Shockoe Bottom

[whw53]

Hard to make those threads for east end without circling back to Shockoe Bottom....

Real Estate shuffle in the heart of Shockoe Bottom will bring new nightclub, 16 apartments - the latter of which will be in the former Alley Katz space. Hate to see an old venue space close down but maybe the new venue spot a block or away will benefit with set of new regulars. Annyhow, more residential around the 17th St plaza project is a good thing. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/08/24/nightclub-closure-frees-up-former-alley-katz-space-for-apartments/

 

Has anyone heard anything about the hotel project that was planned for the Weimar Bakery site? Been a few years since I've heard anything on this. 

[Icetera]

51 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Has anyone heard anything about the hotel project that was planned for the Weimar Bakery site? Been a few years since I've heard anything on this. 

It looks like the rezoning to TOD-1 went through in 2018.  I believe it was a Hyatt that was thinking of that spot but they also later looked at the DEQ building and dropped those plans, plus in between I believe they were the hotel aimed for Navy Hill.

[eandslee]

3 minutes ago, Icetera said:

It looks like the rezoning to TOD-1 went through in 2018.  I believe it was a Hyatt that was thinking of that spot but they also later looked at the DEQ building and dropped those plans, plus in between I believe they were the hotel aimed for Navy Hill.

...so I suppose you are saying that it is anyone’s guess as to what will happen with that hotel.  Doesn’t look like it will happen there...for now.  Hey...maybe they will join with CoStar and be a part of their new tower development!  Okay, someone else has to have thought of this before I did...right?!

[Icetera]

7 minutes ago, eandslee said:

...so I suppose you are saying that it is anyone’s guess as to what will happen with that hotel.  Doesn’t look like it will happen there...for now.  Hey...maybe they will join with CoStar and be a part of their new tower development!  Okay, someone else has to have thought of this before I did...right?!

I had not but that would make sense eventually.  I imagine they backed out of the DEQ building due to COVID-19, though, so I would not expect anything anytime soon.

[whw53]

Snapped a couple pictures of the Main2525 project yesterday while popping into Farm Fresh. I think this one we can close out on the dev map, what do yal say? Looks like the crews were installing some street trees here in the pics but people have definitely begun moving in.  We are running out of orange in Shockoe Bottom! - would be great to see another project break ground in the area, especially along Main. 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2020 by whw53

[eandslee]

Love the pics.  I think you’re right - we can call this one done. 

[Shakman]

Like the concept of adding retail and residential in the Bottom but not thrilled with the design of the facade.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Shakman said:

Like the concept of adding retail and residential in the Bottom but not thrilled with the design of the facade.

I hear ya - dunno - I was also hoping for more brickwork and less of the neo-1960s aqua and aluminum look - but honestly, I'll trade the arcitecture for the population density and street-front retail in that area any day at this point. Richmond's on a roll - and we can't let how things "look" get in the way of progress, you know? The old adage in archetecture is "form follows function" - unfortunately, Richmond has placed too much emphasis over the years on form, and in the process sacrificed and reduced/limited function. Time to put on the big-city trousers and start acting like a big city.

[Icetera]

I like the blue, mixed on the outcome of the white/grey tiling and I hate the exposed concrete block on the ground level (seriously, is the cladding on backorder?).  Overall I do like the building as some added contrast among several blocks of large brick structures.  I am not a fan of the newer brick developments fronting Main whereas the historic warehouses along Cary are gorgeous.

[wrldcoupe4]

I like the massing, but the materials seem value engineered and don't seem like they will age well.

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Big news. 

The site of the baseball stadium mixed use proposal (owned by the Loving family and formerly an operating surface parking lot) is now proposed for rezoning to TOD-1 to build a mixed use development. 5.1 acres. Huge site.

And there's this:

Quote

The site has already drawn interest from a few commercial operators, McFarlane said, the details of which he could not disclose. He did, however, say that one such operator is a “large box retailer” and “food-related.”

“You can kind of guess what that might be,” McFarlane said. “We do have several very capable, very well-known, credit-worthy prospects that are interested in the property. Because it is a gateway site, it is high on the list of desirable locations.”

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/10/15/a-new-grocer-in-shockoe-bottom-developer-may-have-one-in-store/

Edited October 15, 2020 by RVA-Is-The-Best

[rjp212]

The rezoning allows for up to 12 stories. With 5.1 acres of gateway property, Broad St address, new museum/park next door, and the upzoning, they better go big or go home. 

[Wahoo 07]

I'm really excited about this potential development.  That part of Shockoe feels like a tarmac wasteland.  A mid to high rise with a ground level grocery store would be a big plus for the city.  This will go a long way to connecting northern Shockoe to downtown while making that stretch of Broad much more pedestrian (not to mention visually) appealing.  

[I miss RVA]

6 hours ago, rjp212 said:

The rezoning allows for up to 12 stories. With 5.1 acres of gateway property, Broad St address, new museum/park next door, and the upzoning, they better go big or go home. 

100% agreed. As Junior Soprano once told Tony about a potential "meeting" in which one considered whacking the other - "either come in heavy or don't come at all" ... This site needs MAX possible development - max verticality, max density and a max-sized grocery retailer would be fantastic.

5 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

I'm really excited about this potential development.  That part of Shockoe feels like a tarmac wasteland.  A mid to high rise with a ground level grocery store would be a big plus for the city.  This will go a long way to connecting northern Shockoe to downtown while making that stretch of Broad much more pedestrian (not to mention visually) appealing.  

AMEN!! Good description - "tarmac wasteland" - sadly it has been an apt description for huge swaths of downtown (Monroe Ward, Navy Hill, etc.) -- the good news is, of course, that now developers appear to be hungry to buy up pieces of the tarmac flatlands and convert them into stunning projects that are game-changers for Richmond. Can't wait to see what the next 5-10-15-20 years will bring for the city.

[whw53]

Parking lot on East Main is for sale - note it is being marketed as a development site. 

https://www.thalhimer.com/sites/default/files/listings_files/1811EMainStreet.pdf

[I miss RVA]

3 hours ago, whw53 said:

Parking lot on East Main is for sale - note it is being marketed as a development site. 

https://www.thalhimer.com/sites/default/files/listings_files/1811EMainStreet.pdf

Here's hoping the preservationist-NIMBYs don't force this project to be of a 'reduced-scale' to allegedly "fit" the "character". The Overview is up to 8 stories (admittedly along the 19th Street side) - but I don't see any reason something similar to the Overview couldn't be constructed here. Step it back a little bit - but get us a good 7 or 8 stories.

[Brent114]

The building on this same block is 7-8 stories.  I don’t see that height being a problem with anyone. 

[I miss RVA]

Nice update in Richmond Biz on the Shiplock Views project at E. Main and Pear streets.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/10/22/project-snapshot-shiplock-views-coming-into-view/

 

[Wahoo 07]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

Nice update in Richmond Biz on the Shiplock Views project at E. Main and Pear streets.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/10/22/project-snapshot-shiplock-views-coming-into-view/

 

This is shaping up to be a nice bit of infill.  The previous RVA master plan stated that filling in Main Street's "missing teeth" was a goal.  I wonder how long it will be until it is achieved.

[I miss RVA]

33 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

This is shaping up to be a nice bit of infill.  The previous RVA master plan stated that filling in Main Street's "missing teeth" was a goal.  I wonder how long it will be until it is achieved.

It might be a while - probably slow progress. There are a LOT of metaphorical "missing teeth" in the East End, unfortunately.

[I miss RVA]

New Latin-American restaurant opening in the Bottom

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/11/12/new-latin-american-restaurant-carves-out-space-in-shockoe-bottom/

[whw53]

This article from last week was mainly concerning the Church Hill project we discussed in the Church Hill thread  but it highlighted the developer's (OnSite Construction) 2 other projects in Shockoe Bottom. .good to see the renovation game staying strong down there. The project at 1509 E Main already has made some progress, hard to tell for the Stables site. Both buildings are rich architecturally so glad they are being saved. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/11/04/building-rehab-mixed-use-expansion-to-fill-out-corner-property-in-church-hill/

"The project adds to other rehabs that Jefferson is overseeing in and around Church Hill and Shockoe Bottom. He said his 12-person firm, which previously has done business as Emerge Sustainable Solutions, is involved in a conversion of a former horse stables building at 1809 E. Franklin St. Other projects include a rehab of 1509 E. Main St., a vacant building around the corner from Club Rouge."

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2020 by whw53

[rjp212]

Great to see both of those buildings being repurposed.   I always wondered with 1509 E Main sat vacant for so long.

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, whw53 said:

This article from last week was mainly concerning the Church Hill project we discussed in the Church Hill thread  but it highlighted the developer's (OnSite Construction) 2 other projects in Shockoe Bottom. .good to see the renovation game staying strong down there. The project at 1509 E Main already has made some progress, hard to tell for the Stables site. Both buildings are rich architecturally so glad they are being saved. 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2020/11/04/building-rehab-mixed-use-expansion-to-fill-out-corner-property-in-church-hill/

"The project adds to other rehabs that Jefferson is overseeing in and around Church Hill and Shockoe Bottom. He said his 12-person firm, which previously has done business as Emerge Sustainable Solutions, is involved in a conversion of a former horse stables building at 1809 E. Franklin St. Other projects include a rehab of 1509 E. Main St., a vacant building around the corner from Club Rouge."

 

 

To specify further, it is only 1509 being renovated while the Supplies building is untouched (same ownership as Club Rogue building).  There are 4 apartments on the top floor (a friend lives about the "Supplies" sign), meanwhile the ground floor and basement have some serious water damage that appears to be originating from above and the mold looks like a scene from "Aliens".  I am actually surprised the place is legally habitable as the smell of mold is overpowering when traversing the stairs to the apartments above.

[whw53]

Thanks for clarifying @Icetera.  I really want Shockoe Bottom to grow west and fill in these parking lots in the vicinity  - especially the stretch between 14th and 15th along Main.  This whole section of Shockoe is vastly under utilized and presents a real opportunity to tie Shockoe in with downtown.