Carver District / Newtowne West / Allison District

[wrldcoupe4]

Trying to get permits out of the city is a nightmare. Might be a factor. 

[I miss RVA]

48 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Trying to get permits out of the city is a nightmare. Might be a factor. 

Didn't Elton John once sing - "...it's a sad, sad situation... and it's getting more and more absurd..."  ??

As Chef often says on Hell's Kitchen: "what a shame".

I hope this needless delay doesn't end up derailing the project.

Edited January 21, 2022 by I miss RVA

[ancientcarpenter]

Let's assume the hold up is on the city's end in terms of backlog and not something justifiable like ground or pipe or electrical issues, etc.

 

I must say, idk much about it to be honest but sounds like the permitting office is very backed up. I've even heard Stoney say it before. I feel like fixing that office of the city to be more mainstream is genius: You get to introduce more development and the capitalist developers absolutely love you for making the process more efficient while at the same time more housing comes into play to keep rents from continuing to skyrocket thus helping the renters as well. Also, somewhere in those permits are non-apartments aka building of homes so it also helps future homeowners and the real estate market in RVA for realtors. 

 

It's a win-win-win-win at least for 4 different groups as I've described above. Plus, Urban Planet is for it...and with our voting power there's nothing stopping that!

[Icetera]

On 1/19/2022 at 2:11 PM, I miss RVA said:

I am constantly impressed by the prominence of this building from both directions on I-64/95.  At this point, other developers must be seeing that impact and eyeing nearby properties with ideas for similar visibility (looking at you BP corner lot).

[eandslee]

2 minutes ago, Icetera said:

I am constantly impressed by the prominence of this building from both directions on I-64/95.  At this point, other developers must be seeing that impact and eyeing nearby properties with ideas for similar visibility (looking at you BP corner lot).

I hope you're right.  I would love to see Broad Street lined with buildings like this on both sides!

[wrldcoupe4]

Totally agree. The BP is for sale. Just needs a developer. 

[I miss RVA]

32 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Totally agree. The BP is for sale. Just needs a developer. 

Given the footprint of the property, what's the over/under on how tall something could potentially be there, if a developer with deep enough pockets to building something approaching 12 stories buys and has plans?

[ancientcarpenter]

14 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Totally agree. The BP is for sale. Just needs a developer. 

I think the city needs to seriously consider a conversation with Lowe's. There is quite a bit of unused parking spots in the Lowe's parking lot there that could be sold to a developer. That lot is never full except when VCU has major events and people just park at Lowe's because they won't get towed. It's never Lowe's alone that fills the parking lot more than half the spots. 

[123fakestreet]

5 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

I think the city needs to seriously consider a conversation with Lowe's. There is quite a bit of unused parking spots in the Lowe's parking lot there that could be sold to a developer. That lot is never full except when VCU has major events and people just park at Lowe's because they won't get towed. It's never Lowe's alone that fills the parking lot more than half the spots. 

I mentioned this a while back. With the zoning changes they are no longer required to have that many spots. Would love if they sold off most of the parts fronting broad

[I miss RVA]

@ancientcarpenter& @123fakestreet-- I concur with both of you 100%. Aside from the fact that Lowe's undoubtedly wants the 'visibility' of its store from Broad Street, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that a 1950s-era box retail building sitting in a wide-open, 1950s-era  sea of flat surface parking should be the norm along Broad Street (or frankly, ANYWHERE else in the friendly confines of the city limits. Aside from encouraging Lowe's to sell off the property actually physically fronting Broad Street, I don't think there really is much at all the city can do - but I do agree that to whatever extent the city could weigh in with Lowe's, it should.

Okay - trivia time ... AND NO Googling - and this is one of those "you're an old-time Richmonder if.." questions:  how many folks recall what retailer occupied the original 'box' that sat where the current Lowe's building is in the sea of parking?

And for the record: when I was a kid, we went to this particular store on Broad Street more times that I can ever possibly count. Crazy as it may seem, I even recall how it smelled.

Edited March 4, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

My earliest memory was Super Fresh in 1987.  At that time there was still a house fronting Broad.  It housed  the  Broadway Cafe and it was awesome  (because it was like a time capsule from 1977 and they would serve me beer at 18 years old).  

[I miss RVA]

28 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

My earliest memory was Super Fresh in 1987.  At that time there was still a house fronting Broad.  It housed  the  Broadway Cafe and it was awesome  (because it was like a time capsule from 1977 and they would serve me beer at 18 years old).  

I remember the Super Fresh. But there was another store that originally occupied that space and it's kind of amazing that, for the most part, that whole setup there with the HUGE Pacific-ocean-sized parking lot fronting Broad Street with the store all the way at the other end is -- for the most part -- pretty much as it was from the late 1950s. And if I recall from the days when I was little in the late '60s into the '70s when we would shop there, I don't EVER recall that huge parking lot EVER being full all the way up to Broad Street -- even during the pre-Holiday-season rush period. Somehow that lot was always MUCH bigger than was ever needed, which is a shame.

Brent - you're definitely in the right direction on this one. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

Was it an A&P?

[I miss RVA]

5 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Was it an A&P?

Not an A&P.  Good guess, though. I think there was an A&P farther west on Broad Street somewhere, but I can't say I recall specifically. The A&P I remember going to was at the old Circle Shopping Center on Belt Boulevard, across from Southside Plaza. My dad really liked that store, so we went there fairly often.

Edited March 4, 2022 by I miss RVA

[123fakestreet]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Was it an A&P?

I remember sitting in the shopping cart while my mom shopped at A&P, that later became a Blockbuster. It's now Elwood Thompson.  Couldn't tell you what the Lowe's was though.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

I remember sitting in the shopping cart while my mom shopped at A&P, that later became a Blockbuster. It's now Elwood Thompson.  Couldn't tell you what the Lowe's was though.

Now that you mention that location, I vaguely remember that A&P there.  A&P was all over town. But not on Broad Street where Lowe's is now.

Edited March 4, 2022 by I miss RVA

[123fakestreet]

Sheathing has been going up on Opus for the past week or two. Can get a much better idea of what the final building will look like now

[Shakman]

I thought sheathing had been complete?

Sheathing is the purple board wrapping the exterior.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Shakman

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

Sheathing has been going up on Opus for the past week or two. Can get a much better idea of what the final building will look like now

Pictures, anyone?

[123fakestreet]

3 hours ago, Shakman said:

I thought sheathing had been complete?

Sheathing is the purple board wrapping the exterior.

Well whatever the final exterior layer is called is going up. Brick façade on the first floor about done too.

[Shakman]

Yeah pics would be great so I can see the type and components of the facade system.  Curious to see if it's similar to the current project I'm on.  The most current picture shows the purple sheathing and the beige fluid applied air /vapor barrier - that's what it looks from a picture.

[eandslee]

Speaking of Opus…I was driving through Richmond last Friday and my wife snapped these two photos for me while I was driving. You can see how prominent it is as you approach downtown coming from the north headed south. I couldn’t tell any difference to the facade, but I was probably too far away to see any details. Enjoy the pics!

 

[I miss RVA]

SWEET pix!! Humble thanks to you and to Mrs. Eandslee for taking these! The Opus looks great - very prominent. Wow - just sitting there all by its lonesome... It just BEGS to have some company on the skyline! 

[123fakestreet]

Light grey metal-ish siding to the left, then the dark grey concrete type finish to the right.  The yellow areas by the doors will all be the concrete type finish, you can see the mounting brackets for the siding going up in the other areas.  Hard to see from this distance photo (you can click the photo and zoom in a lot to get much more detail) but the first floor grey brick facade is basically complete all the way around.

Edited April 7, 2022 by 123fakestreet

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, 123fakestreet said:

Light grey metal-ish siding to the left, then the dark grey concrete type finish to the right.  The yellow areas by the doors will all be the concrete type finish, you can see the mounting brackets for the siding going up in the other areas.  Hard to see from this distance photo (you can click the photo and zoom in a lot to get much more detail) but the first floor grey brick facade is basically complete all the way around.

FANTASTIC!! Thanks so much @123fakestreetfor taking and posting. Wow - this building is really coming along nicely!

Now - I STILL say the Opus just BEGS for some company on the skyline - like, perhaps, at the other end of the block -- to the west. And I believe the gas station (or whatever was there) and the property, etc., was up for sale, no? The footprint of the parcel at the western end of the block is smaller than the square footage for the Opus - but not by THAT much. Maybe at worst 2/3 the size? Probably closer to 3/4? Certainly a (somewhat) corresponding 10, 11 or 12-story building could go up on that corner, no?