A rendering from Richmond Community Development Partners’ proposal shows new structures around the Blues Armory building. (City documents)
A clearer picture has emerged of the four development teams that are vying for Richmond’s City Center project – as well as their visions for the mixed-use redevelopment that would replace the Richmond Coliseum.
The city on Friday released one-pagers from each of the remaining contenders in the project’s solicitation process. The single-page summaries provide a glimpse of their respective plans for the project, as well as a full list of their team rosters.
The documents were included in the teams’ responses to a formal request for offers that were due April 20. The four finalists have since been interviewed in-person by the project’s evaluation panel, and negotiations with one or more of the teams are to follow, leading up to a potential selection this summer, according to the solicitation.
Leading the negotiations are the Richmond Economic Development Authority and the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority, which issued the joint solicitation in November for the 9-acre project that’s to be anchored by a new convention center hotel.
A conceptual map of the city blocks and properties involved in the city’s City Center plan and their potential uses.
The project involves demolishing the Coliseum, adaptive reuse of the neighboring Blues Armory building, infrastructure improvements, and development of a 500-room hotel to support the convention center. Tourism officials have said for years that a convention center hotel is needed because existing downtown hotels do not have the capacity to serve the convention center to its fullest potential.
Also required with the project is office and retail space, new housing including lower-income units, parking and transit facilities, bicycle and pedestrian improvements, public open space and infrastructure improvements, including reconnections of Sixth and Clay streets through the site.
The one-pagers released Friday include conceptual renderings and site plans, a description of each team’s vision for the site, and a list of team members – including some that were not previously known:
Capstone Development LLC
Renderings from Capstone Development LLC’s proposal.
Led by Capstone Development, the Maryland-based firm that’s the hotel developer on Richmond’s Diamond District project, the team includes retail developer Edens, based in Washington, D.C., and Ventas, a life sciences-focused real estate investment trust out of Chicago. Capstone is the team’s hotel and residential developer.
Rounding out the team are Atlanta-based architecture firm Cooper Carry, and Richmond-based general contractor W.M. Jordan Co.
Capstone, which focuses on hotel, residential and mixed-use projects, has developed five hotels in D.C. and Maryland, including the Marriott-branded Courtyard Washington Downtown/Convention Center in D.C. Edens’ output includes developments in D.C.’s Union Market District and Fairfax’s Mosaic District.
The team’s one-pager describes its concept for City Center as an “integrated, mixed-use development project” with “hotels” and “lab/office space,” among other components. Renderings show a park and four multistory buildings, including the convention center hotel where the Coliseum is now, and a residential tower northeast of the Blues Armory.
The one-pager adds: “The proposed project features new streets reconnecting the site to the surrounding neighborhoods, and a vibrant, walkable public realm including ample open green spaces.”
City Center Gateway Partners
The proposal from City Center Gateway Partners is anchored by a 30-story convention center hotel.
Led locally by Capital Square and Shamin Hotels, the team also includes by D.C.-based housing developer Dantes Partners, North Carolina-based life sciences real estate developer Ancora, and Virginia Beach-based Gold Key | PHR, which is the hotel developer along with Shamin. Capital Square is listed as the team’s local development and capital partner.
Other team members include Gensler (master plan architect); Baskervill (design architect); OJB (park and greenspaces); VHB, F&R, Schnabel, and Clancy & Theys (site and infrastructure); Of Place (placemaking and retail); Storefront for Community Design (community visioning); J&G Workforce (workforce); and Reynolds Community College (education).
Capital Square, based in Henrico, has made moves in recent years into development in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood. Dantes focuses on income-based housing and is currently developing Pin Oaks Estates, a 98-unit apartment complex in Petersburg. Goldkey | PHR developed The Cavalier Resort in Virginia Beach and Hilton the Main in Norfolk.
Renderings and a site plan show a 30-story hotel along Fifth Street, a park called “City Center Commons,” a trailhead along Seventh Street for the Fall Line Trail, a performance stage and residential buildings.
The one-pager describes City Center as “a true gateway that creates an active and inclusive community, showcasing Richmond as a vibrant city, full of innovation and culture. New downtown residents, longtime Richmonders, and out-of-towners will enjoy a mix of retail and dining venues, opening onto a world-class urban park.”
It adds: “City Center will be grounded by a Gateway Hotel, filled with convention goers who are eager to experience all the neighborhood has to offer. City Center will be a source of fun, entertainment, and respite, but it will also be a catalyst for employment and career advancement for residents throughout the region. This transformative development will position Richmond for success in the decades to come.”
Lincoln Property Company
Lincoln Property Company’s submission.
Tied to two companies co-founded by former pro football great Emmitt Smith, the team is led by Lincoln Property Co., a Dallas-based firm that has developed commercial and residential buildings across the country, including the 1030 15th Street and 699 Fourteenth buildings in D.C.
Joining Lincoln are Smith’s companies: E Smith Horizons, a subsidiary of Smith’s E Smith Legacy commercial real estate holding company; and Gold Jacket, a Miami-based development investment firm co-founded by Smith.
Rounding out the team are D.C.-based Legacy Real Estate Development; architecture firm CallisonRTKL, a subsidiary of global design firm Arcadis; and out of Richmond, civil engineering firm Timmons Group and general contractor Hourigan.
Renderings show several multistory buildings, including two that would be connected over Clay Street by a pedestrian bridge with “City Center” signage. The one-pager describes the project as a “dynamic urban hub that combines technological advancement with an approachable hometown atmosphere.”
“It will foster the exchange of ideas, starting from the Convention Center and permeating throughout the city, seamlessly transforming a business lunch into an evening concert,” the description adds. “At its core, City Center is a compact, dense, and mixed-use district, promoting walkability and serving as the central point for both downtown and the entire community.”
Richmond Community Development Partners
Richmond Community Development Partners’ proposal.
The runner-up for the Diamond District, the team is led by Houston-based Machete Group and Richmond development firm Bank Street Advisors, the latter whose local projects include the One Canal apartments in Monroe Ward and the Soda Flats apartments under construction beside The Hofheimer building in Scott’s Addition.
Also leading the team are hotel developer and operator Highgate, Richmond development firm M Companies (historic preservation), housing developer Brinshore Development, and life sciences developer GlenLine.
The team also includes architecture firms Hanbury (master planner, urban design); Marvel and Rockwell Group (hotel architect and interior design); SMBW and KEi (design architects with Hanbury), Moseley (affordable housing), and Waterstreet and Fall Line (landscape architects with Marvel).
Rounding out the team are civil engineering firm VHB, Todd Waldo of diversity consulting firm Hugh Helen LLC, CW Consulting Group (workforce development), BRV (placemaking), Stantec (sustainability), and construction firms Gilbane Building Co., Davis Brothers Construction, Canterbury Enterprises and L.F. Jennings.
The team’s site plan and renderings show a hotel along Fifth Street with a pedestrian bridge to the convention center, a “6th Street market” beside the Blues Armory building, a park at Clay and Seventh streets, and life science buildings across Leigh Street from the VA Bio+Tech Park.
The team’s concept describes City Center as “the cornerstone of our downtown, offering convention center visitors a vibrant destination full of life and energy; creating a platform for scientific advancement at the new Bio Tech Park; a convenient and desirable place to live and socialize for VCU Health doctors, nurses, students, and other health care providers; and a new urban living room, offering live entertainment and graceful public spaces for all of Richmond.”
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