A major new development is headed for Richmond in the form of the First Freedom Center and Hotel. The building, which was approved by city council on Monday (the 23rd), will be built on the corner of 14th and Cary Street in Shockoe Slip. This site is now used as surface parking but it was once home to the State’s Capitol building where the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was signed into law.
The building will include a Courtyard Marriott and an extended stay Residence Inn which, together, will total 210 rooms. In addition, the First Freedom Center will occupy some of the building’s first floor. A monument to the important legislation passed on the site will occupy the corner while a the two wing hotel will take up the remaining space, leaving a plaza facing Cary Street. The building will permanently close a block-long section of Virginia Street, a historic cobblestone street that predates Richmond’s gridded city plan. Baskervill is the project’s architect; construction is set to begin in early 2013.
Check back for more coverage as this project develops.
D.OK.
Write a Comment