BizSense Beat is a weekly collaboration between VPM News and Richmond BizSense that brings you the top business stories during NPR's Morning Edition on Fridays.
Here’s a recap of the top stories for the week of June 9, 2023:
Apartment towers totaling 550 units next to Legend get Planning Commission nod
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Mike Platania
One of the largest apartment projects proposed in Richmond in recent memory took a step toward city approval on Monday.
The Richmond Planning Commission voted yesterday to recommend a special-use permit for plans by Avery Hall Investments plans to build two towers reaching 16 and 17 stories and housing 553 total apartments overlooking the James River.
Avery Hall’s site is at 301 W. Sixth St., just north of Legend Brewing Co., the longtime local brewery whose views of the downtown Richmond skyline would be obscured by the new buildings.
D.C. developer Hoffman planning $133M mixed-use project in Scott’s Addition
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Jack Jacobs
After it was cut from consideration for the Diamond District last year, an out-of-town developer is back again in Richmond with plans for a large project in nearby Scott’s Addition.
Washington, D.C.-based Hoffman & Associates announced Monday that it is planning a 400,000-square-foot, six-story mixed-use development at 3200 W. Moore St.
The $133 million project is planned to feature 368 apartment units and 13,000 square feet of retail space, according to the announcement. It also would include 10,000 square feet of amenities such as courtyards, a pool deck and event space.
Dominion to sell downtown city block after scrapping plans for ‘clean energy park’
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Michael Schwartz
A full city block in downtown Richmond may be developed after all, as Dominion Energy has changed course yet again for the vacant lot it owns next to its headquarters.
The company confirmed this week it has scrapped its plans to build a “clean energy park” at 701 E. Cary St., and instead plans to list the 2-acre site for sale.
A sale of the property would mark yet another turn for the parcel that was leveled and left dormant after the May 2020 implosion of Dominion’s 21-story One James River Plaza office building.
Developer sues Hanover supervisors after residential project rejected
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Jack Jacobs
After multiple attempts over more than a year to get a residential development through the Hanover rezoning process, a local firm has taken to the courtroom in its latest bid to move the project forward.
Rogers-Chenault Inc. recently filed suit against the Hanover County Board of Supervisors to challenge the board’s denial of a rezoning request tied to the firm’s proposed 176-lot Rock Springs subdivision.
Rogers-Chenault argues that supervisors had no substantive reason for rejecting the proposal, because the project was in line with Hanover’s land-use policies.
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