This three-story-tall block was an extremely influential apartment design for Richmond architects. Lee appears to have been heavily influenced in his early work by English Arts and Crafts architects such as C. F. A. Voysey. The employment of steep tile roofs, contrasting brick and stucco, and groupings of windows are reminiscent of Voysey's work. The building dates from the beginning of a major period of apartment construction in the Fan and adjoining neighborhoods. Numerous successors indicate its influence, such as the Gloucester Apartments (1914, Asbury and Whitehurst), immediately to the west of the Sussex.