Washington, D.C.-based firm Douglas Development Corporation offered to purchase approximately 14 acres of downtown land, including the shuttered Richmond Coliseum, for $15 million in an unsolicited letter received by the city last week. (Photo by Rodrigo Arriaza)
Though the controversial $1.5 billion Navy Hill proposal was scrapped by Richmond City Council earlier this month, a Washington, D.C.-based developer is interested in buying city-owned land in the downtown zone that was slated for redevelopment.
As first reported by Richmond BizSense, Washington, D.C.-based firm Douglas Development Corporation offered to purchase approximately 14 acres of downtown land in the Navy Hill development area in an unsolicited letter received by the city on Feb. 18, eight days after council voted to strike 10 measures necessary to the $1.5 billion Navy Hill project from its docket, essentially killing that iteration of the downtown redevelopment plan.
Douglas Development Corp. would purchase the shuttered Richmond Coliseum and the surrounding site for $15 million with a $1 million deposit, the letter states. Notably, the firm says it wouldn’t look to build a new arena, and would instead “bring the (Coliseum) up to modern day standards.” In the letter, signed by Douglas Development Corp. President and Founder Douglas Jemal, the firm says it would rehab the coliseum at its own expense without needing new city taxes, bonds or a tax increment financing (TIF) plan.
“Our goal is to provide the highest and best use for the land through commercial and residential development therefore maximizing the City’s new found tax base,” the letter states. “Without costing the city any money the economic benefits will include a new hotel, office buildings, transit center, Coliseum, bustling retail experiences and housing.”
Douglas Development Corp. owns properties in Washington, D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, including several Richmond area buildings.
Other aspects of the redevelopment effort outlined in the Douglas Development Corp. letter resemble elements of the failed NH District Corp. proposal including a downtown hotel, apartments, a grocery store, retail and office space and a “new urban-suburban bus line station which they will lease back to the city upon completion.”
NH District Corp. would have redeveloped a 10-block downtown zone bounded by North Fifth, East Leigh, North 10th and East Marshall streets with a new 17,500-seat arena, a 525-room hotel, more 2,500 apartments with 480 units reserved for those earning under the area’s median household income (estimated at $86,000 for a family of four by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2019), a million square feet of commercial space, more than 250,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, the renovation of the historic Blues Armory and a new GRTC transit center.
“I am the right guy for the job!!,” Jemal wrote next to his signature. The offer will expire on May 18.
The city’s Department of Economic Development intends to follow up with the firm to request more information about its proposal, Acting Chief Administrative Officer Lenora Reid said in a memorandum to Mayor Levar Stoney, City Council and members of the city’s administration.
Council will need to start from square one before it can explore a new downtown redevelopment effort, however. To move forward, Interim City Attorney Haskell Brown said Monday that council will need to declare city-owned land in the development area as surplus, and will need to follow steps outlined in a resolution it also adopted on Feb. 10 petitioning Mayor Levar Stoney to restart the request for proposals (RFP) process for redeveloping the downtown zone.
These include engaging public feedback, appraising all city-owned land in the redevelopment area and conducting an area plan in the development zone. If a new RFP is issued, he said, the Douglas development proposal would be weighed alongside any other development bids submitted to the city.
Second District Councilwoman Kim Gray, who was among the five council members who spearheaded the effort against the NH District Corp. redevelopment proposal, said she hadn’t yet reviewed the Douglas Development Corp. proposal, but that council needs to prioritize land appraisals and public feedback as integral parts of a new RFP process.
“I think the key word is 'process' and I think it’s important for us to allow for that bottom-up way of planning and development. I think it’s important for us to stay true to that commitment that the community gets to have a say,” she said Monday. “I think it’s important for all us to weigh in on what we’d like to see here and how we get to solutions. It’s a whole lot of public owned property being contemplated and I don’t want to see it be given away.”
Seventh District councilwoman and President Cynthia Newbille said council’s staff will work with members of the city’s administration to craft a timeline outlining when the city can begin studying the Navy Hill area, appraising city-owned land within the development zone and engaging public feedback, as delineated by council’s resolution. She expects a draft timeline to be presented at council’s March 9 meeting.
