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 December 20, 2024:
City Center negotiations down to one development team, source say
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Jonathan Spiers
Richmond’s search for its preferred development team for the seemingly stagnant City Center redevelopment project is said to be down to one team and in final negotiations as the slow-moving process enters a third year.
According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, just one of the four project finalists – Capstone Development – remains in active negotiations with the city. Richmond has been leading the selection process after issuing a joint solicitation in late 2022 with the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority.
The 9-acre project would replace the Richmond Coliseum with a 500-room convention center hotel and a mix of office, retail and housing development.
The city and GRCCA have not officially selected or announced a City Center developer and aren’t expected to by the end of this year, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing negotiations.
VCU Board signs off on $38M first phase of Athletic Village
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Mike Platania
VCU Athletics’ new hub near The Diamond took a step closer to becoming reality last week.
The university’s Board of Visitors voted Friday to formally approve plans for the first phase of its Athletic Village off Hermitage Road. The approval was a procedural step in VCU Athletics’ years-long effort to bring the majority of its facilities to the Diamond District area.
The first phase will take shape on the former Greyhound Lines bus maintenance facility property at 2701 Hermitage Road and include a new, 1,500-seat stadium and field to replace the neighboring Sports Backers Stadium, the 25-year-old facility at 2911 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd. where the Rams currently host their soccer matches and track-and-field meets.
The Greyhound facility was razed earlier this year. The site will also house two new practice fields.
Construction on the fields and track on Hermitage are set to begin in January, with work on the stadium portion to begin a few months later in July. Barton Malow is the general contractor and HKS is the architect.
‘The world’s first’: Startup plans multi-billion dollar fusion power plant in Chesterfield
Reported by Richmond Bizsense’s Jack Jacobs
A startup that was spun out of MIT is planning to build what it hopes will be the world’s first commercial nuclear fusion power plant in Chesterfield County.
Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems announced Tuesday its plans to build a 400-megawatt fusion plant, and has identified a 94-acre property outside Chester for the project.
The proposed power plant, which is known as ARC, is expected to be operational in the early 2030s. The facility is expected to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 150,000 homes. CFS declined to share a cost estimate for the project.
The company would build and operate the power plant at 1201 Battery Brooke Parkway, which is currently owned by Dominion Energy.
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