Dominion Resources: New High-rise Building Planned for Downtown

[meegwell]

Been quiet around here....
(but not near this construction site!)

 

[meegwell]

.

and with the VCU crane in the shot also..

 

[eandslee]

Looks like they about to erect the tower crane (on the right side - looks like crane parts on the ground).  There is also a crane base on the very far right side of the site.  Wouldn't surprise me to see 2 cranes in this site!

What is the smaller pit dug out on the left?  That has confused me. 

Thanks so much for the detailed pics!  I'm still looking for a webcam, but I'm not having any luck. 

Edited January 13, 2017 by eandslee

[Downtowner]

Looks like they about to erect the tower crane (on the right side - looks like crane parts on the ground).  There is also a crane base on the very far right side of the site.  Wouldn't surprise me to see 2 cranes in this site!
What is the smaller pit dug out on the left?  That has confused me. 
Thanks so much for the detailed pics!  I'm still looking for a webcam, but I'm not having any luck. 

Go to YouTube and that same guy that had the time lapse of the Richmond plaza has a time lapse of the new dominion tower.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[eandslee]

38 minutes ago, Downtowner said:

 

Go to YouTube and that same guy that had the time lapse of the Richmond plaza has a time lapse of the new dominion tower.

 

Yeah, I've been checking his YouTube page every week to get my fix, but I'd like to see something more updated than just once a week.  I'm spoiled like that! 

[eandslee]

ALERT!  ALERT!

Dominion Tower Construction Cam!!!  Updates every 30 minutes!  I bet the tower crane goes up this weekend as I see everything in place for the event.  I'll be watching intently!  Will you?

From the roof of Dominion's 8th and Main building:

https://workzonecam.com/projects/hourigan/highrisetower/workzonecam

Edited January 14, 2017 by eandslee

[eandslee]

It appears that the last photo taken on the above web cam was at 0630 this morning. Not sure what's up with it, but it's not updating for me, is it working for anyone else?

[eandslee]

North tower crane going up!  Web cam is working again!

[tparkerzut]

Nice! I had no idea this had gotten this far. They really aren't wasting anytime on this tower. 

[Icetera]

I forgot to take a picture but it was certainly nice to wake up this weekend to a new tower crane in the sky.  I forgot that James Center is set back from Cary St. so it is actually visible from Tobacco Row.  I am looking forward to seeing how the tower will look from that angle.

[eandslee]

4 hours ago, Icetera said:

I forgot to take a picture but it was certainly nice to wake up this weekend to a new tower crane in the sky.  I forgot that James Center is set back from Cary St. so it is actually visible from Tobacco Row.  I am looking forward to seeing how the tower will look from that angle.

Yeah, snap some photos and post them here. Would love to see the crane from different perspectives!

[eandslee]

Great photos!  I also think your assessment of this tower compared to the old one is spot on!  Of course they will go for the second tower!

Which brings up a question I have - I've noticed that all the construction staging taking place on the block just to the west of this block...does Dominion own that block too?  If so, I would rather they build the second tower on that block instead of replacing the current tower. I'd like to see Dominion sell the old tower to a developer who might renovate it (overhaul the outside as well as inside) and make it into a residential tower.  Just my thought. 

[changingskyline]

When it comes to scale, the narrow windows and vertical lines of the current Dominion tower give a nice perception of height. In fact, I think the current Dominion building would appear taller than the replacement tower II. The current building sets up a nice dialogue with the Federal Reserve and breaks up what might otherwise turn into a sea of glass curtain walls if they tear it down and replace it. I like the crisp geometry of the current building. It's a good representation of its era of mid-century Modernism.

Does anyone know why Dominion didn't just build one taller tower? It seems like consolidating everything in one building would make the most sense. Is there a big jump in cost when you go above 20 stories that makes it economically less viable?

[jbjust]

8 hours ago, changingskyline said:

When it comes to scale, the narrow windows and vertical lines of the current Dominion tower give a nice perception of height. In fact, I think the current Dominion building would appear taller than the replacement tower II. The current building sets up a nice dialogue with the Federal Reserve and breaks up what might otherwise turn into a sea of glass curtain walls if they tear it down and replace it. I like the crisp geometry of the current building. It's a good representation of its era of mid-century Modernism.

Does anyone know why Dominion didn't just build one taller tower? It seems like consolidating everything in one building would make the most sense. Is there a big jump in cost when you go above 20 stories that makes it economically less viable?

I suspect digging down far enough to accommodate 40 stories worth of parking would be quite an engineering challenge.  

 

[changingskyline]

3 hours ago, jbjust said:

I suspect digging down far enough to accommodate 40 stories worth of parking would be quite an engineering challenge.  

 

But they could have done an above ground parking garage like the one next to Devon Energy Tower in Oklahoma City. I don't understand why they chose not to consolidate in one slightly taller building.

[jbjust]

27 minutes ago, changingskyline said:

But they could have done an above ground parking garage like the one next to Devon Energy Tower in Oklahoma City. I don't understand why they chose not to consolidate in one slightly taller building.

I'm not sure they have completely committed to building both towers, fwiw. 

[Icetera]

15 hours ago, eandslee said:

Which brings up a question I have - I've noticed that all the construction staging taking place on the block just to the west of this block...does Dominion own that block too?  If so, I would rather they build the second tower on that block instead of replacing the current tower. I'd like to see Dominion sell the old tower to a developer who might renovate it (overhaul the outside as well as inside) and make it into a residential tower.  Just my thought. 

Exactly what I have been saying!

[wrldcoupe4]

They don't own that block. 

[Asace88]

I noticed that yesterday as well.  I would imagine they will have the 2nd tower crane up this weekend.  They waited until a Saturday last time to assemble the first crane.  I also noticed yesterday that they were pouring one of the first concrete foundation pilings for the building.  You can see from 2:30-8:00 PM yesterday that they inserted one of the rebar skeletons into the ground and were pouring concrete until well after dark.  Should start to see a little more action (other than excavation) very soon.

On an unrelated note has anyone seen the roof of Main Street Centre?  I am sure whatever they put on it is a sub-surface material to adhere a permanent surface to but it actually looks nice from a distance.  I was driving in from the airport on 64 and the royal blue color actually gave a lot more character to the skyline.  It is a very subtle difference but it gives a nice little pop of color to an otherwise neutral skyline. 

[eandslee]

I saw them working on the roof of the Main Street Center when I was there in Monday. Must have been in the preliminary stages of work since I did not notice any blue color. 

 

Edited February 9, 2017 by eandslee

[Asace88]

I had a sales call in Church Hill this morning so I stopped by Jefferson Park on my way out.  You can see Main Street Centre clearly from this view.

 

[blopp1234]

10 hours ago, Asace88 said:

I had a sales call in Church Hill this morning so I stopped by Jefferson Park on my way out.  You can see Main Street Centre clearly from this view.

 

Tell you the truth I'm not a big fan of it. It just seems weird for that style of building that is brown and black to have a bright blue roof on it. 

[vaceltic]

I walked by the building in the picture yesterday. Its a blue tarp covering the roof while the exterior is being worked on. There's some scaffolding all the way up the side of the building. Not sure whether or not the exterior will be reskinned, but the 'blue roof' color is temporary.

[Asace88]

Clayco put their Dominion project page back up.  It looks like there are a few new renderings.

http://www.claycorp.com/p/30248/dominions-new-downtown-office-tower/

 

[blopp1234]

From these renderings, it really spears that their trying to make the area more pedestrian friendly, which is a huge plus! So much better than their current building by far. Really like how all street frontage is taken advantage of. Really liking how this project is turning out even though it isn't as tall as some of us wanted.