Marcus Squires

Here are some more shots of the Bank of America Tower from the SunTrust Building

The south side apartment complex is starting to take form on Janke Road. 252-unit apartment complex in South Richmond http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_ebb78161-3101-50a6-abb2-5189ca3f817f.html

Have you seen this yet? http://www.cloptonsiteworks.com

Public Art up for commission decision tomorrow at city hall. http://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/article_6e82ed04-cfd1-5eda-8378-6c0c640e05fa.html?mode=image&photo=1

Bank of American Tower to get a major facelift and renovation. The exterior will have a white masonry coat applied that will make it shimmer. http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_6094343a-70a3-54f5-bf9c-e39ec91f65d9.html

They have not they were suppose to use this building for some time and incorporate architectural parts of the Old Murphy Hotel into this building, but they have decided to use the Pocahontas building and use the lot now for a parking deck here is a letter from them. Thank you for your inquiry about the replacement of the General Assembly Building. The Commonwealth is committed to good stewardship of public resources, including both taxpayer dollars and historic buildings, particularly those that comprise an important seat of government complex. Decisions about the future of these public buildings are taken only after careful study and assessment and a careful weighing of the many relevant factors that must inform a balanced public interest determination. These include, for example: an assessment of the character, significance and relative importance of a resource, recognizing, as do the State and National Registers, that not all buildings hold the same level of importance; conditions and needs assessment; capacity to meet or be adaptively reused to meet current and reasonably foreseeable programmatic needs; engineering feasibility; ability to meet life safety and accessibility requirements, etc. All of these issues must be explored to achieve an understanding of the cost-benefit of different alternatively, both in terms of dollars and preservation outcomes. It is important to note, that if a building requires so much intervention and reworking, and therefore loss of definition and character, in order to serve program needs, the associated preservation benefit would be low For this reason and as a responsible stewardship commitment to ensure a good preservation outcome, the rehabilitation of a historic building should be undertaken consistent with nationally recognized standards of treatment. As a preservationist, you will understand that gut renovations to save a shell, as has been proposed by some for the General Assembly Building, is not a high preservation benefit outcome. Following these principles, a few buildings have been removed from the seat of government complex in recent years. On the other hand, the rigorous process has resulted in many resources being comprehensively restored or rehabilitated in and around Capitol Square in recent years. These include the Jefferson designed Capitol, the Patrick Henry Building (the former State Library), the 1824 Bell Tower, the Oliver Hill Building (the original State Library and former Old Finance Building), the Washington Office Building, the Executive Mansion and the 1818 iron fence. These projects were all undertaken consistent with national standards of treatment. Similarly, the Ninth Street Office Building (the former Hotel Richmond) is poised to reopen soon after a multi-year rehabilitation treatment, and the restoration of the iconic Washington Equestrian Monument will also be completed soon. Restoration measures are also underway to enhance the integrity of the historic landscape of Capitol Square, one of the nation's most important and earliest urban parks. The historic Jefferson Building has received new windows consistent with preservation standards. The historic Old City Hall will undergo a top to bottom rehabilitation in the coming years based on the careful study and building needs analysis that is underway now, and detailed planning money was appropriated for the coming biennium to undertake detailed study and planning for the reuse of the three buildings known as Morson's Row at the western terminus of Capitol Square. All of these projects demonstrate a high philosophical and financial commitment to preservation. The decision to replace the General Assembly was not made lightly, but in careful consideration of its relative significance and its deficiencies: life safety, accessibility, inadequate conveyance systems, failed mechanicals, etc. Overcrowding is a critical issue due to high lack of adequate space to function effectively as an active legislative building, especially during session. This is both a program and a public safety concern. Enlarging the building to provide more space was considered, but the design outcomes for a building already added onto many times, both horizontally and vertically and to different heights, would not yield an architectural result worthy of the site and its relationship to Capitol Square and the City of Richmond. All this said, the question of reuse of historic facade materials, the most important historic feature of the building, is being studied by a preservation team. No decision has or will be made until all the facts are in. We recognize the high significance of the south eastern facade and have ensured that every due diligent step will be taken to determine if it is feasible to incorporate this element into a dignified and functional building. The design phase is still ahead while study and needs assessments continue at this time. As we reach the design phase, the project team will work with the stakeholder community in a charrette process, just as was done when a large new building was contemplated for the corner of Ninth and Broad. That ambitious plan involved moving the Assembly into the new building temporarily and then replacing the current building, so the reality of the need to address the deficiencies of the General Assembly building is not by any means new or news. With the downturn in the economy, however, that plan was abandoned in favor of the more economical strategy of moving the Assembly temporarily into the existing Pocahontas building to the south of the Square and building a more modest structure on the empty lot to accommodate the critical need to keep parking off Capitol Square. While the parking deck will be scaled modestly to the building around and across from it, there is a commitment to building a structure with architectural interest on the important site. In the same way, there is full commitment to a building worthy of the site now occupied by the General Assembly Building. Toward that end, a world class architectural firm, Robert A. M. Stern and Associates, has been retained. While the loss of an historic building is always regretted, we stand by the careful and thoughtful decision-making process and the decision. Moreover, the talent has been assembled to deliver on a deep understanding of the importance of the site and an equally deep commitment to give Virginia a result of which it can be proud in the years ahead. Sincerely,

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_2a7dfd94-acb1-5beb-98ab-4d206df1ee78.html Crowne Plaza hotel downtown to undergo renovation; changing name to Delta Hotel by Marriott

Armstrong high school to be redeveloped. http://www.nbc12.com/story/32285727/tearing-down-local-high-school-to-make-room-for-new-mixed-income-homes The former Armstrong High School will soon be torn down, with plans to demolish the building to make way for new mixed-income housing. "It will feature 40 town homes for sale, and 240 rental housing for seniors and families with all modern amenities and playgrounds and community spaces," explained T.K. Somanath, the CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority, during a press conference on Wednesday.

The Venture Richmond's Development Update has been out for about a week now, if anyone is interested here is the link. http://www.venturerichmond.com/pdfs/2016DevelopmentGuide.pdf

new grocery store in church hill 26,000 square foot grocery store but additional first floor space for retail (estimate at this time of 9,000 square feet), possibly a restaurant; and, prodded by Richmond Housing Authority within just the last couple of weeks, plans for 2 additional stories to make available approximately 80 apartments with onsite management and maintenance.

Commonwealth Park Suites in downtown Richmond is closing for major renovations, It will be modernized and given a facelift. http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_6bedd511-e406-575e-9008-f719e4aba31c.html

Church hill redevelopment scheduled to begin next week. The old garage and parking lot owned by Josh Bilder, the parking lot has been blocked off and demo is to begin next week, the reason it took so long was because the font on the documents sent to city hall were not up to par so they had to re file and they got sent back to the bottom of the pile. That's a rooftop picture of the current garage.

It was posted awhile ago it's called Jackson place it's a 75 unit four story building

Southside is getting 88 apartments off of Hull Street here are the renderings. These are going in right next-door to the old Elkhardt Middle, which is planned to be demolished and a new middle school is rumored to be built nothing on the table yet, it's a shame though the colonial revival/ neoclassical architecture would make for nice apartments but such is life.

American Civil War Museum plans to build into hillside. http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/arts-theater/article_b5d74dae-3b81-55c4-993f-087940395481.html

South side is getting some attention it looks like the American Tobacco Company is being brought back to life, next on the list I hope is Model Tobacco so that Southside can now have it's tobacco row ! http://www.richmond.com/business/local/article_84e6100a-ba89-56c8-b361-eec616ff3560.html

Looks like McDonalds has officially leased the lot just across the street from it's current location in Manchester. http://richmondbizsense.com/2016/04/22/the-pipeline-commercial-real-estate-roundup-for-4-22-16/

Just drove next to the future site of 7 west, it seems that demolition is creeping along with the buildings being emptied out.

Historic Richmond has actually listed this whole building as endangered, https://historicrichmond.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Historic-Richmond-GAB-Statement_Final-Aug10-2015-00000002.pdf Also the gothic city hall was also slated for demolition at one time if you want to save the legislative building feel free to call the clerks who are overseeing this process here are their phone numbers Clerk of the House of Delegates: The Honorable G. Paul Nardo at (804)-698-1619 Clerk of the Senate: The Honorable Susan Clarke Schaar at (804) 698-7400

It's a shame to see one of the few pieces of the Beaux Arts, cladded in real lime stone perish, but it seems that the law makers of this land need newer marble floors for their shiny shoes, when schools all across the commonwealth are in need of funds, and don't get me started on our states transportation needs. "Legislators say the replacement of the General Assembly Building is not for their comfort, but to address dire public health, safety and liability issues raised in a 2012 consultant’s report that warned of a sudden shutdown if deteriorating asbestos insulation in one wing of the building gets into the air handling system." would it not be cheaper to just gut the one wing and use the money else where in the state? This is like tearing down the house because the insulation in the attic is bad.

i live in this part of Richmond and there are some big things planned for this area, one in particular is the Gresham Woods development right behind the old super K-MART there is 118 acres that has a 400 home development planned. The city or developer could work with the large area around Gresham Woods and the old KMART to create a nice live work play area similar to what is going on in Chesterfield. Here is the (conceptual master plan for Gresham Woods) ftp://ftp.ci.richmond.va.us/City%20Clerk/OrdinancesAndResolutionsTooLargeToUploadToClerkTrackingSystem/Ord.%20No.%202014-161-152%20-%20Complete.pdf There is also the new community center on Carnation as well as the development of Seacrest Park and Canterbury Development just put in a slew of new town homes just across the street from the fire station and community center. you can find more info here on the midlothian area (2014 report) http://www.richmondregional.org/Publications/Reports_and_Documents/Planning/Richmond/Midlo_Study_Report.pdf

Final Phase now underway at Main Street Station - "this has the potential to change our city" "It will enhance your transportation options with segways, scooters, zipcars and bike-share programs. The plan will also increase train traffic from six to over 32 trains per day. GRTC’s Bus Rapid Transit system will have a stop directly in front of the station, providing connectivity to the entire transit network while also providing a shuttle service to downtown destinations." (NBC 12) http://www.nbc12.com/story/31584652/final-phase-underway-for-main-street-station-project http://www.nbc12.com/story/31560778/neighborhoods-continue-to-expand-in-south-richmond "Within the next year, South Richmond will be getting another addition to one of its already evolving neighborhoods. The Shoppes at City View, by Hull and 6th Streets in Manchester, will encompass hundreds of new apartments, offices and stores." (NBC 12)

The Branch Public Bath Facade will be incorporated.

The video has been up for a few days now and I am thrilled about the new city of craftsmen that is going to be established right off Hull street in a part of the city that could use some help.