RVABizSenseMike

We are tracking this, stay tuned.

This has been on our radar for a long time. Stay tuned.

I'm not certain what the timing will be however I know we're planning to cover today's meeting. Sorry, I can't provide more detail than that because I frankly don't know.

Not a ton. I'd expect an announcement of finalists sometime this spring, but that's just me reading tea leaves/following the script for the Diamond District RFP.

To be honest, I hear more scuttlebutt about Manchester than I can keep track of. If I had a nickel for every Manchester grocery store rumor I've heard over the years, I'd have enough money to open my own market.

I am not involved in the organization of our events, but I know the powers-at-be are always keeping their ears up for ideas. We held a "Future Of Arthur Ashe Boulevard" back in 2019 (turns out we were a few years early). Here's the recap, and the full video of it. As the Diamond District moves along I wouldn't be surprised if it's something we revisit.

We were hoping to but the timing didn't work out. It's my understanding (but I emphasize that this is not RBS' official reporting) that the city utility line that's there is so small that the new development would have required new/more utility lines anyway. It's my understanding that once upon a time Motley's had a small building on that site that had minimal utility demands. I'm told that line was built to support one toilet/sink, not the 300+ that the new development would have required. The big thing here is that the majority of the project's land would have sat in Henrico, so the county has the rights to provide utilities, emergency services, schools, etc.. I believe this agreement between the city and county -- that whichever municipality hosts the majority of a project's acreage gets rights to provide its services -- dates back decades. Again, that's just what I've been told by smart folks who are familiar with how this stuff works. Furthermore, word on the street is this site on West Broad is getting loads of interest despite the utility situation.

I've mentioned y'all's appetite for more airport coverage to the powers-at-be here at BizSense. We've covered things like concourse expansions at RIC in the past but I hear y'all's concern that there are things happening there that might be going uncovered locally. (I also have to mention that we're a small team so cultivating an entire new beat in the airport would be more tricky and time-consuming than one might think) Lastly, if anyone has an idea for a piece about RIC, we do accept guest commentary submissions. If you're interested, feel free to DM me or email me at [email protected]

I went by as well and there were loads of folks working/machines turning dirt. I reached out to CoStar to confirm but I'd frankly be stunned if this were anything other than scuttlebutt.

I'll see what I can find out.

Ha, next time I see a picturesque port-a-potty I'll snap a photo and make it my avatar here. And thanks again everyone for reading and sharing our stories, we appreciate it!

1) I'm hoping to talk to the developer of this one soon and will certainly ask what the status is. (IMO, they wouldn't have spent as much as they did for that land if they weren't all-in on that project, but who knows). 2) This is on my radar. Stay tuned. It's my understanding that preliminary plans show this project would be pushing 10 stories. 3) I'd honestly forgot about this one -- I'll check in with Tom soon.

I believe the amphitheater project is still in planning. It's my understanding (and don't take this as official reporting) that it's a bit more complicated than other projects in town because there aren't many utilities that feed that part of Tredegar. But I can't say I know for certain that that's the case.

Since I know y'all love port-a-potties and other construction indicators: A building permit has been filed for a construction trailer to go up at the CoStar tower.

I'm not sure exactly which parcel is pictured in the above photo, but I'd actually talked to Virginia Housing a few weeks ago about the HQ expansion and they told me that the decision regarding the expansion is still on hold.

Their presentation was in fact regarding their planned project on the Thurston Spring site at 326 W. Seventh St./701 Perry St. Here's our most recent coverage of it.

Interesting idea, I'll certainly run it up the line to my editor. We've covered the airport a bit over the years, namely on its various expansions and how it came out of the pandemic, but if there's an appetite from folks to know more about the latest regarding new flights and airlines at RIC, it may well be something we'd cover. Thanks for the idea.

Your guess would be correct -- our story on it will be up tomorrow morning.

From Ed himself: "The Commonwealth Building on West Broad Street is a tight stand-out on an otherwise loosely-built suburban strip.It was constructed at a time (1963) when very little was happening in the way of commercial buildings downtown (the three-story Virginia Employment Commission Building at Main and 7th was built in 1962 was about the only thing built there at the time). Willow Lawn had opened in 1956 and was surrounded almost immediately by modest-scaled and attractive office buildings on Staples Mill Road and Byrd (to the west). The parking lot at the rear of the Commonwealth suggests that this building was not designed for high-trafficked retail and business enterprises (there has never been any strong signage out front). I think it was designed for reps who needed to get in and get out at a regular clip during the weekday. From the beginning, the building catered to insurance companies-- specifically, individual reps of about a dozen-or-so companies. There were also offices for accountants, memorial park management companies, and even a couple of motion picture producers (don't get excited, they probably did corporate work or training films). World Book Encyclopedia had its regional offices here as did Taylor Publishing (which does a myriad of high school and college yearbooks). In 1964 Lustre Craft Cookware sales offices were in the building (how's that for a catchy, mid-century modern product name?). Appropriately, for the unrelenting square footage of brick facade, the Virginia Brick Associates (a manufacturers organization, I assume), had offices here. I have not been able to ascertain the architect. I would like to think it was David Warren Hardwicke, a solid product of UVa architecture school, who did a dozen or so low-rise office buildings within the vicinity and near Willow Lawn. But the Commonwealth, for all its noble urban design gestures like coming flush to the city sidewalk (which may have been an effort to allow more space for parking at the rear), is not as sophisticated as most of Hardwicke's work. The vertical pier columns that define 13 bays on the street level do not connect with a continuous pier column or structural element on the second and third floors to create a sense of continuity. The street entrance, which is delineated by a slight set-back in the middle of the facade for the entrance to the lobby needs tighter fenestration and better definition There is, fortunately, no traditional ornamentation so this structure can claim being in the International Style tradition.. As to what's coming next, I am sorry that the apartments might be set back farther from the public sidewalk.Richmond doesn't handle urban "front yards" very well-- they become a thin strip of no man's land."

I'll send Ed a note on this.

Good stuff, thanks. I do think the day will come when the Westwood are will warrant its own thing and to be spun off from the West End/Willow Lawn areas. And that's a good point re: Chesterfield and South Richmond. This is inside baseball but the goal is certainly to not have a dozen or so maps, mostly just the areas that are most flush with development.

Thanks for the kind words all. The reception to these maps has been a pleasant surprise. @eandsleeKeeping it up-to-date will certainly be a challenge, particularly as projects shift from planning to under-construction, but I'm hopeful that the bulk of the time-intensive portion of this project is done. We're planning a Chesterfield/general Southside map, as well as a Northside/Northern Henrico/Ashland one, but those might be a few months out. I've also considered including smaller stuff on them, such as any empty storefronts that are to be converted into a new restaurant/shop etc. The idea would be if you're walking around say, the Fan, and see paper up in a window of a store but don't know what's going in, you'd have a place to look up what's going in. But for the time being I think the plan is to keep the maps development-focused. Curious what y'all's take might be though. @I miss RVAI do plan to make a habit of chiming in when appropriate here! @HikeIt's certainly been a good time to be a business reporter in Richmond. We at BizSense have a good time chasing stories down each day and lord knows there's plenty going on to keep us busy. (I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that if y'all ever hear of anything going on in town to definitely send us a tip, my email is [email protected] and our general tip line is [email protected])

Hi everyone, this is Mike Platania with Richmond BizSense. I've been a longtime lurker of UP Richmond and I think I can speak for our whole newsroom when I say we appreciate y'all sharing our stories on here so frequently. Just wanted to tip my hat to y'all for being so far ahead of the curve on the development map idea. A few years ago we'd noticed that some other business journals throughout the country had similar maps but I don't think anyone was ahead of UP's back in 2016.