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New State Office Building at 8th and Broad St


wrldcoupe4

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The following are new renderings (from Historic Richmond Foundation's Winter 07 Newsletter) of the new State office building that will replace the Old Murphy Hotel. Thoughts?

Before:

P2160015.jpg

After:

newstatebldg1.jpg

newstatebldg2.jpg

I'm confused as well. That hotel is gorgeous, are they really thinking about tearing it down? If they do they need to replace it with something spectacular. I know these designs are preliminary, but quite frankly they seem mediocre at best.

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The way it stands now, the old Murphy Hotel (8th st office bldg) would be razed, but architecturally significant elements would be used in a large atrium inside the new office building. The new building would sit on the site of the Murphy as well as the empty lot at the corner of 9th and Broad where the Lottery HQ was supposed to go a long time ago.

The state would preserve the old Richmond Hotel (9th St office Bldg) at GRace and 9th St.

And Vdogg, not only are they thinking about tearing it down, I believe they've already appropriated funds for it.

Also, you can read more about it here in the Winter 07 HRF Newsletter

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The way it stands now, the old Murphy Hotel (8th st office bldg) would be razed, but architecturally significant elements would be used in a large atrium inside the new office building. The new building would sit on the site of the Murphy as well as the empty lot at the corner of 9th and Broad where the Lottery HQ was supposed to go a long time ago.

The state would preserve the old Richmond Hotel (9th St office Bldg) at GRace and 9th St.

And Vdogg, not only are they thinking about tearing it down, I believe they've already appropriated funds for it.

Also, you can read more about it here in the Winter 07 HRF Newsletter

I find it very surprising that HRF is for this. Too bad that beautiful building has to be lost but if the office space is needed they there definately should be some accomodation. The current renderings aren't detailed enough for me to really pass judgement though, hopefully some more refined ones are presented soon.

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I think HRF is pleased that the Richmond Hotel will be preserved and fixed up, serving as state office space for years to come. I'm sure they are disappointed that the Murphy will be gone. Perhaps they are trying to come across as neutral, so that the upcoming discussion about this plan will be more natural?

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You know, at least it looks modern and not the typical "blah" type architecture that Richmond's been receiving lately. I like the design and it appears to fit into the existing environment very well. Nice find, by-the-way, Coupe! When is this supposed to break ground? It will be interesting to see this go up. I like.

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You know, at least it looks modern and not the typical "blah" type architecture that Richmond's been receiving lately. I like the design and it appears to fit into the existing environment very well. Nice find, by-the-way, Coupe! When is this supposed to break ground? It will be interesting to see this go up. I like.

It looks very modern actually, which is a pleasant surprise. Blah type architecture isn't just a Richmond problem, It is endemic to the whole state of Virginia. It's nice to see someone break the mold every now and then.

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It's blah on paper, but the renderings on pictures as if it's already built, make it a neat building. It fits in with the Library of va, the courthouse, the old state social services building, and city hall.

Me too! It goes well with the surroundings! Course I hate it when older buildings are Razed but this look to be a major look and feel for the city..

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I really like this design. It's abstract and bold..good civic architecture. I can't wait to see it built, but I hope they really do include the trees on the upper floors

The building will be the state government's first LEED certified building, so I think we'll see those trees on the upper floors. :thumbsup: I believe that both this new structure and the 9th st office bldg will also be fitted with green roofs, and other "green" features.

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Joey, I agree... unfortunately, government buildings by nature can't be very engaging for pedestrians given security concerns. I'm surprised there will actually be retail in the building that opens to the street at all (though I'm pleased they decided to do it). Also, when the National Theater opens, it will have 2 dining options, I believe.

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While I think the new building isn't quite as bad as it might have been, I'm disturbed by the "packaging" of the new design in which saving the Richmond Hotel is seen as an adequate compromise for the loss of the very significant Murphy's Hotel building. Why on earth couldn't they have saved (at the very least) the exterior walls of the latter? Why did the HRF cave in to this? I fully realize that not every old building deserves to be saved, but this is one which shouldn't be erased from the streetscape of downtown Richmond. I suppose the battle is lost, but it is more than unfortunate that this building should be sacrificed for something which could well have been built elsewhere.

Edited by tombarnes
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Joey, I agree... unfortunately, government buildings by nature can't be very engaging for pedestrians given security concerns. I'm surprised there will actually be retail in the building that opens to the street at all (though I'm pleased they decided to do it). Also, when the National Theater opens, it will have 2 dining options, I believe.

Well, they can be; it just takes a little creativity. For instance, the buildings can be set back a little with 10 long rows of steps that run the length of the building (as in older government buildings in DC). This effectively keeps the ground floor protected by concrete like in these renderings, but it brings the eye up the building and provides a place to sit and eat lunch. The problem isn't that it doesn't have active space (though I'd like it to), but more that it's just a blank wall.

I hope, at least, they'll put in display cases or something to break up the wall like they have at the Library of Virginia.

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While I think the new building isn't quite as bad as it might have been, I'm disturbed by the "packaging" of the new design in which saving the Richmond Hotel is seen as an adequate compromise for the loss of the very significant Murphy's Hotel building. Why on earth couldn't they have saved (at the very least) the exterior walls of the latter? Why did the HRF cave in to this? I fully realize that not every old building deserves to be saved, but this is one which shouldn't be erased from the streetscape of downtown Richmond. I suppose the battle is lost, but it is more than unfortunate that this building should be sacrificed for something which could well have been built elsewhere.

Every effort was exerted to save this attractive building; you can believe that if the Historical societies finally relented, it has to be accepted that Murphy's Hotel was beyond salvation. A construction walkway has been in place for at least 10 years to protect pedestrians from falling cornices. And even worse, walls of the building were buckling.

I think the reality renderings of its replacement assure Richmond and the State of a signature tower near Capitol Square.

I am thrilled that old Richmond Hotel will be saved and rehabilitated. I do wish that some type of visual improvement could be made to its west-facing wall. Perhaps it would be possible to reface that section with matching reddish/tan bricks.

Edited by burt
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Demolition of the Murphy is anticipated to take 9 months given the salvaging efforts. However, I didn't think it was supposed to start until April, with a January completion date. Also, where will the existing employees work once the demo begins?

If I am not mistaken the building was vacated some time ago.

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