New Richmond Arena

[jbjust]

14 hours ago, Downtowner said:

I just posted the story enjoy everyone. I subscribed to the digital paper just several days ago.

How about we don't steal content?  

[I miss RVA]

Downtowner, you are the man!!  Thanks!

jbjust - Yeah - maybe we do all need to pony up for the digital subscription - ugh.  lol

eandslee -- I'd love to see the baseball component included as well - it would make for a complete sports complex with everything centrally located.  Perhaps not in the cards tho.  I'm also eager to see the site plans and some architectural renderings.  Hoping for something huge - 17K-seat arena is good (18K would be even better!) - and hopefully some huge towers.  Thanks for posting the WTVR page - I just missed seeing it post (I was looking for something from WTVR and NBC12 but nothing was there)

Guys - looking at the overhead map on the WTVR post - what do you make of the fact that FOUR ENTIRE BLOCKS of the project footprint are filled with old government buildings?  From the federal building (IRS) to the courthouse to the public safety and social services buildings.  i worry that somehow these may end up being a fly in the ointment if negotiations don't result in them being moved. Is there other office space in or close to downtown that could absorb these agencies plus a circuit court relocation?  I somehow doubt the city, state or federal governments will pony up funds for new buildings just to get these old albatrosses out of the way.

Interesting point in the T-D story - tying up loose ends - including the Redskins' training camp.  Hopefully that means the Skins' will keep their camp in Richmond for the foreseeable future?  LOL - I only wish they had moved their camp to town before I moved away - I would have LOVED to go see the beloved Skins scrimmage during the pre-season and maybe get some autographs.

 

[Brent114]

By all means let’s move the workforce out of downtown so that a new, taxpayer funded arena  can sit empty for 3/4 of the year.  If the Feds move it will be out of downtown. Building a new courts building just because would be a colossal waste of money.  

Rebuild  the arena on the current site and accept the fact that arenas have never been a catilyst for growth.   If they were, the area around the Coliseum would look very different.  It too was once new and state of the art  and not so much as a hotdog stand popped up in its shadow over the last 40 years. 

There is no update in this update.  Everything is exactly where it was 6 months ago.   There’s no real interest in this development and the one developer that is interested  doesn’t have the capital or the expertise to pull it off. 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Brent114

[jbjust]

28 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Rebuild  the arena on the current site and accept the fact that arenas have never been a catilyst for growth.   If they were, the area around the Coliseum would look very different.  It too was once new and state of the art  and not so much as a hotdog stand popped up in its shadow over the last 40 years. 

  

There is actually a hot dog stand over there.  Bet you feel stupid now!

[vaceltic]

I worry about this Arena push, in conjunction with baseball stadium. The city has never been a good negotiator when it comes to big financing deals like these (Stone Brewing, SunTrust, Redskins, 6th Street Marketplace, Bon Secours, etc etc). With only one developer responding to the RFP, I hardly see how the City has any negotiating power to get something done that doesn't eventually stick taxpayers with the bill.

[cbl1]

#1 - where does it say taxpayer funded.  Can we get details before we bash it?

#2 - I would assume the group who put this together (which has always seemed like more for the betterment of Richmond than pure financial gain - considering those involved) vetted multiple bidders and options throughout the process of them putting together this proposal to begin with.

[Asace88]

5 hours ago, Brent114 said:

By all means let’s move the workforce out of downtown so that a new, taxpayer funded arena  can sit empty for 3/4 of the year.  If the Feds move it will be out of downtown. Building a new courts building just because would be a colossal waste of money.  

Rebuild  the arena on the current site and accept the fact that arenas have never been a catilyst for growth.   If they were, the area around the Coliseum would look very different.  It too was once new and state of the art  and not so much as a hotdog stand popped up in its shadow over the last 40 years. 

There is no update in this update.  Everything is exactly where it was 6 months ago.   There’s no real interest in this development and the one developer that is interested  doesn’t have the capital or the expertise to pull it off. 

 

 

Debbiedowner114, you're really killing my buzz.  How about we learn a little more about the project before taking the "this development is stupid" route?  

The alternative is letting the weeds overtake The Coliseum and getting excited because Garth Brooks or James Taylor comes to town once every six years.  I guess we could always bulldoze the building, pave a surface lot and let the area sit unused for the next generation.  A little optimism never hurt anyone.

[Brent114]

I’d like to be optimistic about this (I’m generally a cheerleader for development in the city*) but this RFP is  so ridiculously unrealistic (and so unworkable that there was scant interest) that I can’t muster an ounce of optimism. 

I almost hate the Carytown development as much...but everything else I’m totally into.  I swear  

[drayrichmond]

I'm going to be super positive about this, but I'm one of those "Bring Hockey Back to Richmond" guys, so I might be biased...

[Brent114]

I’d love to have hockey back.  

[tparkerzut]

On 6/14/2018 at 9:43 PM, Brent114 said:

I’d like to be optimistic about this (I’m generally a cheerleader for development in the city*) but this RFP is  so ridiculously unrealistic (and so unworkable that there was scant interest) that I can’t muster an ounce of optimism. 

I almost hate the Carytown development as much...but everything else I’m totally into.  I swear  

I'm not super pumped about this either. Mostly it seems like a project that is too big and will not fit into the city well. Projects like this tend to try and create their own neighborhood too much, you can see it in other cities as well. It's possible it will be done well but I doubt it truthfully.

[blopp1234]

2 hours ago, tparkerzut said:

I'm not super pumped about this either. Mostly it seems like a project that is too big and will not fit into the city well. Projects like this tend to try and create their own neighborhood too much, you can see it in other cities as well. It's possible it will be done well but I doubt it truthfully.

Hopefully they follow the lead of cities like Columbus, which pretty much created its own district surrounding the arena that is thriving.

[Brent114]

the Arens District in Columbus is an example of how poorly these mega projects fit into a city.  The stretch along High Street looks nice.  The rest of it looks like West Broad Village.  

[tparkerzut]

4 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

Hopefully they follow the lead of cities like Columbus, which pretty much created its own district surrounding the arena that is thriving.

This is exactly what I don't want them to do. I'm afraid that is going to be "separate" from the city. This is not good design. A city needs to be cohesive not be divided. 

20 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

the Arens District in Columbus is an example of how poorly these mega projects fit into a city.  The stretch along High Street looks nice.  The rest of it looks like West Broad Village.  

Completely agree. Design wise the Arena district is completely unappealing to me, while High Street is great. 

[wrldcoupe4]

We don’t really know what’s proposed, so it’s hard to make any judgements. The city also has no leverage. Will be interesting to see what comes out of the negotiations. 

[wrldcoupe4]

Richmond Free Press has details on the proposed project:

$1.3bn investment 

17,500 seat arena

2,800 high rise residential units

500 room hotel

new enclosed GRTC transfer center 

reuse of the blues armory

Additional parking structures

Retail/entertainment not mentioned but assume they are part of it

Federal Building and Courts are unaffected  

 

[wrldcoupe4]

ARichmond Free Press has details on the proposed project:

$1.3bn investment 

17,500 seat arena

2,800 high rise residential units

500 room hotel

new enclosed GRTC transfer center 

reuse of the blues armory

Additional parking structures

Retail/entertainment not mentioned but assume they are part of it

Federal Building and Courts are unaffected  

Also, basically confirms dominion is building its second tower Because it says their two new towers would be part of the project financing (TIF district). 

[eandslee]

Awesome find!  This all sounds very nice...let’s see if they can pull it off! 

Wow!  2800 high-rise units!  500 room hotel...these might be significant in height!  I never envisioned an enclosed GRTC transfer station, but I like the sound of it.   Not surprised that the federal building and courts would be unaffected. 

$1.3B!!!   Wowsa!  Huge!!

[I miss RVA]

wrldcoupe4 - do you have a link you could share?  I used to read the free press way back in the day when I still lived in Richmond.  Wow - 2,800 high rise residential units?   Unless the units are cracker-box size, that SHOULD mean multiple towers or at least a couple of pretty TALL towers - either way, a win!

The GRTC transfer center is a good idea.  Anyone who has been to New York can relate with the connection between Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.  I know some might be worrried about how that would impact such a new entertainment district, but particularly for big events at the new arena, having a confluence of public transportation immediately close by is actually a good thing.  Look at New York and Boston in particular as examples of how public transportation and large-scale entertainment/sporting venues can work together.

Brent114 - I hear you.  I don't think it would be necessary to move the government workforce out of downtown.  I'm just curious if there is available space, given all the current new construction, to relocate those offices to?  Or what about new construction for the feds, social services and courts?  Plenty of undeveloped parking lots not too far away from that current site even - or in Monroe Ward.  My thought is - it would be better to redevelop the entire footprint of the project and get the best, highest, most dense use out of all of those blocks.  Leaving four of them as is I think is coming up way short of what the potential for that area is.

As for hot dog stands - anyone old enough to remember Angelo's - not the one of the basement of Thalhimers after 6th Street Marketplace was built - but the REAL Angelo's on 6th street, I think between Marshall and Clay?  I recall having lunch in there on Saturdays when I was a little kid back in the '60s - it was my dad's favorite place to eat! 

Regarding the Arena - is Dominion still involved with naming rights?  If so, wouldn't that money help offset at least some of the cost?

I hope this project really gets up and running and is as good as we all hope it will be.  That area has been a sore spot and underdeveloped every since Tom Bliley was mayor - I vaguely recall seeing a mega proposal in the early '70s for downtown redevelopment that had the government district as densely developed as the financial district - with the Coliseum plunked in the middle of it.  Basically all that came out of it was the Coliseum - I think the City Hall building was part of the original plan that dated from the late '60s.

Either way - I hope this project really fulfills its potential.

[I miss RVA]

BTW - I'm looking at the Richmond Free Press website now - and don't see the story.  Am I missing something?  I'd love to read these details.

OH - and count me among the "Bring Hockey Back To Richmond" crowd - and PLEASE resurrect the name RENEGADES!!!!  I was in the nosebleeds at the Coliseum for the game in which the Renegades captured the ECHL championship  (can't recall the name of the Cup) - the Coliseum was literally standing room only - and I go back to watching the Robins and  Squires play there in the early 70s (I also saw the Squires at the old Richmond Arena) - and over the years have gone to NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB games in Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, Milwaukee -- and I have NEVER in my life heard an arena as deafening as it was that night the Renegades won the championship!  Greatest sports moment of my life (or at least right up there with the Redskins winning the three Super Bowls),,,

eandslee - agreed!  2,800 residential units and a 500-room hotel = TALL towers or MANY towers.  Would opt for some combination to get both height AND density!

[wrldcoupe4]

You have to click on the image of the current issue. 

[wrldcoupe4]

See if this link works for you

https://issuu.com/richmondfreepress/docs/june_21-23__2018_issue/1?ff=true&e=13821893/62611915

[eandslee]

Wow!  Looks like the project is even on the fast track and could break ground as early as the spring of next year!!

My concern is that there is no plan that we know of that will fund the project.  There may be a plan, we don’t know what it is yet. 

This is all very exciting to read...we finally got some unofficial, official news on some of the details of this project.  Great find Coupe!  I’m still looking forward to seeing some renderings!

[blopp1234]

So what their saying now is that there will be a 17,500 seat arena, 500 room hotel and 2,800 residential units as well as parking structures and a GRTC transfer station on in what is now 6 blocks? If this is true(hopefully it is!) then we r gonna see a development that has never been done before in Richmond. This could be a massive development that could transform Richmond forever and take its downtown onto a whole new level! Hopefully details soon!

[drayrichmond]

This all sounds pretty incredible and I'm really pulling for it. I'm a bit disappointed that the old circuit court building won't be involved, I have a few friends who work there and they don't paint a pretty picture on the buildings condition. 

We're still kinda stuck in the wait and see point as negotiations are hammered out, but this is a great peak into what's on the table!