Foundry Park - CoStar HQ

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

Construction on the CoStar HQ was in full swing today. A deep hole is evident on the north side of the site and I saw some digging at the extreme south side of the site (bottom of the hill). Here are a couple photos I took, but you can’t see much:

 

Man - I really dig these pictures! 

Great shots!! Love getting "up close and personal" (to coin a phrase) with CoStar's construction site. Thanks for taking and posting them, @eandslee

[Lluck002]

On 3/15/2023 at 12:15 PM, Child2021 said:

I think it would be quite hilarious for this buliding have a grocery store under it, while manchester as a whole doesn't.

The Downtown Core severely needs a full grocery store though, as the closest ones currently are either in Shockoe Bottom or The Fan. Especially as residential development continues and Downtown becomes a true 24/7 neighborhood. When I lived at The Locks, I hated that there was no grocery store within easy walking distance. And I’ll proudly support any grocer located in a mixed-use tower over one utilizing traditional sprawl development styles. But yes, Manchester also severely needs grocery.

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, Lluck002 said:

The Downtown Core severely needs a full grocery store though, as the closest ones currently are either in Shockoe Bottom or The Fan. Especially as residential development continues and Downtown becomes a true 24/7 neighborhood. When I lived at The Locks, I hated that there was no grocery store within easy walking distance. And I’ll proudly support any grocer located in a mixed-use tower over one utilizing traditional sprawl development styles. But yes, Manchester also severely needs grocery.

!!!  AMEN to that! I'm not sure what grocers look for in terms of a 'critical mass' in terms of total population and population density of a given part of the city - but at some point, both downtown and Manchester surely will cross that threshold and a grocer WILL locate there -- hopefully on the ground level of a large residential or mixed-use tower.

[eandslee]

So...what's been happening on site lately?  Anyone have a recent photo?  Just looking to see how the site looks today.  Thanks in advance!

[Child2021]

As requested.

[I miss RVA]

6 minutes ago, Child2021 said:

As requested.

LOVE IT!!! Thanks SO much, @Child2021for taking and posting these.

As soon as our Master Engraver returns & gets all of the trophies engraved, I'll dole out SILVER PORT-A-POTTIES from last week - and, with that in mind, I do believe you're now officially in the running for another trophy 

Edited April 18, 2023 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

4 hours ago, Child2021 said:

As requested.

Thanks Child2021!  Appreciate you taking and posting these pics!

[Hike]

7 hours ago, Child2021 said:

As requested.

Good to see work going on! My only complaint (?) is I wish there was a deeper hole, that equipment is still at grade, going down please..

[Child2021]

About when can we expect a crane to go up?

[Hike]

13 minutes ago, Child2021 said:

About when can we expect a crane to go up?

It should be once we see pilings and depth to the foundation, the big hole I was asking about and want to see. At this point, I can’t tell, still looks to be awhile, maybe others have some other insight.

[Downtowner]

15 hours ago, Hike said:

It should be once we see pilings and depth to the foundation, the big hole I was asking about and want to see. At this point, I can’t tell, still looks to be awhile, maybe others have some other insight.

Also have to shoot up the pvc pipes for electrical.  I did the electrical site work for parc view.  We had to work fast to cover the pvc pipes one day we had storm approaching us I had to work super fast to cover up the stub ups that shoot out of the ground to feed the electrical cables that go into the building. It’s quite an operation. Also when you start to have the pilings starting to shoot out of the ground and depending on if it’s concrete or not it’s impressive after you get about the first few floors done. We had a guy who ran the electrical for parc view who did a horrible job and we fired him because he wasn’t very professional. 

[I miss RVA]

15 hours ago, Hike said:

It should be once we see pilings and depth to the foundation, the big hole I was asking about and want to see. At this point, I can’t tell, still looks to be awhile, maybe others have some other insight.

I've been wondering the same thing - seems like all the excavators are at ground level - isn't the hole going to be considerably deeper, particularly on the north end of the site?

[CitiWalker]

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

I've been wondering the same thing - seems like all the excavators are at ground level - isn't the hole going to be considerably deeper, particularly on the north end of the site?

 

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

I've been wondering the same thing - seems like all the excavators are at ground level - isn't the hole going to be considerably deeper, particularly on the north end of the site?

Depth….

Edited April 19, 2023 by CitiWalker

[eandslee]

28 minutes ago, CitiWalker said:

 

Depth….

@CitiWalker!  Awesome photos!!  I wonder how much further they will dig?  I don’t think there will be any parking underneath, but I could be wrong.  This is the “money” perspective right here!  Thanks for posting!

[Hike]

44 minutes ago, CitiWalker said:

Depth….

It’s all about perspective, the excavators are on a higher piece of land, ok then, we’re back in business. What would really help us here is a webcam, are they going to build this whole thing and no webcams? 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, CitiWalker said:

 

Depth….

Great photos! Thank so much for taking 'em and posting! This really is the answer to the $64,000 question!

That said, I'm thinking there might just be some silver hardware in the offing in your near future. 

[eandslee]

Did you all see this on Reddit?  Looks like they uncovered old Civil War ruins. This might not be a good thing if an archeological dig needs to take place. Here’s the Reddit link:

 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Did you all see this on Reddit?  Looks like they uncovered old Civil War ruins. This might not be a good thing if an archeological dig needs to take place. Here’s the Reddit link:

 

Not thrilled but not surprised. This happened during construction of the James Center. I don't like the idea of construction being paused, though, for an archeological dig. I forget how long it delayed construction of the James Center - but there were several bateau boats pulled out of the construction site, which at one time as part of the old turning basin.

I'd been wondering if/when something like this would happen.

Here's a clearer-larger view of the picture in the reddit post. It'll be interesting to find out exactly what this is.

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by I miss RVA

[Flood Zone]

If it's an item from the RVA subreddit, then I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they uncovered chicken bones or Manchester's grocery store.

[BigBobbyG]

This is just hearsay but a friend of mine at CoStar said they just tore down whatever the object was. Maybe it was known about after all?

[ancientcarpenter]

20 hours ago, Flood Zone said:

If it's an item from the RVA subreddit, then I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they uncovered chicken bones or Manchester's grocery store.

How hilarious would it be that Manchester finally gets a grocery store and it's across the bridge on the north side of the river HA!

[I miss RVA]

58 minutes ago, BigBobbyG said:

This is just hearsay but a friend of mine at CoStar said they just tore down whatever the object was. Maybe it was known about after all?

If that's the case (and I pray that your friend's report is accurate) then whatever it was likely was known about and deemed to have no historicity. Let's keep progress on this majestic tower ROLLING, people!! 

[Shakman]

It's only tragic if a port-a-potty gets struck.  Other than that, keep digging!

[I miss RVA]

On 5/10/2023 at 9:11 AM, BigBobbyG said:

This is just hearsay but a friend of mine at CoStar said they just tore down whatever the object was. Maybe it was known about after all?

Looks like your friend's report was, indeed, accurate!

Snagged a few more pictures off of the RVA reddit page - and construction crews did dismantle and cart away this object, which may have been a drainage culvert for the ancient (as in early 1800s-era) Virginia Manufactory of Arms and Armory. If what's being reported on the reddit page is accurate, that would align because apparently the "pipe-like" structure was blocked with sooty dirt. One posted said there have been reports that at least some level of arsenic, lead, other heavy metals have been found in the soil there, which again aligns. One poster reported that crews have been hauling away heavy-metal-contaminated dirt.

Either way - the structure itself has been dismantled and hauled away. Here are a more pictures showing construction crews uncovering and finally tearing down the old culvert structure.

Photos courtesy various sources via RVA/reddit.

Edited May 12, 2023 by I miss RVA

[wrldcoupe4]

Looking at old maps this was part of the tredegar foundry, which at one point extended up to around what would have been Bratt and 6th streets.