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Shockoe Slip. Manchester. Scott’s Addition. Jefferson Davis Highway.

Within 10 to 15 years, developer Tom Wilkinson with Richmond-based Maramjen Investments hopes the industrial stretch of the South Richmond slice of U.S. 1 will become the latest hotbed of revitalization in a city with a fixed footprint and waning growth options.

To that end, his sights are set on the shuttered American Tobacco plant at 800 Jefferson Davis Highway, sandwiched between a city of Richmond public utilities office and the former Model Tobacco building.

Wilkinson said he plans to close on the property this summer. He envisions a $29 million conversion of the building’s warehouse space to affordable housing, followed by the conversion of 170,000-square-foot tobacco sheds to artisan workshops.

“It’s an area that’s at best in transition,” he said. “Right now, it’s a somewhat dangerous area.”

Wilkinson’s plans recently received a boost from the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority board, which gave preliminary approval for developers to pursue a financing package that could include up to $17 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds issued by the authority.