New - City Center Development

[wrldcoupe4]

So, stumbled across this. 

https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2884233&GUID=85C8934A-7211-4BC0-83C7-8AC5B7CA29B3&Options=ID|Text|&Search=city+center+development

"To declare surplus and to direct the sale of City-owned real estate located at 101 North 6th Street, 603, 609, 611, 615 and 619 East Grace Street, 612 East Franklin Street, and 112, 114 and 116 North 7th Street, for $3,950,000 to City Center Development, LLC, for the purpose of the construction of a mixed-use development including commercial and residential space."

The proposed development would include a minimum of 800 structured parking spaces, 28,000 s.f. of ground level retail, as well as a minimum of 372,000 s.f. of residential / commercial space.

We talked about these renderings a while back:

http://www.pricestudios.net/what-we-do/mixed-use-experience/city-center/

[Wahoo 07]

Nice.  One less surface parking lot in the city center!

[tparkerzut]

Would love to see that project happen, that area of Grace is already going crazy with restaurants and I would love to see some more commercial/residential/retail. Also my company works with Price a lot and I would love to do some electrical design work on a highrise. Fingers crossed! 

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

YES PLEASE

[blopp1234]

3 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

 

The proposed development would include a minimum of 800 structured parking spaces, 28,000 s.f. of ground level retail, as well as a minimum of 372,000 s.f. of residential / commercial space.

This is awesome news! Hopefully more will be added to make this building taller. However even with this, I wouldn't expect it to be under 20 stories unless they plan on the tower encompassing most of the block.

[jbjust]

That is such a dead spot and would be great to get it filled in.  

[eandslee]

Awesome!  With the elevation of this area being higher than the CBD and if this development generates a 20+-story tower, this could be the making of a signature tower for Richmond.  This could get interesting folks!

[wrldcoupe4]

Who wants to photoshop the skyline??

[wrldcoupe4]

This proposed project along with the new General Assembly Building, GA parking deck, new development in the 300 block of east Broad, and conversion of 501 E Franklin to a Moxy Hotel will greatly enhance this area of downtown, particularly when coupled with the store front development along Grace Street.

[RiverYuppy]

I really hope that they include street level retail.  If that base is all parking, it reminds me of the James Monroe building, which just kills the possibility for any chance of life in that part of downtown.  Nobody wants to live near walls of concrete so nobody is going to build high density housing near walls of concrete.

[changingskyline]

I'm hoping this beautiful old parking garage will not be torn down. It's on the southwest corner of the block and I'm not seeing it in the renderings. I assume that those renderings are not final designs. 

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, changingskyline said:

I'm hoping this beautiful old parking garage will not be torn down. It's on the southwest corner of the block and I'm not seeing it in the renderings. I assume that those renderings are not final designs. 

I have actually been wondering if they are incorporating the garage.  The old bus transfer station plans included reutilizing the garage and both overhead shot renderings on the website display an equivalent sized structure with a rounded element on the roof, much like the current garage's car ramp.  I am not sure what to think of what appear to be glass curtains, though they are also rough sketches.

[drayrichmond]

Wow this is some good news, such a good location!

[eandslee]

Well, it's official!  Just came out in the RTD. Not a whole lot of information in the announcement, but I like the sound of an 18 story tower at that elevation in the city. You'll be able to see it from a distance for sure. They said their plans are still in flux...maybe something taller?!

http://m.richmond.com/news/article_489d7143-2937-5668-8818-0b7f3f6c6b09.html?mode=jqm_gal

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Should I go ahead and add this to the development map as a blue (aka proposed) project? I think I'll go ahead and do that now, though it's seemingly in its embryonic stages.

Edit: added. Time to change this blue to purple, pronto.

[Wahoo 07]

28 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Well, it's official!  Just came out in the RTD. Not a whole lot of information in the announcement, but I like the sound of an 18 story tower at that elevation in the city. You'll be able to see it from a distance for sure. They said their plans are still in flux...maybe something taller?!

http://m.richmond.com/news/article_489d7143-2937-5668-8818-0b7f3f6c6b09.html?mode=jqm_gal

Given the elevation, that lot calls for more than eighteen stories -- how about thirty

[eandslee]

24 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

Given the elevation, that lot calls for more than eighteen stories -- how about thirty

Now we're talking!!!  Sure wish Centennial Towers were built (at about 20-30 stories), but since they weren't built, surely this one could reach 30 stories in just one tower!

[eandslee]

The location of this site sits right behind the 10-story (I think that's right) Verizon Tower from the south point of view. This new project has to be taller than that building to even be seen, so they might as well build it really tall!

 

also, I got to thinking about all of the newly proposed residential towers:

- City Center

- The tower formally called Suntrust tower

- The two 16-story towers in Manchester

That's a lot of new proposed residences.  Now it's a matter of who is going to build first to get the market share!  Someone better get on it!

 

[wrldcoupe4]

2 minutes ago, eandslee said:

The location of this site sits right behind the 10-story (I think that's right) Verizon Tower from the south point of view. This new project has to be taller than that building to even be seen, so they might as well build it really tall!

.....

That's a lot of new proposed residences.  Now it's a matter of who is going to build first to get the market share!  Someone better get on it!

 

Would be nice, but I think you answer your wish here. Concerns about market depth bring the size down. 

http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/plan-emerges-for-a-residential-tower-on-grace-street/Content?oid=2383188

 “It’s a contemporary building,” says Robert P. Englander Jr. of CathFord Consulting. He touts outdoor accessibility of the planned residential spaces, “which we think is missing in the urban core today.”

[eandslee]

46 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Would be nice, but I think you answer your wish here. Concerns about market depth bring the size down. 

http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/plan-emerges-for-a-residential-tower-on-grace-street/Content?oid=2383188

 “It’s a contemporary building,” says Robert P. Englander Jr. of CathFord Consulting. He touts outdoor accessibility of the planned residential spaces, “which we think is missing in the urban core today.”

Great article!  We glean some very important information from this:

- could include a hotel (very good for height)

- 5 stories worth of parking (deck) on top of the retail

- retail to face N sixth and Grace St

- parking and retail have to be complete in 20 months

- could be one or two towers (I bet if two towers = shorter height)

- they are keeping the Art Deco facade of the parking deck

- must cost at least $86M or more

[wrldcoupe4]

BizSense with some additional details on the project:

http://richmondbizsense.com/2016/12/06/86m-tower-eyed-for-e-grace/

Englander said the project would likely be built in phases, with the parking deck and retail forming a “podium” upon which the residential and commercial uses would be built in a subsequent phase. He said the project could involve a hotel component with 100-150 rooms, as well as a restaurant and garden terrace amenity on top of the base parking structure.

[eandslee]

6 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

BizSense with some additional details on the project:

http://richmondbizsense.com/2016/12/06/86m-tower-eyed-for-e-grace/

Englander said the project would likely be built in phases, with the parking deck and retail forming a “podium” upon which the residential and commercial uses would be built in a subsequent phase. He said the project could involve a hotel component with 100-150 rooms, as well as a restaurant and garden terrace amenity on top of the base parking structure.

This hotel component could drive up the height. I think it's in a great place for a hotel given that it sits in the shadow of the convention center. You can never have enough hotels near convention centers. 

[eandslee]

Did the sale of this property get approved tonight during city council's meeting?  If so, this project will be moving forward.  

[eandslee]

Just FYI, it turns out that city council delayed the vote, which does not help the development. I'm actually fearful now that this project will not get off the ground due to delays. Sounds like the developer is fearful of the same after reading an article in the RTD about it. The delay could be months, not just one month. Not good.  Don't have the link to the RTD article - had trouble copying the link. Sorry, but what I wrote is the gist of the article. 

[drayrichmond]

I think the council delayed the vote just to kick the bucket down the road. A new city council comes into play soon, I just don't think the current council wanted to leave office making big decision like this one.