New Richmond Arena

[Icetera]

31 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Kind of surprising given Hampton Roads MSA is 25% larger than Richmond's MSA. 

I would be curious as to how much of that traffic is from outside the metro.  Given that HR is stuck in a corner I doubt they bring in as much from outside whereas RIC can draw from Charlottesville (many businesses fly out of RIC for cheaper airfare), Lynchburg and southwest of RVA.  HR does have the military passenger traffic but RIC also has an expanding Fort Lee and state government traffic which may balance that out (if not surpass).

[eandslee]

22 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Kind of surprising given Hampton Roads MSA is 25% larger than Richmond's MSA. 

I guess I never took real notice of the numbers, but I'm also surprised to hear that Hampton Roads MSA is 25% larger than Richmond's MSA!  I mean, I knew it was larger, but didn't realize it was 25% larger!  That just makes Richmond International Airport that much better, I guess?!  I mean really, of any other airport in the state that should be doing really well (aside from Dulles and National), it should be RIC. The location is more central to the rest of the state (meaning it's grab area/potential market is larger than Norfolk's as they are surrounded by water).  Just surprised too that RIC isn't doing better than it is. I actually think that RIC is a great alternative airport to the NOVA airports especially for those folks who live on the southern end of the DC metro area. Heck, I even use RIC from time to time (going to increase starting in October) and I live in NOVA!  RIC just needs to get better destinations (more direct flights west...even a European destination would be sweet) and keep prices low...and actually market itself up here (I never hear anything about RIC up here).  People will go down there to fly if they know about the deals and destinations.  Like I said, I do, but it's only because I know what RIC has to offer. 

2 minutes ago, Icetera said:

I would be curious as to how much of that traffic is from outside the metro.  Given that HR is stuck in a corner I doubt they bring in as much from outside whereas RIC can draw from Charlottesville (many businesses fly out of RIC for cheaper airfare), Lynchburg and southwest of RVA.  HR does have the military passenger traffic but RIC also has an expanding Fort Lee and state government traffic which may balance that out (if not surpass).

My thoughts exactly. Dude, I need to be on the RIC airport commission!  I could get more people flying out of RIC in a heartbeat!

[Brent114]

The people that I know that live in the HR metro fly out of Richmond. They live on the Peninsula and Middle Peninsula and geting to Richmond is easier than getting to Norfolk (and the MN/WMB airport is expensive with very limited options).  My sisters in CO have been flying into Richmond (to visit family in HR) for 25 years.  When Frontier had a direct flight from Denver to NN they did use that airport occasionally but even then mostly opted to use RIC.  

I doubt many people from York, Williamsburg, Gloucester and James City County (and half of Newport News) choose Norfolk over Richmond.  It can't be over stated how much people hate the HRBT. 

[drayrichmond]

On the Arena

While Hampton Roads is larger than Richmond (by about 30%) it's good to keep in mind that they have two arenas that seat approx 13k each, while we have one that seats approx 13k. Add in the new VB arena with 22k seats and the proposed Norfolk Scope redo adding more seats, then you have three competing arenas within ~30 min. of each other. Our arena doesn't not compete with a direct neighbor like theirs do unless you count Cville, which we would knock out of competition with a modern arena due to our size.

So anyway, while Hampton Roads is a larger metro, they seem more content and interested in competing with each other rather than Richmond; and three competing arenas in the area sounds rough. If the VB arena is built and successful, then I can see at least one of the smaller ones shutting down. We on the other hand only have one arena and would (if the arena gods answer our prayers) only have one modern new arena. And with a population and the size to support it. So just keep in mind, even though they are bigger than us by 25-30% they will have three arenas to our one which kind of gives me the impression that one arena in Richmond will be more successful do to less competition and a metro size to properly support one arena.

[drayrichmond]

Some news, not a whole lot, but things are moving.

http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/private-group-hires-two-firms-to-explore-options-to-replace/article_56ab41cb-978a-579f-8941-e13f65e5fa16.html

A couple of quote pulls that I like;

From "Future Cities", one of the firms hired:

"The basis for Future Cities' development approach is to treat these projects both as internally connected revenue programs, and as components of an active street presence — connected and necessary parts of modern urban life,"

From the second firm hired, Concord Eastridge:

"Concord Eastridge is led by President and CEO Susan Eastridge, who founded the company in 2003 to focus on pre-development planning and financing of "urban mixed-use projects, as well as university, municipal and public/private real estate development.""

 

It sounds like they have the right idea about how to develop the area; urban, mixed use, good street presence.

[eandslee]

Disappointingly, this project isn't as far along as I thought it was. They are still in the study and feasibility stage.  It's possible that it could be a year or more before we see any plans.  I do like the team doing the study/feasibility though. 

Edited September 5, 2017 by eandslee

[eandslee]

More details emerge...see the RBS article here:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2017/09/05/lead-developers-place-new-downtown-arena-project/

Something that stuck out to me is that they are looking at building an arena that seats 17K-18K.

There are also details regarding the Blues Armory - 3 levels - a market on the first floor, a music venue on the second floor and top floor an event space.

The hotel will be 400 rooms and will be behind the Blues Armory (between it and the new arena, which will be where the Coliseum current sits).  There's not a lot of space in that area, so a 400 room hotel could get some height!

Finally, it says that an arena in Richmond of this size would probably have a competing edge over JPJ Arena in Cville and the arena to be built in VA Beach (not sure how other than maybe location?).

 

Edited September 5, 2017 by eandslee

[drayrichmond]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

The hotel will be 400 rooms and will be behind the Blues Armory (between it and the new arena, which will be where the Coliseum current sits).  There's not a lot of space in that area, so a 400 room hotel could get some height!

Especially when you consider the new Hyatt going in by the canal has 144 rooms and is going to be10 stories; a 400 room hotel up there would definately have some height to it. You should check out the websites for the firms they hired, Future Cities has some great renderings of what could be for our arena.

[blopp1234]

A 400 room hotel on that small of a lot could give us a very large tower! That plus a 17-18,000 seat arena that is all being privately developed would be a godsend gift for the city. Hope to see renderings soon.

[meegwell]

Interesting note on the Future Cities US Air arena:

 

"The Arena, renamed US Airways Center midway through the project, has become the first of the new generation of privately financed arena venues to recognize the need for complete and systematic regeneration through sponsorship and premium product upgrades. The project was initiated in a 48-hour workshop format where most of the principle elements were conceived, and eventually implemented. Noteworthy elements include a new entry pavilion, team store, new clubs and lounges, as well as an outdoor broadcast studio for pre and postgame shows."

[blopp1234]

The forums have been pretty quiet lately so I thought I'd post something. A good model for the group to follow would be what Edmonton is doing. There are tons of similarities with these projects. First the metro population of both cities is close to 1.3 million, second the sizes of the arenas are similar as both will be around 17-18,000 seats. Also both developments are supposedly going to include a hotel above 350 rooms with Calgary having 356 and richmonds to have 400(Calgary's hotel is a 56 story tower). These developments have the potential to catalyze development in each of their cities and hopefully, we can do something similar to theirs and get a massive new entertainment district with multiple massive new highrises.

Edited September 11, 2017 by blopp1234

[meegwell]

On 9/11/2017 at 3:23 PM, blopp1234 said:

The forums have been pretty quiet lately so I thought I'd post something. A good model for the group to follow would be what Edmonton is doing. There are tons of similarities with these projects. First the metro population of both cities is close to 1.3 million, second the sizes of the arenas are similar as both will be around 17-18,000 seats. Also both developments are supposedly going to include a hotel above 350 rooms with Calgary having 356 and richmonds to have 400(Calgary's hotel is a 56 story tower). These developments have the potential to catalyze development in each of their cities and hopefully, we can do something similar to theirs and get a massive new entertainment district with multiple massive new highrises.

9/13/17 Edmontonjournal.com:  "The Calgary Flames are no longer going to pursue a new arena in Calgary, Flames president and CEO Ken King said during a news conference with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in the city on Tuesday.

After months of talks with Calgary officials, King said it became clear the city has no genuine interest in helping build a new arena for the NHL team."

Is this the same development.Victoria Park?

 

 

 

 

[blopp1234]

4 hours ago, meegwell said:

9/13/17 Edmontonjournal.com:  "The Calgary Flames are no longer going to pursue a new arena in Calgary, Flames president and CEO Ken King said during a news conference with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in the city on Tuesday.

After months of talks with Calgary officials, King said it became clear the city has no genuine interest in helping build a new arena for the NHL team."

Is this the same development.Victoria Park?

 

 

 

 

No, I was thinking of the ice district in Edmonton. That includes the new Rogers Place arena. Here's a link to an article on it:

https://www.retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2017/5/ice-district

[drayrichmond]

Notes From Mayor Stoney's Announcement:

"Request for Proposals for Major Downtown Redevelopment"

Requirements

1st. Replace the Coliseum

2nd. A "meaningful" housing component, must be mixed income

3rd. New GRTC transfer station

4th. Include the Blues Armory in the redevelopment while retaining its historical value

5th. Construction of a new hotel in close proximity to the Convention Center with a MINIMUM of 400 rooms.

6th. Government owned land can be used in redevelopment proposals, with the Mayor specifically calling out the Public Safety office building and the Social Services office building.

The Mayor also said that there has been "considerable interest both locally and nationally" in a project like this, in regards to meetings he has been in and the Economic Development office has been in.

Deadline: Mayor said companies have 90 days to submit proposals.

[drayrichmond]

Just now, Hike said:

good summary - thank you!  bummer of this is that we saw the RFP process for the boulevard, what a year ago or so,  and what have we seen from that, zip so far..

Yeah, but I think that's mainly held up because of the baseball stadium fiasco.

This on the other hand doesn't have that problem, and the request for proposal for the arena area seems to specifically target the points that we saw on the bizsense article about Dominions CEO wanting to redevelop that area. It's almost like the Dominion CEO piqued the interest and had a plan that looks pretty much exactly the same as this; so, now the city in return is asking for official proposals.

It's like someone is showing interest and the city has to ask them to dance.

[Wahoo 07]

Question for the board:  given the space restrictions of the area in question, roughly how many floors would a 400+ room hotel be?  Thanks

[drayrichmond]

3 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

Question for the board:  given the space restrictions of the area in question, roughly how many floors would a 400+ room hotel be?  Thanks

That's going to be hard to say without knowing the lot it's to be built on. But for reference, the 10 story Hyatt planned for the Canal District has 144 rooms on 6 floors. So assuming a similar lot size, we could be looking at something about 15 stories; but again it depends on a lot, the size of the lot, the size of the actual rooms, etc..

[eandslee]

10 minutes ago, Hike said:

good analogy - that reminds  me, when will the Hyatt planned for the Canal District get started, here's another one we get to look forward to.

However, if they indeed put this thing where I've read that they want to put it (between the armory and the new arena), there is not much space there.  I've seen some 400 room hotels online (with a pretty large base) that were 24 stories tall.  It does depend on the plot they put it on for sure.  Remember, 400 rooms in the MINIMUM...could be more.

[meegwell]

Here is the RFP - fair amount of interesting items.  City School impact and contemplating renovation of the coliseum.  Also, I think there is an error on the asset listing exhibit - must be the parking deck that has $27m in debt not 6th st. right?

 

http://www.richmondgov.com/PressSecretaryMayor/robocopy/documents/RFP-North-of-Broad-Downtown-Development.pdf

 

 

[eandslee]

I’ve gotta say, after looking at the RFP, the area identified for redevelopment is a lot larger than I had originally thought.  If a developer comes in and revamps that entire area, a good portion of downtown will be brand new...and hopefully a lot taller and dense.  I have some ideas flowing through my head as to how all of this could look like and I would be very interested in seeing some artist renderings when the responses are submitted (if any).  I wonder if any major developers have had a heads up on this RFP?  Otherwise, 90 Days is not a lot of time to put something together of this magnitude.  Interested developers have to be scrambling right now if they didn’t already start the process already. 

[eandslee]

This article is a pretty comprehensive one regarding the RFP.  It also addresses the timeline I’ve been looking for.  Looks like City Council wants to vote on a final plan by next September. 

http://www.virginiabusiness.com/all-headlines/article/richmond-seeks-request-for-proposals-for-major-redevelopment-project

[Wahoo 07]

I am glad to read that the RFP states that the capacity has to be at least 17,500 in one configuration.  It is nice to see a proposal in which Richmond acts like the "big town" for the region.  While I am hoping for a greater capacity, 17,500 would significantly upgrade the caliber of the events that Richmond can host. 

[Brent114]

This whole press release seems like folly to me.  “Assume our debt, incur the costs of development, adhere to these requirements (viability be damned), solve our affordable housing problem (I don’t think any residential should be included here) and pay us $50k for the privilege  of doing all of our work for us on an unreasonable timeline”

 

That’s my takeaway. 

Edited November 10, 2017 by Brent114

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

2 hours ago, Brent114 said:

This whole press release seems like folly to me.  “Assume our debt, incur the costs of development, adhere to these requirements (viability be damned), solve our affordable housing problem (I don’t think any residential should be included here) and pay us $50k for the privilege  of doing all of our work for us on an unreasonable timeline”

 

That’s my takeaway. 

I agree with most of your take actually, except for the residential bit. Residential will always activate a corridor because you'll have residents living there and thus retail would likely follow. Using that whole area exclusively as government offices has created a dead zone. Residential should definitely be included. That's the most exciting prospect of the project, along with the hotel.

But ye I'm surprised at the audacity of the city's proposal lol. But I guess its working because there is that one firm working on a plan with that Los Angeles firm. 

[tparkerzut]

On 11/10/2017 at 8:17 AM, Brent114 said:

This whole press release seems like folly to me.  “Assume our debt, incur the costs of development, adhere to these requirements (viability be damned), solve our affordable housing problem (I don’t think any residential should be included here) and pay us $50k for the privilege  of doing all of our work for us on an unreasonable timeline”

 

That’s my takeaway. 

As stated by RVA-Is-The-Best residential should definitely be included. There shouldn't be any area this central in any city that doesn't have residential. Single use neighborhoods are rarely successful. You need multi-purpose/multi-use areas so that the area is always being used and not wasted during the day or at night. This is exactly whats wrong with the area right now. You have a lively Jackson Ward to the west that just dies at 3rd street if its after 5 or 6 o'clock. 

Very interested to see what will come of this. Anything has to be better than what is there now.