City EDA to issue RFP for redevelopment of Intermediate Terminal building - Richmond BizSense

Mike Platania October 21, 2024 13

The Intermediate Terminal building is built on stilts just west of Rocketts Landing. (Mike Platania photo)

Left in limbo for six years after a Stone Brewing-backed redevelopment plan went off the boil, the city-owned Intermediate Terminal Warehouse is being primed for new life.

The Richmond Economic Development Authority is preparing to issue a request for proposals for the potential reinvention of the century-old structure at 3101 E. Main St. near Rocketts Landing.

The EDA, which owns the building, is looking to field proposals that would see the building restored or renovated, not demolished, said EDA Senior Deputy Director Katie McConnell.

She said the EDA is hoping to release the RFP by the end of the year, and that they’ll be seeking specific uses for the riverfront property.

“Residential uses are not permitted because the property is located in the floodway. Commercial uses will be sought and will include office, retail and restaurants, with an emphasis on relating to the river,” McConnell said in an email.

The future of the Terminal building has been up in the air for years.

The 30,000-square-foot structure was included in the 2014 deal that the city made to bring Stone Brewing Co. to Richmond, as the brewery was initially slated to receive $8 million in bonds to convert it into location for its Stone World Bistro & Gardens concept.

But those plans were derailed in 2018 when the city and Stone discovered that it was not feasible to convert the 104-year-old, stilted building into a bistro. Things took yet another turn in 2020 when an engineering study found that the Terminal was actually able to be converted for a hospitality use.

Through the pandemic it sat idle, and Stone never ultimately received the bond funding. Last year the EDA began pondering the future of the property.

Stone, now owned by Japanese brewing giant Sapporo, has scrapped its plans for a World Bistro & Gardens location in Richmond.

The brewery had long been mum on whether they’d look to open a bistro elsewhere in the city, but last week a Stone spokeswoman confirmed “there no current plans for a Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in (Richmond).”

The EDA also owns a 3-acre wooded parcel across the street at 4303 and 4319 E. Main St. that abuts Stone’s taproom. McConnell said they’re “currently assessing whether that parcel may be of value for parking, but a final decision has not yet been made.”

The Intermediate Terminal building is built on stilts just west of Rocketts Landing. (Mike Platania photo)

Left in limbo for six years after a Stone Brewing-backed redevelopment plan went off the boil, the city-owned Intermediate Terminal Warehouse is being primed for new life.

The Richmond Economic Development Authority is preparing to issue a request for proposals for the potential reinvention of the century-old structure at 3101 E. Main St. near Rocketts Landing.

The EDA, which owns the building, is looking to field proposals that would see the building restored or renovated, not demolished, said EDA Senior Deputy Director Katie McConnell.

She said the EDA is hoping to release the RFP by the end of the year, and that they’ll be seeking specific uses for the riverfront property.

“Residential uses are not permitted because the property is located in the floodway. Commercial uses will be sought and will include office, retail and restaurants, with an emphasis on relating to the river,” McConnell said in an email.

The future of the Terminal building has been up in the air for years.

The 30,000-square-foot structure was included in the 2014 deal that the city made to bring Stone Brewing Co. to Richmond, as the brewery was initially slated to receive $8 million in bonds to convert it into location for its Stone World Bistro & Gardens concept.

But those plans were derailed in 2018 when the city and Stone discovered that it was not feasible to convert the 104-year-old, stilted building into a bistro. Things took yet another turn in 2020 when an engineering study found that the Terminal was actually able to be converted for a hospitality use.

Through the pandemic it sat idle, and Stone never ultimately received the bond funding. Last year the EDA began pondering the future of the property.

Stone, now owned by Japanese brewing giant Sapporo, has scrapped its plans for a World Bistro & Gardens location in Richmond.

The brewery had long been mum on whether they’d look to open a bistro elsewhere in the city, but last week a Stone spokeswoman confirmed “there no current plans for a Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in (Richmond).”

The EDA also owns a 3-acre wooded parcel across the street at 4303 and 4319 E. Main St. that abuts Stone’s taproom. McConnell said they’re “currently assessing whether that parcel may be of value for parking, but a final decision has not yet been made.”

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Mike Platania joined BizSense in December 2016. He covers commercial real estate, restaurants and breweries. He graduated from Virginia Tech. Reach him at [email protected] or (804) 554-6872.

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Hmmmmm…. dare I weigh in on this? Stone had unexpected issues of their own — they kinda started their expansion a bit late and were trying to go too big — their Berlin Germany expansion was even more inspiring, and was a huge disaster. Meanwhile, I suspect they knew before a lot of others, being both big and wisened by experience, that signs that things are slowing down in beer means worse trouble ahead, and I saw their venturing into the whole Hard Selzer market as a clear sign that they were gonna try to sell the business. But, more… Read more »

Please tear this hideous structure down to the ground. We don’t have to save everything, just because it’s old. That’s the problem with the city.

The only development this eyesore needs is a wrecking ball. Stone had it right, it’s not worth it to fix it. Who keeps trying to make saving this a thing? They need to be fired.

It’s the cost center for all the fraudulent credit card charges the city makes. How dare you disrupt their plan?

Move this beautiful piece of historical albatross, er, architecture to Monumentless Ave.

Why not let it be what it already is, a street art space. There are plenty of examples of legal walls in other cities where artists, new or established can create and display work. The city has long courted international muralists and established Richmond icons with street art festivals that are often torn down a few years latter. Newer local artists are left with few options to develop and collaborate. The bus warehouses in the fan, the power plant at shockoe bottom, and now the Diamond are all examples of the city benefiting from street art. Multiple city plans both… Read more »

I think you have this building mixed up with something else. It has never been a street art space. It has been nothing but an eyesore for decades.

Tear it down or rehab it. Whoever gets it next should have a requirement to complete the project in X #of years so don’t just keep having developers/businesses with big ideas that never come to fruition.

Does traffic go under this thing? I thought I remembered driving thru it .

You used to! The city widened Main Street and closed Water Street to make it a dedicated part of the Virginia Capital Trail.

I suggest that, in the future, biz sense provide a link or some other way of getting information about a building like this that is put up for public tender.

This lifetime Richmonder loves this building. It’s not pretty; it’s Brutal and in that I find some beauty. It’s functional and it has quite a story. Richmond was a huge port and this building had a lot to do with that. It was visited by FDR and the concrete out front is called the “sugar pad” due to the tons of sugar unloaded there, mainly from Cuba. This is a fantastic history of the building that will hopefully make it more appreciated than it seems to be here.

https://www.oregonhill.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Intermediate-Terminal-3-Section-106-Comment-Charles-Pool-June-2018.pdf

I heard Andy Warhol once touched it, or maybe he stuck some gum on a wall….

Our Indigenous owned and operated nonprofit organization is looking for a home and physical location. Nobody has a better connection to the river than Native peoples. As the wish of the city is to have a connection it’s very fitting. I’ll be sending some emails. I would love to see the area’s indigenous people get back just a bit of real estate and have a place to share with everyone the history and rich culture we bring to the table. A place for everyone… to explore history, watch presentations, and do hands on activities!