Richmond in Pictures III

[flaneur]

On Friday, my family and I parked at Semmes and walked the T-Pot to Brown's Island, then the Canal Walk to 14th St., crossed the Mayo bridge to Manchester, and then took the Manchester flood wall back to Semmes. I took this from the Manchester flood wall close to 14th. The entire walk, I was blown away by all the positive infill on both sides of the river, the improving connectivity to the existing urban fabric, and the untapped potential that still remains in many blocks and surface lots. I hope the city can soon dismantle the old Reynolds building along the Canal Walk. A lot of people were out walking, biking, and running. which was awesome to see. Embracing the river as our Central Park really has come a long way, and the general dense urbanism of Richmond is phenomenal. I wish we had that in Atlanta. CoStar will really add to this view, and more importantly to enhancing the urban fabric of that part of the riverfront.

Edited January 3, 2022 by flaneur

[Icetera]

1 minute ago, flaneur said:

 I hope the city can soon dismantle the old Reynolds building along the Canal Walk.

Hopefully that is coming down in the next year with a significant replacement (7 and 13 floors if I recall correctly).

[Hike]

4 hours ago, flaneur said:

 

Nice photo, good weather, blue and white clouds and a train, trifecta.

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, flaneur said:

On Friday, my family and I parked at Semmes and walked the T-Pot to Brown's Island, then the Canal Walk to 14th St., crossed the Mayo bridge to Manchester, and then took the Manchester flood wall back to Semmes. I took this from the Manchester flood wall close to 14th. The entire walk, I was blown away by all the positive infill on both sides of the river, the improving connectivity to the existing urban fabric, and the untapped potential that still remains in many blocks and surface lots. I hope the city can soon dismantle the old Reynolds building along the Canal Walk. A lot of people were out walking, biking, and running. which was awesome to see. Embracing the river as our Central Park really has come a long way, and the general dense urbanism of Richmond is phenomenal. I wish we had that in Atlanta. CoStar will really add to this view, and more importantly to enhancing the urban fabric of that part of the riverfront.

Beautiful photo!

How I wish that was a passenger train instead of a freight train rolling across that bridge.

[Hike]

From creativedogmedia via rva/reditt, some great snow photos by drone

https://www.reddit.com/r/rva/comments/rvuxju/rva_snow_days_from_above_which_is_your_favorite/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
 

Edited January 4, 2022 by Hike

[I miss RVA]

58 minutes ago, Hike said:

From creativedogmedia via rva/reditt, some great snow photos by drone

https://www.reddit.com/r/rva/comments/rvuxju/rva_snow_days_from_above_which_is_your_favorite/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
 

Their photography and filmography is FANTASTIC. They did some amazing work last winter when it snowed -- and their drone photos and short films of the city are top-notch! Thanks for posting the link!

[Icetera]

Nice photos from Hourigan where you can see the Children's Hospital clearing matching City Hall's height:

[Shakman]

Interesting.  Though the cooling tower on top of the Children's Pavilion is horrible.   A glass wall covering the cooling tower and the elevator shaft would be nice.

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, Icetera said:

Nice photos from Hourigan where you can see the Children's Hospital clearing matching City Hall's height:

 

Great pics, Ice. Thanks so much for posting these.

Yep - Children's Hospital does reach to the top of City Hall (at least that little block area atop the building does) -- and both pictures really demonstrate how the two VCU buildings have significantly beefed up that part of downtown, adding height and mass. The second picture in particular gives us a glimpse of the future. Why? Because we can see the Opus (blue, unfinished walls) rising off in the distance in the west (far right of the picture). We can see where -- once the Public Safety Building is cleared out -- hopefully where the new 20-story VCU Health-anchored building -- and the full-block build-out of Block D -- will rise. We can see where the Pinecrest will rise in Monroe Ward. We can guesstimate where the Admiral will rise in Jackson Ward -- and we can imagine the height and mass of both buildings adding bulk to the urban fabric of downtown. We can see the rusty-topped hulk of the Coliseum waiting to be demo'd and carted away, making way for high rises and the Rockefeller Center-like urban plaza might go. We can see the north end of the Blues Armory where -- according to the City Center SAP -- just immediately to the Armory's north - one of perhaps several hotels/mixed-use buildings could rise near the convention center -- perhaps we'll get that 23-to-25-story Hyatt Regency hotel there after all!  In the middle-distance near the cluster of high rise residential buildings of VCU - we can approximate where the school is planning a 12-story student residence at the corner of Laurel and Grace, across from the old Metropolitan Hospital building.  In the Arts District, we can estimate the location of the One Residential Tower -- all 25-stories of gleaming glass -- should she still be on drawing boards and somehow actually come to fruition. And who knows what unknown projects will be announced this year that could dot the landscape of Richmond's ever-growing, ever-expanding skyline and cityscape in the coming years?

NOTE: This list obviously does not include the CoStar HQ, or the high-rise residential towers to rise on the Manchester riverfront or the 14-story state office building at 7th and E. Main or the 12-story Bakery Lofts building at 17th & Franklin. I'm referencing only those projects that would be viewable from the camera angle of the second picture. That there is such a litany of new buildings that could rise over the next few years and be seen from this angle -- is remarkable!

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

Great analysis and awesome photo with the arrows!  You are absolutely right...in a few years, this will be a totally different view!  Exciting!

[wrldcoupe4]

What’s cool is that the view is changing from almost every angle of the city since there is so much happening in so many different neighborhoods. 

[Virginian11]

So many projects to keep with - tell me more about this 20-25 story One Residential tower - don’t remember this one…

[Icetera]

4 hours ago, Virginian11 said:

So many projects to keep with - tell me more about this 20-25 story One Residential tower - don’t remember this one…

It was a project that was discovered on one particular architect's portfolio.  While the portfolio did not contain officially released projects, many have since come to be.

[I miss RVA]

6 hours ago, Virginian11 said:

So many projects to keep with - tell me more about this 20-25 story One Residential tower - don’t remember this one…

IF it comes to pass (HUGE "if" because as Ice said, there has been nothing official - the renderings (which are gorgeous and quite detailed) were found in an architect's portfolio -- and we still hold out some remnant of hope that at some point this building gets built. It would be in the western portion of the Arts District - somewhere around like either Madison and Broad or Monroe and Broad. Even assuming shorter floor plates (common among residential buildings), if it actually came to pass it would be -- by far -- the tallest residential building in Richmond and one of the most prominent buildings on the skyline from a height perspective.

 

[I miss RVA]

@eandslee& @wrldcoupe4-- what's really cool is that with all the development going on, regardless of the vantage point, the view will change such that in a mere five... 10... 15 years, Richmond will look like a totally different city -- to the point that someone who hasn't been in RVA or seen her in, say, a decade, might look at updated pictures and think/say - "WHOA!! Wait... THAT'S Richmond??? Were it not for (pick recognizable building/landmark of choice), I might not have recognized what city this is."  Because Richmond honestly is well on her way to really transforming into a much more urban -- and bigger -- city.

THAT to me is extremely cool!

Edited January 14, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

Were it not for (pick recognizable building/landmark of choice), I might not have recognized what city this is." 

Assuming they are not torn down...

[I miss RVA]

57 minutes ago, Icetera said:

Assuming they are not torn down...

Well - true.

Somehow, though, I don't see a building like the CNB tower -- or the city halls (old and 'new') -- or the State Capitol ever being demo'd.  (Of course, then again, I never thought I'd live to see the day that Thalhimer's would be torn down - THAT broke my heart, I must admit, although if it had been replaced by a high rise, I could have lived with it.)

Edited January 14, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

Well - true.

Somehow, though, I don't see a building like the CNB tower -- or the city halls (old and 'new') -- or the State Capitol ever being demo'd.  (Of course, then again, I never thought I'd live to see the day that Thalhimer's would be torn down - THAT broke my heart, I must admit, although if it had been replaced by a high rise, I could have lived with it.)

Sadly, some of the proposals for City Center actually had the current City Hall tower being demolished.  Thankfully they do not appear to have made the final cut.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Icetera said:

Sadly, some of the proposals for City Center actually had the current City Hall tower being demolished.  Thankfully they do not appear to have made the final cut.

This is true. Those proposals were early on in the process and thankfully demo'ing City Hall no longer appears to be on the table. If the city wants to relocate to a city hall replacement, fine -- but leave the old building. It could be converted into mixed use if nothing else. It's an iconic tower - and I hardly see anyone coming in, knocking it down and putting up something larger in that block. Plus - how much did the city pay for a pretty robust renovation not all that many years ago?

[eandslee]

Another great drone video of Richmond covering the entire year of 2021:

 

[wrldcoupe4]

Thanks for sharing. It’s been a consequential couple years for Richmond and I’m optimistic we can rise to realize some of the potential that is oft spoken about. 

[Brent114]

Very nice video….the river looks particularly nice in this one! 

[I miss RVA]

Really great video -- the folks at Ace Above Media -- among many of the other folks who do the drone photography and videos -- show just how very photogenic a city Richmond really is. She's not a small town by any stretch and definitely looks the part of an up-and-coming city on the move that's growing by leaps and bounds.

As is my wont, I've snagged a few vidcaps from the video that highlight this theme. I may put this in several successive posts just to bring focus and discussion to specific photos. It's a neat little collage of RVA 2021 - a chronicle, to borrow from Coupe, of one of the most consequential years in the city's modern history.

Enjoy!

 

A beautiful beginning and conclusion to the video - covering the beginning of the year (winter 2021) and close to the end of the year (fall 2021) -- both showing just how photogenic Richmond is, especially on these wonderful YouTube drone-taken videos. I love seeing the skyline looming on the distance - whether we're looking from Maymont or Hollywood Cemetery or from Battery Park on the Northside (different video, taken in 2020). Perfect way to show off a growing city. The view from above City Stadium is classic.

Something that jumps out almost immediately: as Monroe Ward grows in terms of density and height, and as the VCU academic campus continues to grow, we will see a true "second skyline" developing west of the "main" forest of high rises. This is something that bears watching over the next decade.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

The picture looking east toward downtown from Carytown is more than just picturesque: it's the kind of picture that's common to a lot of large cities that have (in some cases famous) iconic legacy neighborhoods. I spent most of my teenage years in Carytown (even though I lived on Southside - just across the Nickel Bridge). I went to 8th grade and all of high school in the Museum District and had many friends who lived in and around that area. As a young adult -- when I got married -- my first wife and I lived in the Museum District and in the Fan for a number of years. When we first got together, we lived at the corner of Boulevard and Cary. No matter where we lived, Carytown was a constant destination, most often on foot.

The picture from just west of VCU looking east toward downtown show just how much the Broad/Grace corridor has beefed up in recent years courtesy of VCU. The density -- and in some cases, the height -- is remarkable, considering what was once there. Just imagine this view in a few years with the Admiral in Jackson Ward, the new VCU residential building at Laurel and Grace, perhaps Block D's development, and CoStar's headquarters on the riverfront all figuring prominently in future photos.

I can't wait to see what that all will look like.

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

I snagged these vidcaps for one reason. See if you can find the iconic (pun intended) top of The Icon in either of these photos. It's there! Great view of a burgeoning part of RVA -- plus who doesn't love the C.F. Sauer sign!

 

 

 

Looking south toward Manchester. Imagine what this view will look like in a few years with the addition of South Falls 2 and 3, (hopefully) River's Edge II, and the tower slated to rise on the site of the silos. I can't wait to see Manchester's growing riverfront skyline over the next decade.

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by I miss RVA