Richmond: Economy/Business/Real Estate

[plain]

55 minutes ago, Child2021 said:

This is a interesting read. 

Hanover residents hopeful after Virginia Supreme Court’s Wegmans ruling | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African American Community in Richmond, VA

Information:

A recent decision by the Virginia Supreme Court means residents are being given a second chance to make their case against a Wegmans distribution center — even though construction on the 1.7 million-square-foot facility located in Ashland is nearing completion.

“The blue sky kind of hope would be that [Wegmans] don’t get their certificate of occupancy and they have to return the land back to what it was,” said Henrico resident Renada Harris in a recent phone interview. She grew up in the Brown Grove community where her parents and sister still live, and is a member of the Brown Grove Preservation Group.

“It was my sister Bonnica Cotman who founded the Brown Grove Preservation Group in 2020 to fight the Wegmans development that was going to be 50 feet from our backyard,” Ms. Harris said. “I say ‘ours’ because I go there every week. My sister and my parents live right next door to each other.”

A number of Brown Grove residents, community group Protect Hanover and the Hanover NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality arguing that the project’s environmental impacts to health and quality of life in the majority Black community were not adequately assessed. They cited not only loss of wetlands located on the 217-acre mostly wooded development site, but also contended that both the construction and operation of the proposed facility would result in noise and light pollution, increased flooding risk, diminished water quality and a significant increase to daily trips by cars and trucks that would cause traffic congestion and air pollution.

While this suit remains active, it is a second suit that was filed against the Hanover County Board of Supervisors that came before the state Supreme Court.

That lawsuit, Morgan v. Hanover County Board of Supervisors, is based on the contention that county officials violated multiple state laws and local ordinances by granting a special exemption and making modifications to the site’s zoning designation in May 2020. The plaintiffs were denied the right to make that case when the Hanover Circuit Court declared they lacked standing because they had failed to meet a requirement to demonstrate “particularized harm.”

This past February, the state Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court after finding that “the allegations of particularized harm made by the homeowners are fairly traceable to the Board’s 2020 decision.” Last month the court refused a request from Wegmans to reconsider the decision.

Chris French is a member of Protect Hanover who “lives about a mile as the crow flies away from the Wegmans facility” in Mechanicsville. He believes this decision is an important one.

“It does a lot. The state Supreme Court does not pick up any case willy nilly. They only pick up cases that have impact across the entire state of Virginia,” he said by telephone. “The citizens of the Commonwealth now have greater access to the courts when it comes to land use decisions.”

That’s important, especially for minority communities that have often been particularly harmed by patterns of locating industrial and public infrastructure projects in their backyards.

The Brown Grove community was founded about 150 years ago and many living there now are descendants of Caroline Dobson Morris, a midwife nicknamed the “mother of Brown Grove,” who settled there after being freed from enslavement. These residents saw the Wegmans deal as just one more that would be detrimental to their health and their quality of life, pointing to past decisions such as the routing of Interstate 95 through Brown Grove in the 1950s and 1960s, which split the community in half. Since then a landfill, a concrete plant, an airport and a truck stop off the nearby highway have also been built.

Ms. Harris says issues of dust, traffic congestion, road accidents and pollution the community already faces would be exacerbated further by Wegmans distribution center.

“Our history in Brown Grove is a history of dispossession of our land, dismissal of our opinions, defeat and oppression,” she added.

But now residents are hopeful of a different outcome. When reached by phone for comment, the plaintiffs’ attorney Brian Buniva said “it was a glorious day” when the court ruled in favor of his clients and he is confident about their chances going forward.

“What is likely to happen is that the court will have no choice but to declare the rezoning was unlawful on at least two of the eight counts we have brought. That would mean starting over with the Board of Supervisors to obtain approval.”

Mr. Buniva added that several things could impact the chances of a different result should that happen, including recent elections, the death of the board’s longest serving member Aubrey M. “Bucky” Stanley, Jr. in December 2021, and the fact that Brown Grove has since been recognized as a rural historic district by the state and designated a National Historic Landmark.

Ms. Harris said one of the reasons Brown Grove fought for this historic designation is because “what Wegmans’ lawyers and Hanover County were saying is, ‘No, that’s not a Black community, it’s a white community so there’s no environmental justice protections in that area.

“We’re hopeful now that we have national recognition,” she added. “We’re telling the truth about how Hanover County has treated the community and it may be uncomfortable for them, but now we do have their attention. Now the Hanover officials are engaging with the community as a partner in their plans for the community. We hope that we continue to head in the right direction.”

As for whether or not Wegmans will be able to open on schedule, it is unclear. An email request for comment from the grocery giant was not returned. But Mr. French said should the residents be successful as they hope, Wegmans bears the responsibility for the decision to build while there were legal challenges ongoing.

“They chose to ignore everybody. They chose to go at it on their own with the viewpoint that they would be victorious,” he said. “If they lose, they made a very risky business decision and they have to pay the consequence of that decision.”

 

The facepalm is truly real with this.

[I miss RVA]

11 hours ago, plain said:

The facepalm is truly real with this.

agreed.

[KJHburg]

Wow that is unbelievable and Wegmans should have chosen the NC site they were looking at and they would already by up and operating.  This just seems to be a money grab now.  But long term it could have some impacts as others will notice all the opposition to this project and the length of time to get approved.  

[I miss RVA]

@RVABizSenseMikehas a report in today's RBS that is one of those stories that could potentially under the radar. I chose to post it here in RVA Economy/Business/Real Estate rather than in Shockoe Bottom because the location is less important that the overall event itself.

Charleston (SC)-based Metro Elevator has purchased the roughly 11K sq ft former E. McLauchlan & Sons building at 2000 E. Grace Street with plans to occupy the building as the home of their Virginia division. The $1.2 million deal closed in May. The 35-year-old Metro Elevator repairs, services and installs elevators. They expanded into the Richmond market early last year.

This is enough story that, to me, is much bigger than some of the particulars may indicate - an out-of-state company making a significant investment in the Richmond market is a theme we've been seeing with increased frequency over the last few years, something very important in terms of sustaining RVA's growth and progress. I'm particularly heartened by the fact that Metro Elevator didn't just come to Richmond and lease some space - they have now purchased property and a building and will set up their division headquarters there.

Chalk this up as another WIN for RVA!

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/07/06/elevator-company-slides-into-old-e-mclauchlan-sons-building-in-shockoe-bottom/

Edited July 7, 2023 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

36 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

@RVABizSenseMikehas a report in today's RBS that is one of those stories that could potentially under the radar. I chose to post it here in RVA Economy/Business/Real Estate rather than in Shockoe Bottom because the location is less important that the overall event itself.

Charleston (SC)-based Metro Elevator has purchased the roughly 11K sq ft former E. McLauchlan & Sons building at 2000 E. Grace Street with plans to occupy the building as the home of their Virginia division. The $1.2 million deal closed in May. The 35-year-old Metro Elevator repairs, services and installs elevators. They expanded into the Richmond market early last year.

This is enough story that, to me, is much bigger than some of the particulars may indicate - an out-of-state company making a significant investment in the Richmond market is a theme we've been seeing with increased frequency over the last few years, something very important in terms of sustaining RVA's growth and progress. I'm particularly heartened by the fact that Metro Elevator didn't just come to Richmond and lease some space - they have now purchased property and a building and will set up their division headquarters there.

Chalk this up as another WIN for RVA!

From today's Richmond BizSense:

https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/07/06/elevator-company-slides-into-old-e-mclauchlan-sons-building-in-shockoe-bottom/

What spoke to me is that this is an elevator company - meaning there is pent-up demand for elevators in multi-story buildings!!

[I miss RVA]

12 hours ago, eandslee said:

What spoke to me is that this is an elevator company - meaning there is pent-up demand for elevators in multi-story buildings!!

Hmmmm... wondering if maybe they'll get the elevator contract for the CoStar tower? 

[Shakman]

On 7/7/2023 at 11:36 AM, I miss RVA said:

Hmmmm... wondering if maybe they'll get the elevator contract for the CoStar tower? 

Could be a central and cost-effective location for their regional operations.

[eandslee]

Really, this is for Virginia as a whole, but has huge implications for Richmond:

Virginia Rises to Number 2 in CNBC’s Top States for Business.  I’ll give you two guesses who came in first place…

https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/virginia-rises-to-no-2-in-cnbcs-top-states-for-business/

[I miss RVA]

41 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Really, this is for Virginia as a whole, but has huge implications for Richmond:

Virginia Rises to Number 2 in CNBC’s Top States for Business.  I’ll give you two guesses who came in first place…

https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/virginia-rises-to-no-2-in-cnbcs-top-states-for-business/

One of the biggest takeaways from the article (aside from the higher cost of living and cost of doing business - probably driven more by NOVA than anything) - is the needed focus to prepare the infrastructure to help land the mega-projects that seem to constantly elude us for other states.

The General Assembly needs to get off their collective backsides and pass the damn budget!!

From the article:

Another administration focus is getting more industrial sites shovel-ready, to help prepare land for megaprojects like Lego Group’s $1 billion manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County, which broke ground in April.

A major reason Virginia doesn’t have as many big deals like this, compared with North Carolina and other Southern states, is because the state government hasn’t invested nearly as much money in prepping large land tracts for construction. Youngkin proposed $450 million more in the state budget for site preparation, but as of mid-July, Senate Democrats and House Republicans had not passed an amended budget.

[eandslee]

26 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

One of the biggest takeaways from the article (aside from the higher cost of living and cost of doing business - probably driven more by NOVA than anything) - is the needed focus to prepare the infrastructure to help land the mega-projects that seem to constantly elude us for other states.

The General Assembly needs to get off their collective backsides and pass the damn budget!!

From the article:

Another administration focus is getting more industrial sites shovel-ready, to help prepare land for megaprojects like Lego Group’s $1 billion manufacturing plant in Chesterfield County, which broke ground in April.

A major reason Virginia doesn’t have as many big deals like this, compared with North Carolina and other Southern states, is because the state government hasn’t invested nearly as much money in prepping large land tracts for construction. Youngkin proposed $450 million more in the state budget for site preparation, but as of mid-July, Senate Democrats and House Republicans had not passed an amended budget.

Agreed.  I echo - the GA needs to do their job and pass the budget. They’re holding up the entire state from moving forward economically, which hurts all of us!  Frustrating!

Glad Younkin has identified and is actively working to make Virginia competitive against the “usual suspect” states that typically beat us out for almost everything!  We’ve got to do better!  Now is our (Virginia’s) time!

[I miss RVA]

51 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Agreed.  I echo - the GA needs to do their job and pass the budget. They’re holding up the entire state from moving forward economically, which hurts all of us!  Frustrating!

Glad Younkin has identified and is actively working to make Virginia competitive against the “usual suspect” states that typically beat us out for almost everything!  We’ve got to do better!  Now is our (Virginia’s) time!

Agreed, though in fairness, apparently Virginia is the only five-time winner of CNBC's survey, having topped the list as recently as 2019 and 2021. But overall, I 100% agree with you that indeed a certain state in particular consistently beats us out across the board on almost EVERYTHING. They aren't tied down by the old-school "Virginia conservatism (particularly fiscal conservatism but in some cases, also social conservatism)" that has its roots in the Commonwealth's aristocracy of generations ago. (NOTE:: I am purposely NOT mentioning political issues - and I know our neighbors to the south are facing a lot of challenges in that department that could significantly impact how businesses view the state down the road.)

I wasn't going to post it - but may as well go ahead and do so: even today, RBS is reporting that the CBD store "Kultivate Wellness" is closing its store in Short Pump and heading south to the Tar Heal state because of Virginia's new uber-restrictive laws regulating hemp products. We already know that Chesterfield County is stonewalling the entry of ANY cannabis dispensaries into to the county. And now, the statewide regulations make it essentially untenable for anyone in that particular industry to do business in the Commonwealth.

When I read this story, I could only roll my eyes, face palm and mutter - "Is there ANY wonder why we keep losing out to (as you just now very adroitly put it in your previous post) - 'the usual suspects'?"

It's stuff like this that sets us back God-knows how many years.

EVEN WITH ALL OF THAT SAID; it's pretty clear that in finishing in the #2 spot in 2022 - and winning the survey in 2019 and 2021 - on the whole, Virginia is a damn good place in which to do business - and I think we have a LOT to look forward to and be optimistic about in the coming years. Companies continue to keep us firmly planted on their radar screens - particularly metro Richmond - and if the state can put some serious financial backing into helping get us better prepared from a land and infrastructure standpoint, I think we'll hit quite a few home runs throughout the rest of this decade.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2023/07/11/cbd-shop-kultivate-wellness-shutters-short-pump-store-expands-to-n-c-as-new-va-law-takes-effect/

Edited July 11, 2023 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

I saw this EXTREMELY interesting nugget in RBS in the comments section for the story about Spy Rock's closing on the property near Sauer Center:

Stephen Weisensale

 2 hours ago

 Reply to  Ted Herm

There is a change coming to the new edition of the Virginia building code in early 2024, which will permit mass wood framing up to as many as 18 stories or 270 feet for the R-2 use group (apartments). I believe the current model of a 5 story maximum for type-5 wood construction will in some cases be replaced by this new class of type-4 mass wood frame construction, which will still permit the framing to be wood, but with significantly taller structures. For those familiar with the IBC, look at the 504.3 and .4 tables in the 2021 version.

I know we've discussed on here the use of the specially treated -- significantly stronger -- wood that has been approved in various places (Europe in particular if I recall?) that would allow for taller construction using wood framing rather than either steel or prefab concrete.@wrldcoupe4and @upzoningisgood- have you heard anything about this? If this change in the Virginia building code is, in fact, true, do you foresee that this would this be a game-changer for the size vs cost of RVA developments?

@RVABizSenseMike-- this reader-reported coming change in the state building code sounds like a story that NEEDS some investigation and fleshing out.

Edited July 13, 2023 by I miss RVA

[ancientcarpenter]

21 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

I saw this EXTREMELY interesting nugget in RBS in the comments section for the story about Spy Rock's closing on the property near Sauer Center:

Stephen Weisensale

 2 hours ago

 Reply to  Ted Herm

There is a change coming to the new edition of the Virginia building code in early 2024, which will permit mass wood framing up to as many as 18 stories or 270 feet for the R-2 use group (apartments). I believe the current model of a 5 story maximum for type-5 wood construction will in some cases be replaced by this new class of type-4 mass wood frame construction, which will still permit the framing to be wood, but with significantly taller structures. For those familiar with the IBC, look at the 504.3 and .4 tables in the 2021 version.

I know we've discussed on here the use of the specially treated -- significantly stronger -- wood that has been approved in various places (Europe in particular if I recall?) that would allow for taller construction using wood framing rather than either steel or prefab concrete.@wrldcoupe4and @upzoningisgood- have you heard anything about this? If this change in the Virginia building code is, in fact, true, do you foresee that this would this be a game-changer for the size vs cost of RVA developments?

@RVABizSenseMike-- this reader-reported coming change in the state building code sounds like a story that NEEDS some investigation and fleshing out.

Good lord, this would be HUGE news. 

Instead of 5over1 generic Walter Parks buildings, we'll now have 18over1 generic Walter Parks buildings!

All jokes aside, this is great. More density!

Edited July 14, 2023 by ancientcarpenter

[wrldcoupe4]

This is probably to account for the vertical potential of the cross-laminated timber construction.

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

This is probably to account for the vertical potential of the cross-laminated timber construction.

So is this, legit, actually happening? The Commonwealth is changing their building code next year to allow for this?

Edited July 13, 2023 by I miss RVA

[wrldcoupe4]

I’m not sure, I googled it and it sounds like the materials and technology have outpaced the code in some areas, so the code is catching up. 

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I’m not sure, I googled it and it sounds like the materials and technology have outpaced the code in some areas, so the code is catching up. 

The code catching up -- particularly as it relates to the Commonwealth - is a very good thing, no? This should have a positive impact on construction in Richmond, shouldn't it?

[wrldcoupe4]

I’m not an expert on building materials. Is it substantially cheaper than concrete or steel? I’m not sure that it is a crazy game changer.

[ancientcarpenter]

12 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I’m not an expert on building materials. Is it substantially cheaper than concrete or steel? I’m not sure that it is a crazy game changer.

Yes. Significantly from what I've heard from developers in our neighborhood association meetings. That's why we see so many 5 story apartments going up - that's the max you can reach for height with wood...for now!

[wrldcoupe4]

There's a difference between the wood used for all these apartment buildings (cheap) and CLT (more expensive). Wood frame/stickbuilt apartment construction is limited by its nature to about that height. The code update is accounting for this relatively newish material.

[Downtowner]

Yes the ibc as well as the National electrical code changes in 2024. Virginia takes forever to update codes because we are a commonwealths. Commonwealths take much longer as a state live North Carolina will update it every year the code books change. I’m still on 2017 edition until next year. But I will take my journeyman’s and master electrician based off 2017 since that’s what I started with. 

[Brent114]

I suspect the cost savings come from the speed at which you can build with wood compared to concrete.  In the time it takes to erect the concrete forms you can build a floor,  interior framing included. 

[BigBobbyG]

Hey with this new material maybe we can get a few more residential towers to replace some of those surface lots in the area of downtown where Monroe Ward hits the business district.
 

Just stopped by Nama (great place) around there earlier and was drifting off thinking the potential of the area. That being said, the new apartments that have opened already have changed the area quite a bit. It used to be that the place was a ghost town on weekend afternoons and this time there was plenty of people out and about! 

[123fakestreet]

On 7/15/2023 at 5:59 PM, Downtowner said:

Yes the ibc as well as the National electrical code changes in 2024. Virginia takes forever to update codes because we are a commonwealths. Commonwealths take much longer as a state live North Carolina will update it every year the code books change. I’m still on 2017 edition until next year. But I will take my journeyman’s and master electrician based off 2017 since that’s what I started with. 

Commonwealth is literally just what some states choose to call themselves, has absolutely no bearing on legislation or the way the govt functions.

[Downtowner]

12 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

Commonwealth is literally just what some states choose to call themselves, has absolutely no bearing on legislation or the way the govt functions.

It does in regards to building codes. Commonwealth states are always the last to implement current building codes. Like I said we are still on 2017 building codes until next year. Some states do call themselves commonwealths but it doesn’t matter because they are still always the last to implement building codes no matter how you look at it.