Six Hundred is an urban mixed use project which helps connect two parts of the city, revitalizes two historic structures, and contributes to the artistic energy of the area.
The new building has 53 apartments, art gallery, lobby, courtyard, underground parking and retail space. The renovated historic buildings house a locally-famous diner and a wine shop with offices and apartments above.

Six Hundred puts its residents in the heart of the city, with the historic pedestrian mall and the University of Virginia within walking distance. This project helps knit the sides together by infilling a gap in the street wall, adding and renovating 3 retail spaces, increasing pedestrian traffic, and bringing residents down to the street. New uses, materials and architecture are in keeping with the historically eclectic area, which includes many building types and uses from residential to industrial.

The immediate site is as complex and varied as the street. Bounded by the two historic structures and West Main Street to the north, the project site is bordered by railroad tracks to the south, a store to the east and an auto repair shop to the west. Each side is addressed by the design, whether by entry portals connecting the street fronts, industrial balconies along the tracks, or the artist’s mural facing the auto shop parking lot.

The overall composition created by the street front incorporates existing and new buildings through both massing and the use of the materials, colors and textures. In order to meet the historic houses at a compatible scale, the new building steps down in height from the six stories to three as it approaches West Main. The pattern of the carefully designed new building façade becomes a backdrop to the more complicated shapes of the historic buildings.

Three large weathering steel structures mark the entrances along West Main Street. One surrounds the gate which leads into the courtyard between the two historic buildings, one creates an elegant illuminated entrance into the residential lobby and the other surrounds the display window/entrance for the new retail space. These portals belong to each of the buildings and are a common element that connects the fabric of old and new, both visually and physically.

The whole project was envisioned as an art gallery. This starts outside with the mural painted by an internationally acclaimed South African artist Faith XLVII, past the diner and coffee shop windows, into the lobby, past The Gallery at Six Hundred and into the residential corridors. The concierge office’s blackened steel cladding is a collaboration between the design team and a local artisan. The Gallery and corridors have museum-quality track and floor lighting, changing exhibits, and featured artists in different media.

The new building wraps behind the two historic buildings, creating a courtyard garden. In this space there is harmony between old and new. It connects directly to both lobby and gallery with large sliding glass doors. A fire pit, furniture, and plantings make the garden great for openings, community events, and gatherings.
Team:
Heirloom Development (Owner)
W.M. Jordan Company (General contractor)
Dunbar Milby Williams Pittman & Vaughan (Structural engineer)
Staengl Engineering (MEP, FP engineers)
Timmons Group (Civil engineer)
Pray Design Associates (Landscape architect)





Material Used:
1. Facade cladding:
Flush metal wall panels, FW Series, Imetco
EIFS/Stucco, Rollershield Drainage EIFS, Masterwall
pre-weathered corten panels, Facade-Tek
2. Flooring:
Luxury Vinyl Tile, CorkCore, Expanko
Exposed structural concrete
3. Doors: All glass doors, AGA Door, Virginia Glass Products Inc.
Terrace doors, Series D200, Efco
Multi-paned exterior sliding doors, Lift slide, Solar Innovations
Custom garage door, perforated metal/steel frame, w/FAAC door operator
4. Windows:
Storefront, 403T, Efco
Aluminum windows, Modern Series, Quaker
5. Roofing: TPO, Sure-Weld, Carlisle Syntec