Previously, an embroidery company operated at this location. (Photo by Mike Platania)

A planned multi-family housing project near The Diamond appears to be moving forward, possibly with the involvement of a new developer.

According to city records, the 3.4-acre property at 1613 Ownby Lane sold earlier this month for $8.75 million.

The property has been eyed by Washington, DC-based Capital City Real Estate for over a year. for a five-story apartment building with 314 residential units The buyer in the August 13 sale, called “The Porter,” was a company affiliated with Mid-America Apartment Communities.

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Mid-America owns approximately 300 apartment complexes nationwide, most of which are in the Southeast. Its seven local holdings include the MAA West Creek near the intersection of Broad Street Road and State Route 288 and the MAA Pavilion Place Apartments near Genito Road and Charter Colony Parkway in Chesterfield.

A depiction of the planned development of the site. (Courtesy of Newmark)

It is unclear whether Capital City is still involved in the project. The company that is Commodore development in Manchesterdid not respond to requests for comment. Mid-America could not be reached.

Regardless of who ends up leading the project, it seems like The Porter is moving forward. The zoning plan was approved by the city late last year, and a slew of demolition and building permits have been filed for the project in recent weeks.

The property sale was brokered by Garrison Gore, Victoria Pickett and Charles Wentworth of Newmark. The property, which the city last valued at $4.5 million, contains a one-story warehouse. The seller was Vatex Corp., an embroidery company that has owned the property since 1985, when it bought it for $2 million.

The site is close to the future diamond district, which showed a lot of forward momentum this summer. It is also near VCU’s planned Athletic Villagewhose demolition recently began with the demolition of the former Greyhound bus maintenance center at 2701 Hermitage Road.

Across Hermitage Road from the Ownby Lane site is the old Cobb Lumber factory, which Breeden Construction Conversion to a six-story, mixed-use project. Construction of this project has not started yet.