"Traditional Landmark" Proposed Downtown

More cranes might be rising downtown; RTD has the story.

A 15-story corporate office building planned for downtown Richmond could rise beginning this year and become home to the Williams Mullen law firm...

An office tower was anticipated on the site when the Richmond Metropolitan Authority built its Expressway Parking Deck. The deck opened in 1992 and has about 1,000 spaces on nine levels, including three levels underground.

The office building's proposed design got a tepid review from Rachel Flynn, the city's director of community development.

"I'd like to see more glass," she said. "I'm not thrilled with all the pre-cast [materials]. It's another banal building on the Richmond skyline."

I have to be honest, I had to Google "banal" to find out what the hell it means.  Flynn must like to remind everyone she studied at Harvard.  Anyhow, at least Richmond finally has someone looking out for our image. 

Now, take a peek at this project happening in Louisville. 

It will contain a contemporary art museum, restaurants and retail stores, 85 luxury condominiums, 150 lofts, a 300-room hotel, office space and a 1,100-car underground parking garage.

The $380 million Museum Plaza, a radical skyscraper whose design is being introduced to the public today, will add a contemporary landmark to downtown Louisville when it's completed in 2010.

Ah, yes - a contemporary landmark.  We have so many landmarks in Richmond, just none of the contemporary nature.  I guess we prefer the traditional landmark in our city.

I've never been to Louisville, but Louisville and Richmond aren't very different as far as the numbers go.  Similar sized metro areas, similar demographic, Richmond City is two times as dense and... oh yeah, Louisville is a consolidated city-county.  I guess Louisville gets along with its neighbors, huh?  Just three years after "Louisville Metro" was formed this tower was proposed.  I'm not suggesting city-county consolidation inherently brings exciting buildings, just thought I'd bring it up...

I'm not a student of architecture, but I know skyscrapers do not make a city.  Street-scape makes a city livable.  Skyscrapers and skylines are just a city's way of saying, "mine's bigger than your's", but it sure is nice to brag. 

Any time a new building is proposed downtown, it's usually a good thing - someone is investing in the city.  I hope something exciting and at least somewhat contemporary is eventually presented for this project.  If you run across a rendering, let me know.

Comments

[Paul]

Nicely written. I've only whisked through Louisville on the way to St. Louis, but I've read many positive things about their downtown ballpark. Combining city and county have create on large city and given them a high profile nationwide. It is now a larger metro area by square miles than NYC. Louisville population grew from 251,000 to 750,000 overnight. The lack of competition and conflict between City and County can only help.