The William and Mary Real Estate Foundation has purchased an empty lot in downtown Williamsburg: 401 Scotland St.
The property, listed under Long & Foster Real Estate, sold for $365,000 in August of 2020.
While there are currently no plans for the property, Sean Hughes, executive director for the real estate foundation, said in a phone interview, “vacant property that’s close to the campus doesn’t come up very often, so it made sense for us to buy it.”
He also noted the foundation owns another property two doors down at 332 N. Henry St., purchased in 2019. The building is the former Executive Health Evaluation Center, currently leased by Virginia Commonwealth University Health.
William & Mary also owns several properties on the same block. The house on 427 Scotland St. is currently the headquarters for the Global Research Institute. Across the street, the college leases the 424 Scotland St. lot and home of the late Henry M. “Polly” Stryker, mayor of Williamsburg from 1948-68 and a W&M alumnus.
Meanwhile, in Merchants Square, Shaheen, Ruth, Martin & Fonville Real Estate leased 1,908 square feet of retail-centric office space at 439 W. Duke of Gloucester St.
Broker and owner, John Martin, said in a statement from an email, “I have been selling for over 2 decades in this market and have watched James City County grow into what it is today, from the start of New Town to the development of Governor’s Land, Powhatan or Ford’s Colony. Although change and growth have taken place across the footprint, the same hometown feel exists.”
The space was formally occupied by Williamsburg at Home, a furniture store featuring furnishing inspired by Colonial Williamsburg.
The soon-to-be demised space will feature a prominent, street-level storefront within a signature building in the midst of Merchants Square, according to a news release from Cushman & Wakefield, Thalhimer.
A summer 2021 grand opening is anticipated, however, what business will move into the space has yet to be determined.
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