Pinnacle at Afton rose on a former vacant lot off Bellemeade in the Southside. (Mike Platania photos)
An increasingly busy local developer has cut the ribbon on its latest project in the Southside.
Genesis Properties earlier this month ceremoniously marked the pending completion of construction on Pinnacle at Afton, an income-based apartment complex at 2400 Afton Ave.
Pinnacle at Afton reaches four stories and features unit sizes from studios up to three bedrooms. All 150 units at the development are available for households earning up to 60% of the area median income. Amenities include a gym, club room and community room. The site also includes 157 parking spaces.
The complex fronts Bellemeade Avenue, which is planned to be along the route of the Ashland-to-Peterburg Fall Line Trail pedestrian path, so Genesis CEO Ed Solarz said the developer decided to include both bike storage and a bicycle maintenance area in the building.
Solarz added that the company went out of its way to give Pinnacle at Afton a high grade of finishes not typically seen at income-based housing developments, such as in-unit washers and dryers and granite countertops.
“Durability was always the driving factor above all else, that’s why we used granite countertops in our kitchens and vanities. It’s not to have a beautiful product, (though) that doesn’t hurt,” Solarz said. “It’s to create a product that’s going to last. We want this to be a wonderful place to live for a long time.”
Dignitaries cut the ribbon on the complex, including Ed Solarz (center), Councilwoman Reva Trammell (center left) and Mayor Danny Avula (center right).
Genesis anticipates move-ins will start later this month, and Solarz said the firm has already received over 200 applications for information about living there.
Johannas Design Group was the project architect, and Breeden Construction was the general contractor. The $34 million development was financed by Fulton Bank and Virginia Housing. It also received a $1 million grant from the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development, as well as enrollment in the city’s Affordable Housing Performance Grant program that gives Genesis a tax abatement of up to 30 years on the property.
Last week’s ribbon-cutting was a long time coming for Solarz and Genesis. He said the firm began planning the development around 2019 and had to redesign it multiple times throughout the pandemic. Genesis purchased the 2-acre site, which had been vacant, in 2020 for $348,000, and had it rezoned in 2021. Construction got underway in early 2025.
Solarz began his remarks at the groundbreaking by emphasizing the way Pinnacle at Afton fits into the city’s Richmond 300 master plan. He was followed at the podium by Mayor Danny Avula, who noted that the city’s proposed zoning rewrite could expedite these sorts of income-based housing developments.
“We could have cut two years out of this process if it were appropriately zoned for the uses that the city has envisioned through our master plan,” Avula said. “I want to hold this up as an example of why we need to see zoning code revision across the city.”
Genesis has been a local apartment developer since the 1970s, doing both historic tax credit conversions such as the Edison Apartments downtown, as well as new-construction builds like the Shockoe Valley View apartments in Union Hill.
Solarz, who became owner of the company in 2023 after working there for about a decade, said he’s been focused on finding new deals for Genesis since taking over the firm. Genesis has about 500 units in its pipeline, including a conversion of its now-former office building in Manchester. The company is also working on redeveloping part of the Jefferson Townhomes property near Union Hill.
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