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I guess my issue is that, in my mind at least, there's no place (literally and otherwise) for a national retailer, particularly a big box store, on East Grace in particular. Unless they spent a not insignificant amount of effort and money on preserving the architecture on that stretch. Despite its current status of diamond in the rough, E. Grace remains perhaps the most picturesque street in all of downtown. A little farther west into Monroe Ward are several lots on East Grace (near Foushee) that could accommodate a national retailer or even just south of East Grace over on Main or Cary there are many lots that would be prime for an urban concept Target, for example, with first floor retail and upper floor living (or even several floors of public parking).

I used to think the same way but honestly I don't think we should necessarily aspire to bringing national retailers in. We have enough high quality, home grown businesses to occupy the area. National Retailers serve nothing but to attract suburbanites in which isn't bad, per se, but it shouldn't be the end goal. We should develop the city for the city. Think about the success of Carytown. It's largely been successful without those national retailers (though they are starting to pop up more and more). There's no reason we can't recreate something like that on East Cary -- in fact, it's already happening. Of course, for now (and for the foreseeable future) it looks like that'll mostly be a restaurant stretch (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) but perhaps in the future we'll see a more diverse offering. Maybe someone like Alton Lane or Ledbury (destination stores that attract customers for hundreds of miles away) can open a shop there.

I take it you've never been in there? It's probable one of the few decent, non-trashy corner store/independent convenience stores that has existed long before the hipster "market" concept (Harvest, Union Market, etc) took off. Sure you're not going to find your free range grass-fed organic indie-music-loving beef there but they do have a pretty bright, clean space with decently priced products, a serviceable deli (nothing compares to Nicks) and a surprisingly decent craft beer selection (mostly local stuff so probably not going to see any hard-to-find out of state beers). Plus, I'd imagine it's not really Walgreen's choice whether they "want to compete with the Marketplace" but they're most likely contractually prohibited from competing in their lease (as is the case in most commercial retail leases) not to mention there's no room in that building for a full-fledged Walgreens. Honestly, that store has been there since I've been in Richmond and it (along with the apartments above it) has probably been the one thing that's kept that block from looking like the block immediately west of it.

FYI, the TriBeCa townhomes are actually on the opposite end of Harrison. Not sure if that's official considered Randolph but it's right next to Randolph if not.

The only reason I mentioned Monument Square is because it claims to "meet the elegant traditions of The Fan District’s stately mansions and graceful townhouses." I think it fails pretty handily in it's attempt to reference some of the classic Monument Ave/Richmond architecture.

I drove past the development a couple of days ago and I have to say this: any reservations I may have had about this project are now gone. The development team knocked this one out of the park! If the rest of the development looks as good as the first few buildings, this will be a grand slam! From what I've seen, this project gets right what so many others in the area get wrong: the materials used, the proportions, the architecture -- it's all there. This creates the historic, town square feel better than West Broad Village, Monument Square and even Rockett's Landing failed to achieve. The real test will be the for-sale town-homes and condominiums? Will they cheap out for maximum profit or stick to the same quality as the commercial buildings? I only hope the rest of the project is as impressive as what has gone up so far.

Thanks for the pics! Love this weekly update thing. I, on the other hand, actually don't like how the First Freedom Center looks. The prefab brick panels (the lines in the facade are a dead giveaway) look embarrassingly cheap. How is it that the Belle Summit development, aimed at the affordable and moderate-income tenants is one of the only new construction buildings that uses hand-laid bricks?

So this is a bit old news (from spring) and isn't exactly Richmond related, but in a way it is. It really made me think "what if?". In March/April of this year, Capital One proposed a new headquarters tower in Tyson's Corner: Just imagine if they built that in downtown Richmond! According to the press release they have 1800 employees in the area. They employ almost 12,000 in Richmond!

Just checked this one out a few days ago. It's up to 2 or 3 stories now (maybe even topped out) but it seems like this one is going incredibly slow compared to some of the other projects out there.

Mini Price Storage purchased land in the area though I'm not 100% sure that's the exact lot you're talking about.

So this is pretty awesome. It looks like the boutique hotel opening at 201 W. Broad is going to be Quirk-branded (as in Quirk Gallery). http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/boutique-hotel-planned-for-downtown-arts-district/article_969eeac9-4b1f-527d-aa88-2d7eb83d199d.html

Does anyone have any information about the development on Harrison St (between Grace and Broad) across the street from the construction in the Ukrops parking lot. I'm talking the building behind (and attached to?) Panda Garden. It looks like they've added a couple of floors to the buildings. You can see a little of it in the video I posted above. The buildings in question

Glad you liked the video. I didn't really intend to make it (just happened to be driving to Chipotle with my dash cam on) so it's not the greatest. For some reason Youtube isn't allowing 1080p playback on the vid.

Here's a quick dash cam video I made of the Grace Street VCU corridor today. It shows some of the progress of the construction projects in the area. The vid is a little shaky but that's because it's mounted to the windshield and the roads are rough; blame Richmond not me!

I'm never in that area during construction/work hours so I can't confirm. However, I did notice that the construction barriers that had been blocking the left hand parking (and most of the driving) lane on 3rd street have been pushed back onto the sidewalk. If it were an active construction site I imagine they wouldn't move the barriers every night.

Any update on Port RVA? That's the Manchester development that I've been most interested in. It could look really good or really bad depending on the quality of materials used.

It's likely that the plot at 800 Semmes is already zoned for that density, use and height and thus won't need any kind of extended, discretionary approval (architectural or otherwise), though I'm not 100% sure. The architectural review is typically only necessary if the development falls within one of the cities "Old and Historic Districts" which this may not be in. As long as it's not within an historic district and it's an "as-of-right" development, it may be as simple as submitting the building plans to be rubber stamped. Edit: As a disclaimer, I'd add that the process varies from city to city and I'm not that familiar with Richmond's process.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the current design at all. I'd be OK with something being approved for the location (then again, I don't live on the Hill), but it needs a stronger design. IMO, the full brick/masonry cladding is just too much..it's too "heavy" looking. Maybe have the first 3-5 floors in brick to relate to the other warehouses on the row. The remaining floors should/could be set back a bit and in glass. Something like this, maybe, but a little more slender up top (this building is 12 floors, so imagine an addition 4 glassy floors):

Nice pics. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of those 4 luxury townhouses (architecturally speaking). But I can't help but thinking that anyone who was able to snatch one up may have scored a heck of an investment. When you think about it, there really isn't anything else comparable to it (true riverfront single family house [detached or attached]) in the Richmond market, I believe. They're among the biggest units to be found in the downtown area (if we consider Rockett's Landing as downtown) and their sized comparably to something one might find on Monument Ave. I really would expect these to do very well on the secondary market. Have they announced pricing on the 2nd phase of these townhouses. I heard there are 5 more "luxury" class townhouses planned. I wonder if they'll bump the prices a little since they had no problem selling the first 4. I wonder if we'll see one of these bigger end units break the $2 million mark.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think the western building (on the corner) should be saved as well. It is a very handsome example of modern architecture -- probably one of the better examples in downtown RVA. Sure it needs work but we've seen buildings requiring fare more care that have been rehabbed and saved. What happened to this plan: This what we should be aiming for (utilizing the empty, gravel lot) instead of tearing down what we already have.

Holy crap somebody better start a petition to save the older building. To be honest both buildings are great examples of their respective periods, but it would be a crime to tear down the eastern building. Have we learned nothing from some of the other buildings we've destroyed?

Question: Have there been any discussions about the possible development of the 40ft wide lot just north of the new Gateway tower?

Eh, I can't say that I like this. At least not in that location. As someone said, it looks kinda like something from the 70s. If they tripled the height and moved it closer to the financial district, I think it'd look a lot nicer (one can only dream!). Also, that building looks massive for only 32 units.

Oh yes, I understand. I meant the opposition being voiced in the comment section of the richmondbizsense article.

Interestingly it seems like all the opposition is coming from the owner and employees of Cape Fear publishing.