New Richmond Arena

[DowntownCoruscant]

That all sounds amazing, although I suspect the odds of all that coming to fruition reside between no chance and absolutely no chance.

[eandslee]

21 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

That all sounds amazing, although I suspect the odds of all that coming to fruition reside between no chance and absolutely no chance.

Hope you’re very wrong. 

[DowntownCoruscant]

42 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Hope you’re very wrong. 

So do I! But one must admit this seems ambitious.

[blopp1234]

4 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

So do I! But one must admit this seems ambitious.

That’s exactly what Richmond needs, Ambitious. For years, we haven’t gotten any thing huge in terms of development. While we have had developments such as the new Dominion tower and the locks developments, which are really nice and definently make a difference in the cityscape In terms of height and density, but I don’t think that we have every seen a development this ambitious that could have such a big impact on the city. This development(if done right) could change the cityscape forever and bulk up the skyline as well as downtown as a whole, in a way that haven’t been seen in the history of Richmond. I really look forward to this development and if done right, without NIMBYS getting in the way, it could be a game changer for downtown and propel Richmond past most of its rivals.

[eandslee]

5 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

So do I! But one must admit this seems ambitious.

I do agree that it’s ambitious, but we’ve got to hold out hope that this group will pull it off.  I’m tired of the old Richmond mentality that nothing ever works out in Richmond when it comes to developments.  Some developments don’t, but not all of them. The team they’ve put together for this is an A Team...such as never been assembled before. They’ve done their homework, they’ve got the know-how, they’ve got power, and they also have money. It also looks like they will not put the city on the hook for much, if any, taxpayer money. There still will be naysayers, but this is the best chance Richmond has to get a new arena.  I’m keeping the faith!

[CitiWalker]

12 hours ago, eandslee said:

I do agree that it’s ambitious, but we’ve got to hold out hope that this group will pull it off.  I’m tired of the old Richmond mentality that nothing ever works out in Richmond when it comes to developments.  Some developments don’t, but not all of them. The team they’ve put together for this is an A Team...such as never been assembled before. They’ve done their homework, they’ve got the know-how, they’ve got power, and they also have money. It also looks like they will not put the city on the hook for much, if any, taxpayer money. There still will be naysayers, but this is the best chance Richmond has to get a new arena.  I’m keeping the faith!

I agree that it is an old mentality of things not working out. Richmond has so much potential. IMHO we need ambitious   groups and individuals with  foresight  to move this city forward. I am excited that there is a prospect of moving such a huge project forward. I would love to see   more residential in the city center. This is a chance to really  give Richmond a definitive identity if this could work out. 

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

I'm gonna be the cautious optimist here and say let's wait for more details. I assume it's confidential info but I wish Dominion/the rest of the RFP team would release the proposal documents to read further on financing and whatnot. The ambitiousness of this proposal is what excites and worries me the most. I hope this is legitimate.

[DowntownCoruscant]

An ambitious vision is good. I would be thrilled if all this came to pass - it would turn a dead area into a vibrant one. But the normal yield on a plan is usually much less than 100 percent. That’s not just a Richmond thing, but a life constant!

Anyway, I don’t mean to sound like a downer or NIMBY. It’s fun to see through the eyes of my kids (6 and 2), and when I do, quite a lot seems possible.

[RVAbigdawg]

That's going to be quite a skyline to drive up on as you're traveling into Richmond on I-64!

[meegwell]

On 6/14/2018 at 12:25 PM, Brent114 said:

By all means let’s move the workforce out of downtown so that a new, taxpayer funded arena  can sit empty for 3/4 of the year.  If the Feds move it will be out of downtown. Building a new courts building just because would be a colossal waste of money.  

Rebuild  the arena on the current site and accept the fact that arenas have never been a catilyst for growth.   If they were, the area around the Coliseum would look very different.  It too was once new and state of the art  and not so much as a hotdog stand popped up in its shadow over the last 40 years. 

There is no update in this update.  Everything is exactly where it was 6 months ago.   There’s no real interest in this development and the one developer that is interested  doesn’t have the capital or the expertise to pull it off. 

 

 

 

Brent - please elaborate on your inside knowledge of expertise the group of folks have and have employeed to take on this project?  Are you simply talking about the one man that is steering the ship?  You do know how leadership and successful organizations and projects work, right?  Sorry bud, but this comment is ignorant so I can’t help but to skip over everything else you say.

Everyone else remember or recognize that today’s RVA is nothing at all like that of old.  I may not be an old timer but I have lived in the City proper for 32 years as an adult and moved here from 15 miles outside of Manhattan back when I was a younger buck looking for a smaller City to be an adult in.   I’ve seen a lot here over the years.  But I must say the past 5-10 years have been quite different.  It starts with City pride, greater ambitions, confidence, a growing downtown, people simply loving the City and capital being spent on great and bigger and better projects.  

This is is not your father’s Richmond anymore....enjoy it.  Mr. Farrell leading this team of experts will only further ensure it will get done,get done right, and that many will reap the benefits.  Stoney and his crew are along for the ride and to take some political credit while watching out for all the folks affected.

[eandslee]

You know what would be cool?  If the 500-room hotel proposed with the new arena, also contained 100+ apartment/condos in the building with it!  That would, for sure, make it an iconic tower in a very high point (topography wise)  in the city skyline and may even rival or beat out the Westin in VB for height (picture a nice spire or lit-up, decorative roof)!  Just sitting here on a Friday morning dreaming of what could be!  What about you...thoughts?

Edited June 29, 2018 by eandslee

[RVAbigdawg]

2 hours ago, eandslee said:

You know what would be cool?  If the 500-room hotel proposed with the new arena, also contained 100+ apartment/condos in the building with it!  That would, for sure, make it an iconic tower in a very high point (topography wise)  in the city skyline and may even rival or beat out the Westin in VB for height (picture a nice spire or lit-up, decorative roof)!  Just sitting here on a Friday morning dreaming of what could be!  What about you...thoughts?

That would be way cool - I just think about what an impact it could make when driving down I-64 towards the city, as you round the curve after you've passed Mechanicsville Turnpike.  It would truly be a grand entrance, for sure!

[Downtowner]

Just found this on NH District Corps facebook page.. Is this the overall rendering of the arena project?

Edited July 6, 2018 by Downtowner

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, Downtowner said:

Just found this on NH District Corps facebook page.. Is this the overall rendering of the arena project?

Whoa!  Great find!  Sure looks like a plan!  My question is why would they release this now?

Oh, and if this is the real plan, Scott B (you know the guy) is going to love it with all these solar panels!!  Makes sense if this will be called Dominion Energy Arena!

Only one real high rise (the 500 room hotel) which appears to be about 25 stories or so.  

Edited July 7, 2018 by eandslee

[drayrichmond]

I'm really liking this, not a lot of height across the board, but keeping the residential heights lower help keep costs down.

The hotel, hard to tell because of perspective, looks to be maybe a bit shorter than City Hall and a smidgen taller than the Marriott,  I'll take it.

It looks like they're wrapping the existing parking garages, which is awesome. 

I'm guessing the structure directly next to City Hall would be the Transfer Center given it's garage-y look. 

Solar and Green Roofs throughout which is pretty awesome!

Also glad to see limited "plaza" space and Leigh Street seems to be brought back up to grade.

1 hour ago, Downtowner said:

Just found this on NH District Corps facebook page.. Is this the overall rendering of the arena project?

That'd be my guess, it looks like they posted it about an hour ago, maybe negotiations are going well then!

[Blackbird Fly]

5 hours ago, Downtowner said:

Here is the corresponding Google Earth image for comparison. I'm excited to see more renderings, if they make sure to engaging ground level commercial/retail space foot traffic could be phenomenal here with MCV campus, Biotech corridor, and the transit station. I really hope this happens!

[Shakman]

It maybe just preliminary renderings?  Key word "preliminary".  I'm not going comment until renderings are officially released.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Shakman

[cbl1]

Entire website now on project.  Looks like they are moving to selling community stage. 

https://www.northofbroadrva.com/projectpage

 

[eandslee]

8 minutes ago, cbl1 said:

Entire website now on project.  Looks like they are moving to selling community stage. 

https://www.northofbroadrva.com/projectpage

 

Love this!!!  The details are awesome!  I really hope this takes off!  This would be a game changer. So glad they are releasing the renderings. Oh, and just look at that arena!!

[jbjust]

By zooming in and squinting, I estimate 17 stories of hotel on top of the parking structure.  

[drayrichmond]

Just read over the website, please, oh please let this happen!

[Wahoo 07]

Looks good to me, although I wish there was more height (as always).  The addition of 2,500 residences where there are presently zero will make a big difference.  That could potentially add 5,000 new people to downtown.  Could be a game changer.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Wahoo 07

[jbjust]

So are they taking the existing parking garages and just wrapping apartments around them?   Seems either brilliant or crazy, can’t figure out which one.  

[drayrichmond]

33 minutes ago, Wahoo 07 said:

Looks good to me, although I wish there was more high (as always).  The addition of 2,500 residences where there are presently zero will make a big difference.  That could potentially add 5,000 new people to downtown.  Could be a game changer.

More height is always good, but I'll take good density over height. If this happens in its current form there will only be one parking lot left in the whole area across from the Reynolds Community College, and I can't imagine that will stay a surface lot for long with this being built across the street from it! 

 

Another item I was wondering what you guys think of. In the negotiations, apparently included in the tax increment financing Dominion is attempting to include they're new high rises on Canal Street in the deal. What do you guys think of that? Personally if they're able to the plan above I'd be ok with it, I mean they'd be essentially rebuilding an entire city neighborhood, reconnecting the city street grid, etc.. I'd say that's a fair trade.

[eandslee]

27 minutes ago, jbjust said:

So are they taking the existing parking garages and just wrapping apartments around them?   Seems either brilliant or crazy, can’t figure out which one.  

What’s brilliant is the use of renewable energy (solar energy) which will help pay for itself in the long run!  I’m not one of those crazy solar guys, but I support it if it works and if it looks good!  Plus, I think this is a good selling point for the more liberal city government - they love this kind of stuff!