre commercial out parcel available that fronts Iron Bridge Road.

 

About Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC

Founded in 1996, Commonwealth Commercial is a leading full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Richmond, VA, with offices in Hampton Roads VA, Nashville TN, Jacksonville FL, Tampa FL, Charlotte NC, Raleigh/Durham NC, Greenville SC, Charleston SC, Kansas City MO, St. Louis MO, Minneapolis MN, Columbus OH, and Houston TX. The company provides demonstrated expertise in the areas of leasing, purchasing, selling, developing, consulting, property management and asset management services.

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Commonwealth Commercial Completes Four Transactions This Week February 24, 2017

Richmond, VA – February 24, 2017 – Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC is pleased to report this week’s completed transactions.

• Colonial River Wealth Management leased 4,115 SF at 13872 Coalfield Commons Place in Chesterfield County. Evan Ocheltree represented the Tenant.
• Cognito Moto LLC leased 6,240 SF at 3 S. Granby Street in the City of Richmond. Ben Bruni and Russell Wyatt represented the Landlord.
• Terraforge Communities, Inc. leased 2,782 SF at 1100 Boulders Parkway in Chesterfield County. Russell Wyatt and Jamie Galanti represented the Landlord.
• Randall G. Welch purchased 298 acres on Deep Bottom Road in Henrico County for $850,000. Bill Barnett and Randy Cosby represented the Purchaser.

About Commonwealth Commercial Partners, LLC

Founded in 1996, Commonwealth Commercial is a leading full-service commercial real estate firm headquartered in Richmond, VA, with offices in Hampton Roads VA, Nashville TN, Jacksonville FL, Tampa FL, Greensboro NC, Charlotte NC, Raleigh/Durham NC, Greenville SC and Reading PA. The company provides demonstrated expertise in the areas of leasing, purchasing, selling, developing, consulting, property management and asset management services.

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