The building sits on a 1/4-acre plot at 3013 Cutshaw Ave. and was most recently assessed by the city at $1.78 million. (Mike Platania photos)
Its business may be down by more than 50 percent because of the pandemic, but that’s not stopping a local catering and events company from making a multimillion-dollar investment across from Scott’s Addition.
Mosaic Catering + Events last month paid $2.12 million for the 9,500-square-foot Art Deco-style building at 3013 Cutshaw Ave., which it plans to convert into a dedicated event space with a rooftop area.
Ryan Traylor, director of catering at Mosaic, said the firm has previously only been an off-premise caterer, meaning it packs up trucks with its food and other accoutrement, and heads to others’ event spaces.
“Being off-premise, we’ve gotten really good at what I call ‘culinary triages,’” Traylor said. “Anywhere from a board room to a closet to a hallway, we can make it happen. We’ve never had a place of our own to host our own events, and this allows us that.”
The company, which is affiliated with the Mosaic restaurant at the River Road Shopping Center, operates the catering and event side of its business at 3001 Cutshaw Ave., just down the street from its new building.
Mosaic will continue operating its headquarters down the street, as well as its restaurant in the River Road Shopping Center near U of R.
An event space of its own is something Mosaic has wanted for years, and it’s sought the 3013 Cutshaw building in particular.
“We’ve been waiting for the right time. Unfortunately, even this isn’t the right time because we’re in the middle of a pandemic and our industry’s been hit considerably hard,” Traylor said. “We’re definitely having a bad year, but we have to keep looking forward to the future because this is not permanent.”
The building was formerly home to Movement Church, which has since moved to Patterson Avenue in the Near West End. Prior to that another events space, The Marquee, operated out of the building, where Traylor said Mosaic had held events over a decade ago.
Mosaic bought the building from Stony Point Development Group, a Charlottesville-based developer that purchased the building about three years ago. Stony Point had considered razing the building to make way for a possible mixed-use project that never materialized. Stony Point spokespeople declined to comment.
Traylor said the addition of a rooftop space is a critical part of Mosaic’s vision for the building, and that the company hopes to fill a gap in the market.
“There are a lot of beautiful rooftops in Richmond that do so well, but they’re all associated with on-premise restaurants or hotels. That limits a lot of rentals,” Traylor said.
A rendering of Mosaic’s planned renovation of the new space. (Courtesy of Thalhimer)
Mosaic is still weighing its options for the downstairs area, but Traylor said they’re currently planning to clear some walls and open the space up a bit.
“We’re cleaning it up and modernizing it now. The best event space is one that’s beautiful on its own. But if someone has their own vision, it can easily be transformed,” Traylor said.
He added that they’re also considering dividing up some of the downstairs area to share it with another tenant.
Wendel is the project’s architect, and Traylor said they haven’t yet selected a general contractor. In the real estate deal, Thalhimer’s Connie Jordan Nielsen represented Mosaic and her Thalhimer colleagues Alex Wotring and Nicki Jassy represented Stony Point.
Mosaic is funding the project with a loan from an undisclosed bank.
Mosaic is aiming to begin work on the building in early 2021, with a goal of being complete by next fall — a time when Traylor said he hopes large gatherings are back on the menu.
“We want to bounce back, and we want to be here when everything does open back up,” he said.
The building sits on a 1/4-acre plot at 3013 Cutshaw Ave. and was most recently assessed by the city at $1.78 million. (Mike Platania photos)
Its business may be down by more than 50 percent because of the pandemic, but that’s not stopping a local catering and events company from making a multimillion-dollar investment across from Scott’s Addition.
Mosaic Catering + Events last month paid $2.12 million for the 9,500-square-foot Art Deco-style building at 3013 Cutshaw Ave., which it plans to convert into a dedicated event space with a rooftop area.
Ryan Traylor, director of catering at Mosaic, said the firm has previously only been an off-premise caterer, meaning it packs up trucks with its food and other accoutrement, and heads to others’ event spaces.
“Being off-premise, we’ve gotten really good at what I call ‘culinary triages,’” Traylor said. “Anywhere from a board room to a closet to a hallway, we can make it happen. We’ve never had a place of our own to host our own events, and this allows us that.”
The company, which is affiliated with the Mosaic restaurant at the River Road Shopping Center, operates the catering and event side of its business at 3001 Cutshaw Ave., just down the street from its new building.
Mosaic will continue operating its headquarters down the street, as well as its restaurant in the River Road Shopping Center near U of R.
An event space of its own is something Mosaic has wanted for years, and it’s sought the 3013 Cutshaw building in particular.
“We’ve been waiting for the right time. Unfortunately, even this isn’t the right time because we’re in the middle of a pandemic and our industry’s been hit considerably hard,” Traylor said. “We’re definitely having a bad year, but we have to keep looking forward to the future because this is not permanent.”
The building was formerly home to Movement Church, which has since moved to Patterson Avenue in the Near West End. Prior to that another events space, The Marquee, operated out of the building, where Traylor said Mosaic had held events over a decade ago.
Mosaic bought the building from Stony Point Development Group, a Charlottesville-based developer that purchased the building about three years ago. Stony Point had considered razing the building to make way for a possible mixed-use project that never materialized. Stony Point spokespeople declined to comment.
Traylor said the addition of a rooftop space is a critical part of Mosaic’s vision for the building, and that the company hopes to fill a gap in the market.
“There are a lot of beautiful rooftops in Richmond that do so well, but they’re all associated with on-premise restaurants or hotels. That limits a lot of rentals,” Traylor said.
A rendering of Mosaic’s planned renovation of the new space. (Courtesy of Thalhimer)
Mosaic is still weighing its options for the downstairs area, but Traylor said they’re currently planning to clear some walls and open the space up a bit.
“We’re cleaning it up and modernizing it now. The best event space is one that’s beautiful on its own. But if someone has their own vision, it can easily be transformed,” Traylor said.
He added that they’re also considering dividing up some of the downstairs area to share it with another tenant.
Wendel is the project’s architect, and Traylor said they haven’t yet selected a general contractor. In the real estate deal, Thalhimer’s Connie Jordan Nielsen represented Mosaic and her Thalhimer colleagues Alex Wotring and Nicki Jassy represented Stony Point.
Mosaic is funding the project with a loan from an undisclosed bank.
Mosaic is aiming to begin work on the building in early 2021, with a goal of being complete by next fall — a time when Traylor said he hopes large gatherings are back on the menu.
“We want to bounce back, and we want to be here when everything does open back up,” he said.
Terrific! This is a gorgeous building in a stretch of Broad that includes many of Richmond’s small Art Deco gems, which celebrated the arrival of the car culture. So glad they are going to accentuate and restore the facade and add to the vibrancy of that district.
Former CP Dean Warehouse back in the day, I think. Their store was a block east.
Really beautiful space. Hoping the final design preserves more of the art deco style than the rendering above. I’d like to see them preserve the way it used to look as the Marquee. I had always hoped that space could become a music venue, arts center, etc.
I’m glad something is happening with it. I was pretty amazed how much Stony point paid and then did nothing with it