Six in Play for Boulevard Project

Richmond may not have a baseball team in 2009, but six firms are vying to design and build a mixed-use development along North Richmond's Boulevard and Hermitage Road corridors that may include a new baseball stadium and a relocated Sports Backers complex -- along with a variety of housing, commercial and retail options.

The City of Richmond has received six bids for the development of 60+ acres of city-owned land surrounding The Diamond, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. (Buttermilk & Molasses covered the proposed development in-depth in January.)

The firms submitting proposals -- details of which the city would not disclose -- represent a broad spectrum, ranging from a local engineering firm to one of the largest retail management companies in the country. The city has hired a nationally known development consultant, The Staubach Company, to manage the selection process.

The firms under consideration are Colonial Properties Trust; Barry Real Estate; Timmons Group; The Diamond Development Group; Regency Centers; and Douglas Development Corp.

NBC12 has more details from the city's chief financial officer, Harry Black, including the assertion that there will be a team playing baseball in a stadium in the proposed development:

Black says the city has its own vision but, it is still not clear whether or not it includes The Diamond as is or the Arthur Ashe Center.

"We will not constrain the process," says Black. "We know we want to create a sports entertainment destination, with a family orientation, that is the parameters we're going to put forth."

Either way Black assures Richmond area residents baseball is an integral part of the plan and says while a AAA team may not be in the future, there have been plenty of interest from AA teams.

But, Black stresses, while bringing baseball back to Richmond is a key factor, it's not the only part of this revitalization effort.

Black says, "We know we're going to get another baseball team. What's more important to us at this point, is not so much whether or not we're going to get a baseball team, because we know we are. It's the quality of the ownership group that's really what's going to be just as critical to us as getting a team."

City officials will interview those developers one by one and they will ask them for the official proposals by mid-April. Then, we will get a better look at some of these plans that may come to fruition sometime in the coming year. As for a deadline when they will pick that one team, that should be by June.