Monroe Ward / Oregon Hill

[whw53]

I think it's about time this area gets its own thread and I think the announcement of a 15'er today (pending a SUP) along Grace provides a good kick-off for this area.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/08/17/15-story-apartment-tower-planned-for-monroe-ward-parking-lot/

I foresee this thread generally covering the Monroe Ward \ City Center area between Belvidere and Seventh EW, then Broad - Downtown Expressway NS. Anything north of Broad would be better suited for a Jackson Ward and/or a Navy Hill discussion. Anything south would be in our Foundry Park or a larger Gambles Hill/Riverfront  thread. Anything east of 7th is considered Financial\Capitol District per city definitions, then just west of Belvidere is VCU land. 

 

Edited August 17, 2020 by whw53
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[skinsfan]

Reading that the potential developer specializes in this type of building kind of puts the mind to ease.  I like the chances of this one happening. 

[eandslee]

Great project, however, I’m not too keen on it being the same height as the Berkshire Apartments right next to it. Maybe the setback zoning that’s currently in place could encourage the developers to redesign and build a bit taller.  Either way, this would make one less surface parking lot in the city, so that’s always a plus!

Edited August 17, 2020 by eandslee

[Richmonder23]

Excellent news. I'll always complain and say it should be taller, but hey, it's been relatively pretty slow in terms of development news the last few weeks and I'll take what I can get! 

[I miss RVA]

While I'd love for it to be taller as well, I'm thrilled! This goes into the "BOOOOM!!!! HOME RUN!!!!" category as far as I'm concerned. Good reputable developer - great location - AND -- if you recall from one of the other threads, the 321 W. Grace parcel was one of the ones included in the change-up of parking requirements because the city was leaning in the direction of highrise residential development. Wonder if that means the other two parcels in the 100 block W. Grace may ALSO see some highrise residential buildings ready to sprout?

Like mushrooms after a summer thunderstorm - let those highrises keep sprouting!! 

VERY good news indeed!

BTW whw53 - thank you for creating the new separate sub forum for Monroe Ward/City Center. I've a feeling that this may be the focal point of a LOT of downtown development activity over the next decade. We should all stay tuned to this part of town.

OK - I'm praying that I'll get that mini-Manhattan I've been wanting my whole life! BRING ON THE HIGH RISES!!!!

[rjp212]

Was just about to post the same.  104-108 W Grace is a massive lot, so I am intrigued to see what get's proposed there.    109 W Grace St is comparable to 321 W Grace St, so hopefully whatever gets built there is also comparable.

[Wahoo 07]

This is a solid project.  Fifteen stories isn't flashy or a statement, but not every building needs to be.  Most buildings in city centers are unremarkable, but they give the city the heft it needs.  This project will place a few hundred new residents in an area that should be a twenty-four hour district, provide lots of new tax revenue, reduce the number of surface parking lots, and increase density.  This is a solid win.

Richmond may never get a 700' building; however, a forest of projects in the fifteen to twenty story range would make for a dense urban setting.

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

15 stories sets a great precedent for future potential development in Monroe Ward. I can't remember the last time an all residential building that tall got built, Vista on the James in 2007?

Really exciting news and a pleasant surprise in this pandemic economy. 

[Icetera]

2 hours ago, RVA-Is-The-Best said:

15 stories sets a great precedent for future potential development in Monroe Ward. I can't remember the last time an all residential building that tall got built, Vista on the James in 2007?

Really exciting news and a pleasant surprise in this pandemic economy. 

That is the last I can think of and then there was Brandt Hall a few years prior.  I still hate that Riverside on the James was dropped from 14 to 10.  We do have a 14-story topped out across the river and if the Broad/Lombardy goes through at 12 stories (plus new Gladding Hall also at 12) we may have some nice momentum slowly shifting up in height.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

This is a solid project.  Fifteen stories isn't flashy or a statement, but not every building needs to be.  Most buildings in city centers are unremarkable, but they give the city the heft it needs.  This project will place a few hundred new residents in an area that should be a twenty-four hour district, provide lots of new tax revenue, reduce the number of surface parking lots, and increase density.  This is a solid win.

Richmond may never get a 700' building; however, a forest of projects in the fifteen to twenty story range would make for a dense urban setting.

AMEN! It's a huge win for Richmond and for downtown. Replacing the sea of parking lots with a forest of 15-20-25 story buildings will dramatically transform downtown in a super positive way. AND ... if we DO get that forest of highrises - simple economics - supply and demand -- ultimately will push through the envelope and help break the barrier - and Richmond ultimately WILL get that 700 or 800 foot-tall building (or a few of them).  It will take time - but this right here is a big step in the right direction. Paraphrasing legendary astronaut Neil Armstrong - this "one small step" for downtown will eventually lead to "one giant leap" for Richmond. It will happen if this momentum keeps going!

2 hours ago, RVA-Is-The-Best said:

15 stories sets a great precedent for future potential development in Monroe Ward. I can't remember the last time an all residential building that tall got built, Vista on the James in 2007?

Really exciting news and a pleasant surprise in this pandemic economy. 

Yes - at 17 stories, Vistas was the tallest residential building to rise in Richmond this century. One of the two South Falls towers is 14 stories - so it's nice to see that this new one is pushing past that 10, 11, 12-story residential model of recent years. Hopefully heights and densities will continue to increase.

3 hours ago, rjp212 said:

Was just about to post the same.  104-108 W Grace is a massive lot, so I am intrigued to see what get's proposed there.    109 W Grace St is comparable to 321 W Grace St, so hopefully whatever gets built there is also comparable.

Let's hope! Maybe something in the 20-story range?! (hopeful!!)

[I miss RVA]

7 hours ago, Icetera said:

That is the last I can think of and then there was Brandt Hall a few years prior.  I still hate that Riverside on the James was dropped from 14 to 10.  We do have a 14-story topped out across the river and if the Broad/Lombardy goes through at 12 stories (plus new Gladding Hall also at 12) we may have some nice momentum slowly shifting up in height.

Right - Brandt Hall is somewhere in the 18-20 story range isn't it? Indeed, the Gladdings rebuild added some nice height on the VCU campus as well - and here's hoping that the 12-story beauty at Lombardy and Broad gets underway and soon! A LOT of projects are rising in Manchester and Scott's Addition - maybe Monroe Ward and City Center are about to join the boom party! What is really impressing me the most is that almost ALL of the new highrise construction in Richmond (save a few specific projects) is residential. THAT'S what the bigger cities did years ago - suddenly taller, denser, bigger residential buildings began sprouting up all over in specific parts of town -- and that helped feed a cycle of rapid population growth. Since Richmond doesn't have it's own Mecklinburg County it can just gobble up like Charlotte did - it will have to do it the old fashioned way - build it vertically!!

If all these highrises come to pass - and more are added in the coming years -- can you envision what Richmond will look like in 5 or 10 years? WOW!!!!

[whw53]

Nice write up from Ed Slipek on the current state of downtown - mostly chit chat with store owners and the like but also a nice picture of the Centennial Terrace project under construction and some shout out to other projects in the area as well as his general commentary on different parts of downtown.  The author mentions the Stumpf Flats on Main project is complete so I will move this from orange to green on the map. Found the marketing website for that project - looks swanky! https://www.stumpfflats.com/. Technically a few blocks east from what is considered City Center but article discussion is about downtown in general. May repost to master development thread.

 

Style Weekly - 

Concrete Purgatory 

The financial district limps along as employees and visitors rarely venture downtown. Local business owners tell us what it’s like.

https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/concrete-purgatory/Content?oid=16470123

[eandslee]

5 hours ago, whw53 said:

Nice write up from Ed Slipek on the current state of downtown - mostly chit chat with store owners and the like but also a nice picture of the Centennial Terrace project under construction and some shout out to other projects in the area as well as his general commentary on different parts of downtown.  The author mentions the Stumpf Flats on Main project is complete so I will move this from orange to green on the map. Found the marketing website for that project - looks swanky! https://www.stumpfflats.com/. Technically a few blocks east from what is considered City Center but article discussion is about downtown in general. May repost to master development thread.

 

Style Weekly - 

Concrete Purgatory 

The financial district limps along as employees and visitors rarely venture downtown. Local business owners tell us what it’s like.

https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/concrete-purgatory/Content?oid=16470123

This was actually sad to read. There is a mix of good news in there, but it was sad to read how dead downtown is. I look forward to when things are back to normal!

[urbanlife]

On 9/10/2020 at 12:41 PM, eandslee said:

This was actually sad to read. There is a mix of good news in there, but it was sad to read how dead downtown is. I look forward to when things are back to normal!

A residential and hotel boom in the Jackson Ward and Monroe Ward would go a long way to adding life to downtown.

[I miss RVA]

Not earth-shattering but news worthy of sharing. The old VEPCO headquarters building at 7th and Franklin (now an apartment building) has just changed hands.

https://richmond.com/business/downtown-richmond-apartment-building-sells-for-25-million/article_18a229bc-6bfd-5f29-acaa-5b99f243e245.html
 

My mother (may peace be upon her) was a VEPCO HQ employee and worked in that building from about 1946 to 1962. If I recall she said their offices were on the 9th floor in the southwest corner of the building - she actually watched the infamous June 1951 tornado that ripped up Monroe Park and parts of the fan. She and my grandmother lived on Grove Avenue at the time - and the front porch of their house was damaged. Ironically she said my grandmother had the radio on listening to music and was busy in the kitchen (in the back of the house) the whole afternoon and was completely unaware of the tornado until my mom got home and told her about it. Curious to know what station my grandmother was listening to - because even in 1951, I'm sure if it was WRVA she would have heard SOMETHING about the storm. They would have broken in to regular programming even back then.

Edited October 8, 2020 by I miss RVA

[whw53]

More on the 15 story tower ...Thalhimer has sold the land to the developer, Pinecrest. I went by this site this weekend, it looks like it has already ceased being a parking lot and is fenced off. Per article, developer is will spend next year getting the planning approvals needed to go vertical in 2022. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/12/07/thalhimer-sells-downtown-lot-for-2-5m-to-make-way-for-15-story-apartment-tower/

[eandslee]

Still can’t believe it will take 4 years to complete!  They must have taken the delay the city permitting department will cause into account.  Just kidding...but not kidding. LOL!

[whw53]

Ok I'm trying to place the rest of these renderings from this 'On the Boards' page from an architect at Walter Parks. http://www.nahumgoodenow.com/#/ontheboards/

I think this was a concept for 4th and Broad - a combo of properties owned by Dodson and '4th and Broad Associates' . But if I'm right this includes the site Gather just renovated. across 3 buildings. Could this a long term plan for redevelopment or a concept that was discarded. This is where my preservationist side kicks in - I would prefer to see these historic buildings or at least the facades preserved - esp. that Art Deco on the corner. But maybe I'm mistaken and this is a different site. I don't think so though - that is obviously the massing for the CNB building in the background. 

 

[I miss RVA]

This is amazing. I hear you on the desire to hang on to the facades of the old storefronts - but honestly, I'd far rather have the highrise. I hope this isn't a plan that's been discarded. If this building somehow were to be built - note that the vacant lot on the east side of 4th street is where, in the old NH plan, a 20-story residential tower was proposed. How amazing would Broad Street's transformation be if this tower, the 20-story tower from NH - AND - the 25-story 1 Residential Tower (at Madison and Broad) all rise more or less together?  I SOOO hope we see all three buildings rise in the near future.

[eandslee]

59 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

This is amazing. I hear you on the desire to hang on to the facades of the old storefronts - but honestly, I'd far rather have the highrise. I hope this isn't a plan that's been discarded. If this building somehow were to be built - note that the vacant lot on the east side of 4th street is where, in the old NH plan, a 20-story residential tower was proposed. How amazing would Broad Street's transformation be if this tower, the 20-story tower from NH - AND - the 25-story 1 Residential Tower (at Madison and Broad) all rise more or less together?  I SOOO hope we see all three buildings rise in the near future.

I miss RVA - I'm with you on this.  I like preservation to a point.  This building would be far more beneficial than just to save a storefront.  Not that everything needs to be torn down that's old, but Richmond really needs to turn over a new leaf and bring in some "new" while keeping some of the old to give it character.  I don't know...I guess there needs to be some moderation in all of this.  However, I think that a good portion of Broad street should be new highrises to feed into the BRT and establish a newer, more modern atmosphere in the downtown area (as long as the first floor is retail).  This is an opportunity to bring in more foot traffic, and therefore, more life to the Broad Street corridor.

[Icetera]

I would have loved to have seen the Broad and 4th Street frontage kept but the interior of the block gutted for the base of a tower.  The mid-block portion of the art deco structure would make for a great lobby while they could turn one of the Broad Street fronts into an entrance just to acquire the more desirable "Broad Street" address.  This is where a glass curtain design with art-deco accents would work well as a contrast with the historic street level.

[wrldcoupe4]

This must be an old design. Half of this was just completely redone. 

[whw53]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

This must be an old design. Half of this was just completely redone. 

This was my thinking - but the page is titled 'On the Boards' so wasn't sure - it is farther down the page though, maybe not in a hurry to remove...it is a personal portfolio after all, not the architecture firm's page. Whether or not it was decided on to be built is beside the point - his job was completed.

[I miss RVA]

Kinda of a shame. This is a fantastic building and would be a great kick-starter for density and height along that part of Broad.

[whw53]

Speaking of Gather - the final product gave us a wildy different facade than the rendering. This blue is pretty ugly and they failed to open it up with larger windows or give it any significant trim. The street view snip shows the project in construction but the facade is completed in it - this is what it looks like if you were to walk down there today. And the rendering was what Dodson had provided to the RTD prior to renovation in 2018. 

Maybe by making it uglier no one would miss it when they tear it down for this new building?