MidAtlantic City Scoop: Construction Starts in Richmond

City Scoop: Richmond — Total Construction Spending Slated to Dip by Nearly 6% This Year

A mixed-use project called Gather at City Center is being constructed along Richmond’s new rapid bus line.

*RENDERING COURTESY OF DODSON DEVELOPMENT*

KBS Inc. is working on a $25-million expansion of the Virginia War Memorial, which will allow names of Virginians lost in current conflicts to be added to the shrine.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF KBS INC*

City Grill

Andy Beach
Principal
UrbanCore Construction

Richmond’s robust development will continue with the recent completion of the $65-million rapid bus line, Beach says. The 7.6-mile route has signal-priority traffic lights, bus-only lanes and 26 station platforms. “I took it to work this morning, and it’s really cool,” Beach said shortly after the line’s June 24 launch.

New zoning that permits less-restrictive building height and parking requirements is sparking local construction, including a project Beach’s firm is building called Gather at City Center. The project, to be completed in 2019, will connect four existing buildings that have vacant storefronts. It will include 20,000 sq ft of office space and 10,000 sq ft of retail. “Because of the transit, you are getting a lot of demand for retail in those areas,” Beach says.

A group of corporate leaders led by Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion Energy’s chief executive, is in negotiations to replace the dilapidated, city-owned Richmond Coliseum with a 17,500-seat arena. Construction on a 20-story office tower for Dominion is scheduled to open next year. The complex will have parking for more than 1,000 employees, making existing offsite parking lots ripe for development, Beach says. He says Richmond’s larger projects are “making the city even more livable and better than it already was.”

Firm in Focus

KBS Inc.
8050 Kimway Drive, Richmond
MidAtlantic Business Unit Leader: Bill Paulette, CEO
Founded: 1975
What’s New: KBS Inc. is working on a $25-million expansion of the Virginia War Memorial, which will allow names of Virginians lost in current conflicts to be added to the shrine. The plan calls for adding 26,500 sq ft to the existing facility, including new offices for the Virginia Dept. of Veterans Services, educational facilities and a lecture hall. KBS also completed the Virginia War Memorial’s Paul and Phyllis Galanti Educational Center in 2010.

KBS, which has offices in Richmond and Virginia Beach, is currently building 19 projects within the Richmond city limits, including the 354,846-sq-ft Locks Tower mixed-use development, the 202,000-sq-ft Marshall at City Center mixed-use development, the 199,484-sq-ft Marshall Street Apartments and the 228,600-sq-ft Artisan Hill apartment development.