Richmond Developments

[Brent114]

I like the idea of a downtown location. Monroe Ward would be a good place.   It would show up nicely on the skyline  (like a temple should) . 

 

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

I don't think it will go in at the City Center site...I think the map pin was probably just arbitrary.

I definitely looked at the pin location as just a marker for Richmond, not a specific lot.  I agree that Monroe Ward would be an excellent location for this!

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

please for the love of god let it be more "Salt Lake Temple"

and less "nefarious looking castle off 495"

 

edit: it looks like they also just finished a temple in city center Philadelphia which is more in line with their traditional Salt Lake design philosophy, so hopefully that bears well for us architecturally.

Edited April 2, 2018 by RVA-Is-The-Best

[eandslee]

Yeah, so here's the one that was just completed within the last 2 years in Philadelphia.  I've been inside - very nicely done!  Love how the outside is reminescent of the architecture of American Revolution.

 

[Brent114]

I just did  an image search of Mormon temples.  They all look pretty great.  There aren’t many opportunities to get this kind of grand architecture in 2018 (even their small temples are pretty impressive).   It’s quite a contrast to the big box with cheap orninentation that has become the mega church standard.

I’m an atheist but many of my favorite buildings are temples, synagogs, mosques and churches.  Any location in the metro will be made better by the addition. 

[RiverYuppy]

I believe there is already an LDS location in Monroe Ward.  They either rent it or own the building, but it doesn't at all look like a traditional church.

Other than that, anecdotally a former Mormon coworker of mine lives in Hotel John Marshall.   Perhaps there are already a lot of locals in the area.

I would love to see them build it in Monroe Ward, as long as there is no surface parking.

Edited April 2, 2018 by RiverYuppy

[eandslee]

28 minutes ago, RiverYuppy said:

I believe there is already an LDS location in Monroe Ward.  They either rent it or own the building, but it doesn't at all look like a traditional church.

Other than that, anecdotally a former Mormon coworker of mine lives in Hotel John Marshall.   Perhaps there is already a lot of locals in the area.

I would love to see them build it in Monroe Ward, as long as there is no surface parking.

As an active member of the LDS Church myself, I can say with 100% surety that the building in Monroe Ward is used just a traditional meeting place, although the actual building may not look like a traditional church.  I don't think there are too many LDS members living in the downtown area (maybe a few hundred, but most are in the suburbs...more suitable for families), which is why the building doesn't look like a traditional church - they just have a place to meet.  There are, however; many thousands of LDS members in the Richmond area and this Temple would serve not only the members in the local area, but also those in the following areas: Norfolk/Hampton Roads, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville, Blacksburg, Farmville, and all places in between.  It might even serve those who are in the Fredericksburg area, but I'm not 100% sure of that yet until the details come out as everyone in those areas now go up to the one in Maryland (myself included).  With this temple, it will save many hours spent on the road in traffic to attend up in the DC area.  LDS members across Virginia are super excited and relieved that a temple will be closer to them as we are encouraged to attend as often as we can (hard to do when you've got to devote the entire day to drive up to DC and then face the traffic).

If the temple is built downtown, I would imagine the church would design it similar to the one in Philadephia which has parking available underneath the building itself - so no surface parking.

[Shakman]

The LDS temple in Philadelphia includes a 34 story residential tower called The Alexander as part of the overall development.  Perhaps Richmond can get a multiple component development out of this as well.  

Edited April 2, 2018 by Shakman

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, Shakman said:

The LDS temple in Philly includes a 32? story residential tower as part of the overall development.  Perhaps Richmond can get a multiple component development out of this as well.  

This is true, but note that the Philadephia Temple is unique.  Most LDS temples are built in the suburbs and if this one is built in the suburbs too, then there will be no highrise next to it.  However, I will not exclude the possibility of it being downtown and other developments spurring off of it.  Many times, temples have a small "temple hotel" next to them for those who are traveling greater distances to attend.  Not sure if that would be called for here, but it's possible.  If it is located downtown, I just cannot imagine the Knight family not having something like a temple hotel built next to it to serve those who attend (especially since they are hotel people), but all of this is total speculation at this point.  I can just confirm what is in the realm of possibility here.

Edited April 2, 2018 by eandslee

[drayrichmond]

6 hours ago, Brent114 said:

I just did  an image search of Mormon temples.  They all look pretty great.  There aren’t many opportunities to get this kind of grand architecture in 2018 (even their small temples are pretty impressive).   It’s quite a contrast to the big box with cheap orninentation that has become the mega church standard.

I’m an atheist but many of my favorite buildings are temples, synagogs, mosques and churches.  Any location in the metro will be made better by the addition. 

I'm the same way, personally atheist, but to each their own. I think religious structures are awesome pieces of architecture and when I'm visiting a city I usually try and go see the biggest/fanciest one in town just to admire the architecture. 

That being said, the only place I could see it in the city is Monroe Ward, they already have a presence there, plus the views would be great for the skyline. If not Monroe then I hope it ends up in the suburbs, I just don't see it fitting in well in the other big neighborhoods.

[Brent114]

The Azela mall site would be pretty cool.  

Its big enough that they could have a big lawn surrounding it.  There’s good visibility from 95 and the surrounding area has a few monumental buildings already (Saint Joseph’s Villa, Scottish Rite Temple, Virginia Union Theological....). 

It wouldn’t take much to beautify the stretch of Brook Rd just to the north.  The rest of the area is already pretty and well maintained. 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Brent114

[skinsfan]

10 hours ago, Brent114 said:

The Azela mall site would be pretty cool.  

Its big enough that they could have a big lawn surrounding it.  There’s good visibility from 95 and the surrounding area has a few monumental buildings already (Saint Joseph’s Villa, Scottish Rite Temple, Virginia Union Theological....). 

It wouldn’t take much to beautify the stretch of Brook Rd just to the north.  The rest of the area is already pretty and well maintained. 

Love this idea. 

[wrldcoupe4]

As a northsider I like it too.  Provides a strong institutional anchor long term. 

[eandslee]

Honestly, it’s anybody’s guess where this will go.  Love your ideas though!

Let me just say that sometimes things progress pretty slow with the building a new temple.  It may be 5 years before it is fully built and operational, but we will know where it will be and what it will look like within probably 2 years. Sometimes the announcements are made before they really know where exactly it will be built, they just know that it will be in Richmond...somewhere.  That may or may not be the case here, but don’t be surprised if we don’t know for a while.  Anyway, while we’re having fun guessing where it might end up, let me take a few guesses:

1)  I can’t help but think that this will end up in an up and coming area of town, so I have to say that one area could be in the Short Pump area (extreme west end of town) on a hill so that it is visible from either 288 or I-64 or both.

2) Another area I’m thinking is the I-95/I-295 intersection area north of town (such as the southeast quadrant of the intersection).  I think Mr. Godwin owns that plot of land if I’m not mistaken.

3) Wouldn’t mind seeing it downtown somewhere or close to downtown.  So, I’m thinking that it is possible that somewhere on Monument Avenue would be a good location (just not sure exactly where in Monument as it would probably need a decent size plot of land).

4) My last guess (my least favorite location), would be right off of 288 in Chesterfield sort of near the Watkins Center area...somewhere over in that general area.

I’ll keep up with the latest and let you all know what I know as information is released. I can probably get the information faster than the local media.  I’ve been surprised how slow the local media has been to release the news.  Just know that WTVR had a story on it first (interesting).

[eandslee]

A possible new development has come up.  It looks like the LDS Church bought property (an 8-acre site) back in 2015 on Staples Mill Road at the intersection of Mountain Road.  This is not necessarily the site for the temple, but at the very least is a possible site for a new regular chapel.  I just thought it was worthy to bring up here since the news was just released about this piece of property.  We'll see.  The far west end area was one of my predictions, but this has to be confirmed first.

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

Developers are seeking a rezoning to urban business district from B2 on an empty gravel lot on Forest Hill Ave. If they rezone, they can push parking for a proposed 3 story, 38-unit apartment and commercial space building to the back and push the building up to the street instead of the required 35-foot setback (!) with the existing B2 zoning.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2018/04/12/3-dozen-apartments-brewery-lined-forest-hill/

More infill for Forest Hill. Add this one to the map, boys 

Edited April 12, 2018 by RVA-Is-The-Best

[eandslee]

While I like the infill, this project really needs to be taller than 3 stories...it needs to be at least 4-6 stories.  I'm thinking the developers are being just a little bit apprehensive here as I believe the apartments will rent like hot cakes!

[Shakman]

On 4/12/2018 at 3:37 PM, eandslee said:

While I like the infill, this project really needs to be taller than 3 stories...it needs to be at least 4-6 stories.  I'm thinking the developers are being just a little bit apprehensive here as I believe the apartments will rent like hot cakes!

I was thinking the same thing while reading the article.  

[eandslee]

A list of up-coming warehouse/distribution developments in the Richmond area. Apparently, this sector of development is booming in Richmond!

Here are some large warehouse distribution projects planned or underway:

• Newport Beach, Calif.-based Panattoni Development Co., is building a state-of-the-art distribution center on Commerce Road just south of the Bells Road-Interstate 95 interchange.

This is the first phase of a 1 million-square-foot project. Phase I will be a speculative 461,700-square-foot Class A building that is expected to be ready in about four months. Anderson, who is handling leasing for the project, said market activity is strong.

• Becknell Industrial, the Indianapolis-based developer of warehouse distribution centers across the nation, has developed and leased several facilities in the Airport Distribution Center.

It now is considering developing a four-building site totaling 807,440 square feet at 6101 S. Laburnum Ave. — on property across the street from the Mondelez International plant.

• A developer has submitted an application, dubbed “Project Goliath,” to build a 611,520-square-foot building for warehousing and distribution for an undisclosed tenant in Chesterfield. The building would be on 40 acres once eyed by Tranlin Inc., the Chinese company that planned to build a paper manufacturing plant and never delivered.
• Devon USA, a Richmond-based real estate developer, has continued to build projects in the region. It developed a 320,853-square-foot building at the Enterchange at Northlake Industrial Park in Hanover County last year and leased it to Amazon.com.

The company now is planning a building in Chesterfield that is identical in size and scope to one it developed in Hanover. Construction should begin soon on the warehouse facility in the James River Logistics Center, located off Bellwood Road near I-95.

• Hourigan Development, the Richmond-based commercial real estate development firm, acquired the former Alleghany Warehouse Co. property in South Richmond with plans to tear down the buildings to make way for what now is being called the Deepwater Industrial Park.

Redevelopment plans for the 110-acre property along I-95 calls for about 1.5 million square feet of built-to-order, high-bay space for warehousing, distribution and manufacturing.

• Armada Hoffler Properties Inc., the Virginia Beach-based real estate investment firm, is developing and building a 220,000-square-foot distribution facility for Pepsi Beverages Co. off Willis Road in Chesterfield.

http://www.richmond.com/business/learning-center/commercial-mortgages-richmond-region-entering-new-era-of-distribution-warehouse/article_6e2974b5-419c-5bc5-a440-69fbd5e95f5e.html

[georgeglass]

A few pics I snapped while driving by the Whole Foods development on Broad. It's progressing fairly quickly.

 

[eandslee]

Nice drive-by shots!  Thanks for the photo update.  I was wondering how this was progressing.

[eandslee]

On 3/19/2018 at 6:20 PM, eandslee said:

Could this land somewhere in the Richmond Metro area?  Your thoughts?

http://wric.com/2018/03/19/pamunkey-tribe-considering-700-million-casino-in-virginia/

 

Looks like 600 acres were just purchased in New Kent County for a casino/resort!  Looks like this thing may be more than just dreamed up idea.  It'll be interesting to see what happens.

[blopp1234]

7 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Looks like 600 acres were just purchased in New Kent County for a casino/resort!  Looks like this thing may be more than just dreamed up idea.  It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Where exactly is the land located?

[eandslee]

1 minute ago, blopp1234 said:

Where exactly is the land located?

Not sure exactly.  The RTD announcement just said "New Kent County."  I would expect it to be somewhere close to the I-64 corridor, but that's just a guess.  I assume something with more detail to come out later.

[eandslee]

Here is some good follow up and a location.  Just what I thought...right next to I-64:

 

http://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/dp-nws-pamunkey-and-20180421-story.html

 

Looks like they are aggressive and wanting to build this thing quickly.

 

The location is the first exit east of the I-64/I-295 interchange, so it will be significantly close to Richmond (not very far from the airport).

Edited April 23, 2018 by eandslee