A rendering of the five-story headquarters building on Broad Street planned by VPM. The nonprofit news organization plans to relocate its home base to the city in 2026. (Renderings courtesy SMBW/VPM)
Work is underway to transform a downtown Richmond parking lot into the next headquarters for VPM.
The public media nonprofit broke ground last week on a five-story, 53,700-square-foot headquarters building at 15 E. Broad St.
The new office will house VPM’s TV, digital and audio studios, as well as be a venue for the organization’s civic programming and events.
VPM plans to relocate to Richmond from its current location in Chesterfield, which was built in 1964 and is considered obsolete and doesn’t have the capacity for updated technology.
The Richmond location is being designed as a modernized facility intended to be more adaptable to future changes in technology. VPM also wants to be in a more central and accessible location, and would be closer to creative and political hubs by being situated in the city’s Arts District and near to City Hall and state government.
“We’re public media and we truly want to engage the public. Being on Broad allows us to be welcoming and inclusive,” VPM President Jayme Swain said.
Work got underway recently on the future VPM headquarters, which is set to rise on a former parking lot next to Waller & Co. jewelry store in downtown Richmond. (Jack Jacobs photos)
VPM has about 100 staffers, and the majority of them would operate out of the new headquarters. The nonprofit also has offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.
It expects to move into the new Richmond headquarters in spring 2026.
Swain said that VPM in June awarded a $44.7 million construction contract to Clark Construction for the project. A full cost estimate for the project is still being determined. SMBW was tapped to design the building.
The site of VPM’s upcoming downtown Richmond headquarters as seen from Grace Street.
VPM started construction on the headquarters project after purchasing the site at 13-17 E. Broad St. for $4.2 million earlier this year. The 0.7-acre property is next to the Waller & Co. jewelry store and fronts both Broad and Grace Streets.
The organization held a community event earlier this month to celebrate the start of construction, which kicked off Aug. 12.
In addition to the headquarters, VPM will build a 1,500-square-foot, one-story building on the end of the property fronting Grace Street. Swain said VPM is currently planning to lease that space to other commercial tenants.
“We are thinking about retail at the moment,” Swain said. “It’s an opportunity to offset operational costs for us.”
A rendering of the single-story building planned on the Grace Street side as part of the VPM headquarters project.
The project is also planned to include a 90-space parking structure. About 50 of the spaces are expected to be made available as paid parking for the public, a move intended to partially offset the spaces lost by the project taking shape on what was a public parking lot.
Swain said there are ongoing conversations with city officials about incentives for the project. VPM is paying real estate taxes on the property.
The nonprofit plans to sell its Chesterfield facility at 23 Sesame St., but intends to maintain a presence there to continue to utilize its two, 1,000-foot-tall broadcast towers that aren’t owned by VPM.
“Those towers are important infrastructure not just for VPM but for wireless providers and other broadcasters in the region,” Swain said. “Whoever purchases the property would have to work around the towers.”
Swain said talks were underway with interested buyers for the Chesterfield property but that VPM didn’t anticipate closing on a deal anytime soon.
VPM runs multiple radio and TV stations that broadcast in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, among them VPM News, the Richmond NPR station. VPM also owns Style Weekly, which relaunched late last year.
Another local news outlet is also on the move in downtown Richmond. The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently announced plans to depart its current longtime location at 300 E. Franklin St. next year. The newspaper hasn’t said where its next stop will be.
A rendering of the five-story headquarters building on Broad Street planned by VPM. The nonprofit news organization plans to relocate its home base to the city in 2026. (Renderings courtesy SMBW/VPM)
Work is underway to transform a downtown Richmond parking lot into the next headquarters for VPM.
The public media nonprofit broke ground last week on a five-story, 53,700-square-foot headquarters building at 15 E. Broad St.
The new office will house VPM’s TV, digital and audio studios, as well as be a venue for the organization’s civic programming and events.
VPM plans to relocate to Richmond from its current location in Chesterfield, which was built in 1964 and is considered obsolete and doesn’t have the capacity for updated technology.
The Richmond location is being designed as a modernized facility intended to be more adaptable to future changes in technology. VPM also wants to be in a more central and accessible location, and would be closer to creative and political hubs by being situated in the city’s Arts District and near to City Hall and state government.
“We’re public media and we truly want to engage the public. Being on Broad allows us to be welcoming and inclusive,” VPM President Jayme Swain said.
Work got underway recently on the future VPM headquarters, which is set to rise on a former parking lot next to Waller & Co. jewelry store in downtown Richmond. (Jack Jacobs photos)
VPM has about 100 staffers, and the majority of them would operate out of the new headquarters. The nonprofit also has offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.
It expects to move into the new Richmond headquarters in spring 2026.
Swain said that VPM in June awarded a $44.7 million construction contract to Clark Construction for the project. A full cost estimate for the project is still being determined. SMBW was tapped to design the building.
The site of VPM’s upcoming downtown Richmond headquarters as seen from Grace Street.
VPM started construction on the headquarters project after purchasing the site at 13-17 E. Broad St. for $4.2 million earlier this year. The 0.7-acre property is next to the Waller & Co. jewelry store and fronts both Broad and Grace Streets.
The organization held a community event earlier this month to celebrate the start of construction, which kicked off Aug. 12.
In addition to the headquarters, VPM will build a 1,500-square-foot, one-story building on the end of the property fronting Grace Street. Swain said VPM is currently planning to lease that space to other commercial tenants.
“We are thinking about retail at the moment,” Swain said. “It’s an opportunity to offset operational costs for us.”
A rendering of the single-story building planned on the Grace Street side as part of the VPM headquarters project.
The project is also planned to include a 90-space parking structure. About 50 of the spaces are expected to be made available as paid parking for the public, a move intended to partially offset the spaces lost by the project taking shape on what was a public parking lot.
Swain said there are ongoing conversations with city officials about incentives for the project. VPM is paying real estate taxes on the property.
The nonprofit plans to sell its Chesterfield facility at 23 Sesame St., but intends to maintain a presence there to continue to utilize its two, 1,000-foot-tall broadcast towers that aren’t owned by VPM.
“Those towers are important infrastructure not just for VPM but for wireless providers and other broadcasters in the region,” Swain said. “Whoever purchases the property would have to work around the towers.”
Swain said talks were underway with interested buyers for the Chesterfield property but that VPM didn’t anticipate closing on a deal anytime soon.
VPM runs multiple radio and TV stations that broadcast in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, among them VPM News, the Richmond NPR station. VPM also owns Style Weekly, which relaunched late last year.
Another local news outlet is also on the move in downtown Richmond. The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently announced plans to depart its current longtime location at 300 E. Franklin St. next year. The newspaper hasn’t said where its next stop will be.
With the continuous reductions in RTD staffing maybe they can rent (and offset) the space on Grace Street as their new offices. At least they would have a downtown newsroom.
“News” outlet. That’s rich.
Tokyo Rose affiliates retreating back behind the DMZ. Now, that’s good news.
Pravda.