The old Southern States silos would be razed to make way for a proposed mixed-use development up to 20 stories tall. (Michael Schwartz photo)
More details on a development that would change the Manchester skyline are emerging ahead of the city’s Planning Commission meeting today.
Hourigan Development’s request to rezone the Southern States silos at 2-4 Manchester Road is on the agenda for the commission’s 1:30 p.m. session, where the developer hopes to get a recommendation to allow up to 20 stories of a mix of multi-family residential, office, and hotel uses that would span up to about 575,000 square feet.
Last summer Hourigan began plotting the project, which would entail tearing down the dormant silos to make way for a sizable mixed-use building. The tower could also rise above 1,200 parking spaces in a podium deck and ground floor retail space.
Preston Lloyd of law firm Williams Mullen, Hourigan’s counsel in the rezoning, emphasized that the building’s ultimate use and design haven’t been finalized.
“It’s important to remember this isn’t a specific proposal but a request to tee up the zoning to allow uses and a density and configuration that allow the marketing of the property,” Lloyd said. “We’re optimistic that once the zoning has been obtained it’ll then allow us to focus on marketing.”
Lloyd said the project’s size offers a lot of flexibility in how Hourigan will use it.
Early renderings of the project that were presented at a Manchester Alliance meeting last summer. (Courtesy of Hourigan Development)
“(There are) a lot of different ways it could ultimately be designed. But the key is maintaining flexibility in a way that also ensures that its design is one that’s consistent with a location that is as unique and prominent as this one is,” he said.
At a virtual meeting last year of the Manchester Alliance neighborhood association Lloyd and Hourigan Development President Joe Marchetti III both said the silos were not in a condition that allows for adaptive reuse.
“You have double reinforced concrete that was used to house grain. It’s such that it’d be so prohibitively costly to try to readapt it that it’s just not feasible, unfortunately,” Marchetti said.
Lloyd said last week that adaptive reuse remains an implausible option.
“While we certainly appreciate that (the silos are) a unique architectural remnant of the industrial past of Manchester and something people are used to seeing, there’s really no economical way to work an adaptive reuse of those structures into a modern building while meeting code requirements and construction cost,” Lloyd said.
The 2.2-acre site is owned by a group that includes H. Pettus LeCompte. Lloyd said Hourigan has an agreement with the current land owners for the development of the property, though he didn’t specify whether it’s under contract. He added that it’s too early to estimate the project’s cost.
The towering silos are surrounded by other small buildings. (Mike Platania photo)
Hourigan’s project would rise just to the east of WVS Cos.’ South Falls Tower, construction of which is nearing the finish line.
Another Southside mixed-use project of a much smaller scale also is on today’s Planning Commission agenda.
Zach Kennedy, owner of Upward Builders, is seeking a special-use permit for a three-story mixed-use building at 1005 Westover Hills Blvd.
The 0.25-acre lot is currently green space, and Kennedy is proposing a 4,500-square-foot ground floor commercial space below 12 dwelling units that could be condos. Kennedy previously developed projects of a similar scale in Church Hill.
Both Kennedy’s special-use permit and Hourigan’s rezoning request are on the planning commission’s consent agenda, which is for ordinances that are considered routine and noncontroversial.
Both requests are then scheduled for a City Council vote on May 24.
The old Southern States silos would be razed to make way for a proposed mixed-use development up to 20 stories tall. (Michael Schwartz photo)
More details on a development that would change the Manchester skyline are emerging ahead of the city’s Planning Commission meeting today.
Hourigan Development’s request to rezone the Southern States silos at 2-4 Manchester Road is on the agenda for the commission’s 1:30 p.m. session, where the developer hopes to get a recommendation to allow up to 20 stories of a mix of multi-family residential, office, and hotel uses that would span up to about 575,000 square feet.
Last summer Hourigan began plotting the project, which would entail tearing down the dormant silos to make way for a sizable mixed-use building. The tower could also rise above 1,200 parking spaces in a podium deck and ground floor retail space.
Preston Lloyd of law firm Williams Mullen, Hourigan’s counsel in the rezoning, emphasized that the building’s ultimate use and design haven’t been finalized.
“It’s important to remember this isn’t a specific proposal but a request to tee up the zoning to allow uses and a density and configuration that allow the marketing of the property,” Lloyd said. “We’re optimistic that once the zoning has been obtained it’ll then allow us to focus on marketing.”
Lloyd said the project’s size offers a lot of flexibility in how Hourigan will use it.
Early renderings of the project that were presented at a Manchester Alliance meeting last summer. (Courtesy of Hourigan Development)
“(There are) a lot of different ways it could ultimately be designed. But the key is maintaining flexibility in a way that also ensures that its design is one that’s consistent with a location that is as unique and prominent as this one is,” he said.
At a virtual meeting last year of the Manchester Alliance neighborhood association Lloyd and Hourigan Development President Joe Marchetti III both said the silos were not in a condition that allows for adaptive reuse.
“You have double reinforced concrete that was used to house grain. It’s such that it’d be so prohibitively costly to try to readapt it that it’s just not feasible, unfortunately,” Marchetti said.
Lloyd said last week that adaptive reuse remains an implausible option.
“While we certainly appreciate that (the silos are) a unique architectural remnant of the industrial past of Manchester and something people are used to seeing, there’s really no economical way to work an adaptive reuse of those structures into a modern building while meeting code requirements and construction cost,” Lloyd said.
The 2.2-acre site is owned by a group that includes H. Pettus LeCompte. Lloyd said Hourigan has an agreement with the current land owners for the development of the property, though he didn’t specify whether it’s under contract. He added that it’s too early to estimate the project’s cost.
The towering silos are surrounded by other small buildings. (Mike Platania photo)
Hourigan’s project would rise just to the east of WVS Cos.’ South Falls Tower, construction of which is nearing the finish line.
Another Southside mixed-use project of a much smaller scale also is on today’s Planning Commission agenda.
Zach Kennedy, owner of Upward Builders, is seeking a special-use permit for a three-story mixed-use building at 1005 Westover Hills Blvd.
The 0.25-acre lot is currently green space, and Kennedy is proposing a 4,500-square-foot ground floor commercial space below 12 dwelling units that could be condos. Kennedy previously developed projects of a similar scale in Church Hill.
Both Kennedy’s special-use permit and Hourigan’s rezoning request are on the planning commission’s consent agenda, which is for ordinances that are considered routine and noncontroversial.
Both requests are then scheduled for a City Council vote on May 24.
I still don’t understand why anyone who has built along the flood wall refuses to put restaurant patios on top of a parking deck that overlook the flood wall and have a view of the river. Legends has done such a good business partly because of its view, why wouldn’t you use the flood wall as an asset versus something that has to be “dealt with”?
great idea
I hope that some upgrades to 14th St bridge are scheduled for the near future. Some better street lamps, paving and power washing would go a long way.
Improvements to the 14th Street bridge have been needed for years – and with population density in Manchester continuing to increase, much-needed fixes to the old bridge are becoming even more necessary. Here’s hoping the city will prioritize the necessary improvements now – and not wait until Manchester’s population is even larger.
I just hope that whenever they get approval to build, that the building looks nothing like the early rendering in the article. That is hideous! In fact the silos are more architecturally pleasing than that rendering. Here is an opportunity to think of some statement modern building for Richmond, especially after Dominion dropped the ball. And I totally agree with David that restaurant and outdoor dining and drinking spaces should be a must. With such a view of downtown, how could it be omitted?
It’s still early in the process and nothing has been finalized, so there’s a good chance we’ll see a much more aesthetically pleasing design. Early mockups are less about conveying exactly what a building will look like than conveying massing, density, size, height, etc. Glad to see the developer is pushing the height envelope in Manchester. At 17 stories, a tower here would be Manchester’s tallest. Fully agreed that a restaurant or and some kind of outdoor space for eating and drinking is needed, especially if this is to be a mixed-use building and not specifically a private residential building.… Read more »
Are we getting more of the same in Manchester?
Not necessarily. It’s still early. Let’s see what final renderings look like once full project details are officially announced, which might still be a little ways off yet.
Seems like a good project, I hope they have retail space at the end, it would be a great location for riverview restaurants