Richmond Business & Commercial News

Prominent restaurant closes, who wants in?

It is big news in Richmond when a long-standing local restaurant stalwart closes.  Even the usual blurbs about openings and closings can get blown into a full-out article in the RTD. 

The recent closing of La Petite France demonstrated that even titans can fall.  La Petite had operated at 2108 Maywill Street since 1971, and had a strong following for its French fine-dining experience.

There are always a multitude of possible reasons why a business closes its doors, and there is no point in trying to make guesses from the outside -- and it's always a shame to see it happen.  The most-recent owners of the business made some statements as to why they made their decision, and you can see those in the RTD article from Thursday's edition.

As for moving forward, the building owners are prepared to make a good deal for a qualified tenant looking for a fully-equipped restaurant and has told Bandazian & Holden to find someone ASAP.  Get in contact with me and let's see what we can do.

City Council votes on hot projects

Two high-profile votes came before Richmond City Council last night -- one for a four-story condo/apartment complex in the Springhill historic neighborhood and the other regarding the proposed public marina site beside the Rocketts Landing development.

Manchester on the James - 200 unit residential complex

This has been flying under the radar for quite some time.  I remember seeing stories about this proposed development from a couple of years ago, but I haven't heard a peep about it until this vote last night.

Although, this posting from 01/18/08 on River District News explains some of the more up-to-date information that I apparently missed.  The original proposal was for a 17-story high rise with "luxury condos".  The revision was to a 4-story building with smaller units.  The shift in focus to more of a rental use rather than owner-occupied units is what provoked the ire of nearby residents.

From an article in this morning's RTD:

Crosland, a Charlotte, N.C.-based development company, plans the complex on a 2-acre block bounded by Cowardin, Riverside Drive, West 19th Street and Stonewall Avenue. The company plans to build and market the complex as condominiums, but it also asked for the ability to offer apartments to provide market flexibility. The project calls for ground-level retail along Cowardin and a 320-space parking deck.

Despite the protests of the neighbors, City Council passed the proposal and Crosland LLC should begin construction on the 200-unit complex before too long.

Property beside Echo Harbor to be purchased -- but will there be a marina?

City Council voted to back the plan for the City to purchase the Lehigh property, 1.6 acres at 3111 Water Street.  The property is located immediately adjacent to the Richmond Intermediate Terminal, where the mayor has proposed the hotly contested public marina.

The Council reserved the right to allow a private developer to develop part of the site, and deliberately stayed silent on their stance regarding the proposed marina.  So, the saga continues.