In early December, about 350 people filed into The National downtown for a coffee-free morning loaded with details on development projects impacting the downtown area. I took plenty of notes, but found myself struck by a small handful of remarks or initiatives that floated above the rapid-fire waltz through more than 60 downtown projects nearing completion or underway.
The Downtown Development Forum has become an annual event, and is pulled together by the folks at Venture Richmond. It is by nature an optimistic showcase, even in a down economy. (And because it's always important to get your point across ad infinitum, Venture Richmond is airing the hour-long presentation on the Richmond government access cable channel 17 at 5:15 and 9:30 a.m., and 5:15 and 10:15 p.m. through January.)
Here -- in no particular order, except the order of my notes -- are a few thoughts and observations:
- The National: It was built as a moviehouse in 1923, was renovated as a nightclub/performance venue some 80 years later. The National will have pulled together more than 200 shows seen by some 180,000 people by year's end. In the words of whoever spoke on behalf of The National at the forum, "What makes this theater very unique -- it's much wider than most which means the artist gets to see everyone really close, and you as the audience get to see an artist up close." It's a lovely space, even if you're just there to see a slideshow of downtown construction sites.
- The Shockoe Bottom Project: I've yet to put much ink on the web about this project, not because it isn't important but primarily because I've had far too little time to explore it fairly. I'm intrigued by the way it's being pitched, so to speak, in contrast to the "Baseball comes downtown" spiel that heralded the last attempt to site a ball stadium in the Bottom. In the words of the project's rep at the forum, "It is a neighborhood redevelopment ... it is not the erection of a baseball stadium with miles and miles of parking like we have now." The proposed ballfield is smaller than The Diamond with some 6,500 seats, and will be ringed by mixed use development. I expect this will become a hot topic in mid-to-late January as the proposal moves through the new Jones administration and into the hands of City Council.
- UR Comes Downtown: Possibly one of the most exciting initiatives discussed was the arrival of the University of Richmond in downtown as the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement and the T.C. Williams School of Law join together to provide a law clinic, a pro bono center, classes, community rooms and an art gallery/cafe in a dramatically renovated 1950s building at 7th and Broad streets. It boasts an amazingly restored mural by artist Hans E. Gassman, and will provide UR a long-overdue connection to the city.
Through the entire forum, I found myself a bit astonished by the volume of development still underway in downtown Richmond -- even subtracting projects like CenterStage or the Federal Courts Building that were launched long before the economic downtown. But I was even more astonished by several comments made by presenters that presumed that Richmond was somehow uniquely positioned to avoid the serious consequences of the current economic reshuffling taking place.
Surveying the landscape, I see a city just slipping into the slowdown -- not one smartly avoiding one. I suspect there will be some dramatic reworking of the financials for a number of projects that exist on paper as we move into 2009, and significantly lower rents for those currently entering the market.
But even with my more jaundiced view of the year ahead, it's hard not to be impressed with the transformation that downtown Richmond has experienced in recent years. It'll be even more impressive if the Jones administration can take advantage of a slower development tempo to make the urban core more livable, more affordable and more diverse than we've seen to date.
