Richmond: Economy/Business/Real Estate

[I miss RVA]

59 minutes ago, rjp212 said:

Dwell does a lot of multi-family projects, so hopefully that will lead to some new projects in town. 

https://www.dwelldesignstudio.com/projects

REALLY sweet looking portfolio. I love the Courtland building they developed in Hotlanta. Here's hoping they bring some sizeable multi-family projects to Richmond! 

[KJHburg]

Here is JLL office market report for Richmond metro for 3rd quarter of 2022.  While it shows negative absorption for this year it shows increasing leasing of late.  Your overall vacancy is just 11.7% which is lower than Charlotte, Nashville, even Raleigh Durham.  Thing to note is that 31% of your office space is in your downtown market.  Your overall average per square foot rate is only $22.54 per sq ft which is way below the national and regional averages.  You can download the report here.

Richmond Office Insight | Q3 2022 | JLL Research   

[I miss RVA]

Putting this here as opposed to either the suburban development thread or the West End thread because of the bigger overall import of the story. Good article in today's RBS - Massachusetts-based pharma-firm Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its RVA footprint by renovating and EXPANDING the former Toys R Us store on Quioccasin Road across from the former Regency Square into a sparkling new 97K-foot drug development research facility. Thermo Fisher has other labs in metro Richmond, including one downtown in the Biotech Park. Even the governor was on-hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony - so this definitely is considered an impact event.

A couple of things jumped out at me:

The former toy store was expanded by 16K square feet to accommodate the space needs for the research lab, and the project highlighted a significant investment by the company in the RVA market. From the RBS article:

"The Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company invested $32 million to convert the former big box retail building into a drug development research facility. That investment came as part of a wider $97 million effort by Thermo Fisher to expand its local operations in clinical research."

AND - Thermo Fisher is already planning MORE Richmond jobs. According to the RBS article:

"Thermo Fisher has about 1,300 employees in the region that work out of 350,000 square feet of local lab space ... Thermo Fisher announced the $97 million regional expansion initiative earlier this year. It expects to hire more than 500 local employees over the next three years as part of that effort.  It expects that 240 of those new employees hired as part of the expansion push will work at the Quioccasin Road lab."

This is yet another example of an out-of-state company that has planted a flag in Richmond, viewing RVA as an outstanding place to do business and is willing to invest significantly in the region. Indeed, another win for Richmond!

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/10/14/pharma-firm-expands-local-operations-with-redevelopment-of-former-toys-r-us/

Edited October 14, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

I put this here rather than in the Shockoe Bottom-specific thread because this story is yet another of those small, almost under-the-radar business wins for RVA. A Brooklyn lobster franchise is entering the Richmond market with a restaurant at 1718 E. Main in the Bottom. What's cool is that the franchise founder, Rodney Bonds, has indicated this location will serve as a Richmond "flagship" location - meaning, he has an eye toward opening up additional take-out venues in places such as the VCU vicinity, for example. He said the Shockoe Bottom location will be designed to be very much like the original restaurant in Brooklyn.

The TV8 story indicates that the company currently has seven active locations - I did a little research and was able to account for four (or five - not sure if all are open) in Brooklyn, one in Hoboken, N.J., and franchises that have opened in Baltimore and Midtown Atlanta. So if that's true, Richmond would be just the third city outside of metro New York where this restaurant will have operations. And to me - that's a definite win for Richmond! 

Bonds' uncle live in Richmond and was actively involved in doing a lot of the legwork to get the RVA location established - and Richmond was chosen for a franchise location as far back as February of 2021. How about that!!

From WRIC-TV8 News:

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/there-was-a-need-for-fast-casual-seafood-brooklyn-lobster-franchise-to-open-in-richmond/

Edited October 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Hike]

30 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

I put this here rather than in the Shockoe Bottom-specific thread because this story is yet another of those small, almost under-the-radar business wins for RVA. A Brooklyn lobster franchise is entering the Richmond market with a restaurant at 1718 E. Main in the Bottom. What's cool is that the franchise founder, Rodney Bonds, has indicated this location will serve as a Richmond "flagship" location - meaning, he has an eye toward opening up additional take-out venues in places such as the VCU vicinity, for example. He said the Shockoe Bottom location will be designed to be very much like the original restaurant in Brooklyn.

The TV8 story indicates that the company currently has seven active locations - I did a little research and was able to account for four (or five - not sure if all are open) in Brooklyn, one in Hoboken, N.J., and franchises that have opened in Baltimore and Midtown Atlanta. So if that's true, Richmond would be just the third city outside of metro New York where this restaurant will have operations. And to me - that's a definite win for Richmond! 

Bonds' uncle live in Richmond and was actively involved in doing a lot of the legwork to get the RVA location established - and Richmond was chosen for a franchise location as far back as February of 2021. How about that!!

From WRIC-TV8 News:

https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/richmond/there-was-a-need-for-fast-casual-seafood-brooklyn-lobster-franchise-to-open-in-richmond/

I wish them well and do like lobster, had some in Maine at a few lobster pounds while visiting Acadia. The pounds were dining on picnic tables in a fisherman’s yard, was fun, wore the red checkered napkin bib.  This was about 10 years ago and it was pricy then, on the picnic table in a yard, can’t imagine what a lobster in a restaurant will cost now, the menu will say market price I assume. For me, just don’t spend like this anymore, hopefully it goes well, I don’t think there’s any competition that I know of.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Hike

[I miss RVA]

18 minutes ago, Hike said:

I wish them well and do like lobster, had some in Maine at a few lobster pounds while visiting Acadia. The pounds were dining on picnic tables in a fisherman’s yard, was fun, wore the red checkered napkin bib.  This was about 10 years ago and it was pricy then, on the picnic table in a yard, can’t imagine what a lobster in a restaurant will cost now, the menu will say market price I assume. For me, just don’t spend like this anymore, hopefully it goes well, I don’t think there’s any competition that I know of.

I hope they are SUPER successful as well. And I think you're right - I don't there there is ANY competition - so they may have discovered - and are filling - a REALLY good niche. What's impressive to me is that RVA is -- yet again -- in a VERY exclusive list of high-name-recognition locations for a given business. Brooklyn-NYC metro, Baltimore, Atlanta, Richmond (I'm including Hoboken in w Brooklyn-NYC metro)... to me, this is one of those small - yet HUGE - wins for Richmond. And if the franchise founder is looking at opening MULTIPLE Richmond locations? At least from everything I've been able to find online, Richmond would be the ONLY city outside of Brooklyn to have more than one franchise location.

I'm SO glad his uncle lives here and did SUCH a good job selling his nephew on taking a chance on planting a franchise flag in the River City!

[wrldcoupe4]

You get some odd things about them on google, Reddit, social media…

[I miss RVA]

21 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

You get some odd things about them on google, Reddit, social media…

VERY   And it's like trying to track down scattered needles in haystacks.

Even the company's official website only lists three of the Brooklyn locations and Midtown Atlanta. No mention made of Hoboken, Baltimore, Flatbush, Jamaica (technically Queens - but NYC metro nonetheless), etc.

Either way, I'm advancing the counter to another "plus 1" in the "W" counter for RVA on this one. 

[I miss RVA]

Genworth is scrapping plans to build a new headquarter building on the campus where they are currently leasing space - 6620 W. Broad - and instead are relocating to existing space that is available in Innsbrook. Genworth cited "supply chain issues, increased cost of building materials, and potential delays inherent to the process" as the core reasons they are scuttling construction plans (for now) and are choosing the lower-cost solution of relocation.

Apparently they still have plans to redevelop the property at 6620 W. Broad in the future - only they will not be the anchor tenant. All of which says to me - they ain't gonna develop squat - certainly not any time soon (if ever). 

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/11/10/genworth-to-move-hq-near-innsbrook-scraps-plan-to-build-anew-on-current-campus/

[I miss RVA]

Here's a sweet (and tasty!) story from today's RBS:  Blue Cow Ice Cream Co. is opening its SECOND metro RVA location  -- this one in the GreenGate shopping center in Short Pump. Blue Cow's first RVA location opened in August in the Village Shopping Center.

What's cool about this is that with this new shop in Short Pump, Blue Cow will have five locations across Virginia: one each in Roanoke, Fredericksburg and Virginia Beach and ... drum roll please... TWO in Richmond! 

Another one of those tiny WINS for Richmond!

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/11/14/blue-cow-serving-up-second-scoop-in-richmond-with-new-short-pump-store/

[I miss RVA]

Another of those seemingly small but in reality quite impactful wins for Richmond:

Norfolk-based law firm Pierce McCoy is opening an office downtown in the plaza building portion of the Bank of America Center at 1111 E. Main. The Richmond office will be the firm's fourth - with the home office in Norfolk, and two other satellite offices in NYC and Dallas. To me, it's a sizeable win to get our name listed on yet another law firm's roster of cities in which they operate - and it's an exclusive list at this point with a pair of heavyweights (NYC and Dallas) particularly from the standpoint of the legal profession. According to Michael Schwartz' reporting in RBS, one of the big draws is the U. of R. and their notable law school as a potential hub for prospects for the firm. If I read the article correctly, the RVA office will have three full-time attorneys to begin with -- and the firm is definitely looking to grow that roster.

Either way - another win for Richmond!

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/11/29/norfolk-law-firm-to-open-downtown-richmond-office/

[Hike]

22 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Another of those seemingly small but in reality quite impactful wins for Richmond:

Norfolk-based law firm Pierce McCoy is opening an office downtown in the plaza building portion of the Bank of America Center at 1111 E. Main. The Richmond office will be the firm's fourth - with the home office in Norfolk, and two other satellite offices in NYC and Dallas. To me, it's a sizeable win to get our name listed on yet another law firm's roster of cities in which they operate - and it's an exclusive list at this point with a pair of heavyweights (NYC and Dallas) particularly from the standpoint of the legal profession. According to Michael Schwartz' reporting in RBS, one of the big draws is the U. of R. and their notable law school as a potential hub for prospects for the firm. If I read the article correctly, the RVA office will have three full-time attorneys to begin with -- and the firm is definitely looking to grow that roster.

Either way - another win for Richmond!

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/11/29/norfolk-law-firm-to-open-downtown-richmond-office/

We’ll be ready for when we need lawyers, guns and money!

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Hike said:

We’ll be ready for when we need lawyers, guns and money!

For what? Are you expecting the Martians to finally show up and land in Grover's Mill, N.J. or something?  I don't think attorneys or money will be of any help at all - and don't you recall?  Guns are 100% ineffective (and thus completely useless and unnecessary) against the tripods' heat rays!

Man... where's Orson Welles when we need him?

Edited November 30, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Hike]

38 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

For what? Are you expecting the Martians to finally show up and land in Grover's Mill, N.J. or something?  I don't think attorneys or money will be of any help at all - and don't you recall?  Guns are 100% ineffective (and thus completely useless and unnecessary) against the tripods' heat rays!

Man... where's Orson Welles when you need him?

No Martians, Mr. Zevon just need to get out of a jamb.

https://youtu.be/F2HH7J-Sx80

[I miss RVA]

19 minutes ago, Hike said:

No Martians, Mr. Zevon just need to get out of a jamb.

https://youtu.be/F2HH7J-Sx80

Gotcha!

Funny - I've not heard this until now! 

[Hike]

16 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Gotcha!

Funny - I've not heard this until now! 

This was from 1978, our time,  he also did Werewolves of London among others.
Hey, I’m off topic, go law, I have lawyers in my family, good to have them when you need them!

Edited November 30, 2022 by Hike

[I miss RVA]

10 minutes ago, Hike said:

This was from 1978, our time,  he also did Werewolves of London among others.
Hey, I’m off topic, go law, I have lawyers in my family, good to have them when you need them!

Not sure how he slipped by me. I was a freshman in high school in 1978, if that tells you anything. (WHERE has the time gone?)

Lawyers in the fam: I heard that! 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner is my favorite of his….

[eandslee]

Perhaps we might need to start a Richmond Region Tourism thread.  Anyway, I’m split 50/50 on this one. I like it, but in the other hand, I don’t like it:

https://www.nbc12.com/2022/11/30/richmond-region-tourism-aims-hotel-fee-bolster-visits-area/

[I miss RVA]

19 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Perhaps we might need to start a Richmond Region Tourism thread.  Anyway, I’m split 50/50 on this one. I like it, but in the other hand, I don’t like it:

https://www.nbc12.com/2022/11/30/richmond-region-tourism-aims-hotel-fee-bolster-visits-area/

I'm with you having mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, they're right - it honestly could raise a tremendous sum that could be reinvested into marketing and other tools to try to boost tourism here. OTOH - it's adding on to what said tourist has to pay to come to stay there. I think about how it is here in Chicagoland. There are state fees... then a county fee (in Chicago's case, Cook County) - and if you're staying in the city itself, there's also a City of Chicago fee (on top of the Cook County fee). So that seemingly AMAZING (as in unheard of) deal of $99 a night to stay at a chain hotel near downtown Chicago suddenly becomes something like $149 per night when the state, county and city fees are added. This doesn't even account for the rather exorbitant room tax that gets plastered on top of all of that.

Dunno... seems like a double-edged sword to me - but maybe worth doing.

[eandslee]

34 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

I'm with you having mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, they're right - it honestly could raise a tremendous sum that could be reinvested into marketing and other tools to try to boost tourism here. OTOH - it's adding on to what said tourist has to pay to come to stay there. I think about how it is here in Chicagoland. There are state fees... then a county fee (in Chicago's case, Cook County) - and if you're staying in the city itself, there's also a City of Chicago fee (on top of the Cook County fee). So that seemingly AMAZING (as in unheard of) deal of $99 a night to stay at a chain hotel near downtown Chicago suddenly becomes something like $149 per night when the state, county and city fees are added. This doesn't even account for the rather exorbitant room tax that gets plastered on top of all of that.

Dunno... seems like a double-edged sword to me - but maybe worth doing.

We certainly don't want to discourage tourism in Richmond by charging tourists more to visit (that's counter-intuitive)!  2% doesn't sound like much, but that could be the difference between a tourist group coming here to visit or going to Raleigh to visit (just assuming Raleigh doesn't have a said tax).  There's got to be a better way.

[Brent114]

2% is nothing.  Pretty much every city/region does this right? In Boston it takes a $99 room to a $199 room. 
 

Now Richmond doesn’t have the draw of Boston but 2% of that $99 room only brings your total to $118.80.  Hardly a deal breaker. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Brent114

[wrldcoupe4]

Think 2% would only be about $2 based upon your $99 example. 

[Brent114]

Haha.  I was having a hard time with math last night.  

[I miss RVA]

8 hours ago, Brent114 said:

Haha.  I was having a hard time with math last night.  

I was thinking maybe you also factored in taxes, etc.