Developer files for demolition, building permits for Greyhound station on Arthur Ashe Blvd.

greyhound rendering Cropped

A rendering of the development that’s planned to replace the existing Greyhound station. (City documents)

The redevelopment of the Greyhound station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard appears to be moving forward. 

Demolition and building permits were filed last week for the mostly dormant bus terminal at 2910 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.

greyhound rendering2

The first phase’s building is planned to include commercial space fronting Arthur Ashe Boulevard.

Allen Investment Partners, a developer based in both New York and California, has been looking to redevelop the 5-acre site for over a year, initially filing plans for a 600+ unit mixed-use development in late 2023.

AIP, which has not responded to multiple calls and messages seeking comment, is now evidently looking to ramp things up. It’s filed to both demolish the entirety of the existing, 40-plus-year-old station and build the first phase of its new project: a 387-unit mixed-use building. 

Those permits are still under review with city.

Last fall AIP filed an amended plan of development for the site. It outlines a total of 657 units, 667 parking spaces and 14,400 square feet of commercial space, spread across a pair of 7-story buildings. Plans show 95 percent of the parking spaces would be in parking decks.

Several local firms are on the development team, including Poole & Poole Architecture, Timmons Group and Emerge Construction Group, which are listed in plans as architect, engineer and construction manager, respectively. KBS is the general contractor.

greyhound1 Cropped

Greyhound recently began using The Plaza at Main Street Station as its local stop. (Mike Platania photos)

The aging Greyhound facility is currently owned by Twenty Lake Holdings, a subsidiary of hedge fund Alden Global Capital, and the station recently saw much of its bus traffic rerouted to Shockoe Bottom. 

Last November City Council approved an agreement with Greyhound to move the bus line to The Plaza at Main Street Station, the parking lot that sits right across Main Street from the train shed. The Arthur Ashe Boulevard station is still currently being used by FlixBus, which is set to likewise relocate its operations to The Plaza at Main Street Station in March. 

Even though both Greyhound and FlixBus are owned by Flix, a German-based transit company, their agreements with the city for operating at Main Street Station have quite different terms. 

greyhound2 Cropped

The existing bus station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard is still being used by FlixBus.

Greyhound’s agreement with the city runs through 2029 and includes a pair of 3-year options. FlixBus’s only runs for 90 days. Greyhound is paying a $14,640 annual lease to use The Plaza at Main Street Station, and its lease rate increases 2 percent annually; FlixBus is paying $3,660 for its roughly three-month stay. 

The Arthur Ashe Boulevard station is flanked by new construction, most notably in CarMax Park, the new baseball stadium that’s being built for the Flying Squirrels across the street. To the south is Novel Scott’s Addition, a 275-unit apartment building that was recently completed

greyhound rendering Cropped

A rendering of the development that’s planned to replace the existing Greyhound station. (City documents)

The redevelopment of the Greyhound station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard appears to be moving forward. 

Demolition and building permits were filed last week for the mostly dormant bus terminal at 2910 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd.

greyhound rendering2

The first phase’s building is planned to include commercial space fronting Arthur Ashe Boulevard.

Allen Investment Partners, a developer based in both New York and California, has been looking to redevelop the 5-acre site for over a year, initially filing plans for a 600+ unit mixed-use development in late 2023.

AIP, which has not responded to multiple calls and messages seeking comment, is now evidently looking to ramp things up. It’s filed to both demolish the entirety of the existing, 40-plus-year-old station and build the first phase of its new project: a 387-unit mixed-use building. 

Those permits are still under review with city.

Last fall AIP filed an amended plan of development for the site. It outlines a total of 657 units, 667 parking spaces and 14,400 square feet of commercial space, spread across a pair of 7-story buildings. Plans show 95 percent of the parking spaces would be in parking decks.

Several local firms are on the development team, including Poole & Poole Architecture, Timmons Group and Emerge Construction Group, which are listed in plans as architect, engineer and construction manager, respectively. KBS is the general contractor.

greyhound1 Cropped

Greyhound recently began using The Plaza at Main Street Station as its local stop. (Mike Platania photos)

The aging Greyhound facility is currently owned by Twenty Lake Holdings, a subsidiary of hedge fund Alden Global Capital, and the station recently saw much of its bus traffic rerouted to Shockoe Bottom. 

Last November City Council approved an agreement with Greyhound to move the bus line to The Plaza at Main Street Station, the parking lot that sits right across Main Street from the train shed. The Arthur Ashe Boulevard station is still currently being used by FlixBus, which is set to likewise relocate its operations to The Plaza at Main Street Station in March. 

Even though both Greyhound and FlixBus are owned by Flix, a German-based transit company, their agreements with the city for operating at Main Street Station have quite different terms. 

greyhound2 Cropped

The existing bus station on Arthur Ashe Boulevard is still being used by FlixBus.

Greyhound’s agreement with the city runs through 2029 and includes a pair of 3-year options. FlixBus’s only runs for 90 days. Greyhound is paying a $14,640 annual lease to use The Plaza at Main Street Station, and its lease rate increases 2 percent annually; FlixBus is paying $3,660 for its roughly three-month stay. 

The Arthur Ashe Boulevard station is flanked by new construction, most notably in CarMax Park, the new baseball stadium that’s being built for the Flying Squirrels across the street. To the south is Novel Scott’s Addition, a 275-unit apartment building that was recently completed

This story is for our paid subscribers only. Please become one of the thousands of BizSense Pro readers today!

Your subscription has expired. Renew now by choosing a subscription below!

For more informaiton, head over to your profile.

Profile


SUBSCRIBE NOW

 — 

 — 

 — 

TERMS OF SERVICE:

ALL MEMBERSHIPS RENEW AUTOMATICALLY. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR A 1 YEAR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL AT THE RATE IN EFFECT AT THAT TIME UNLESS YOU CANCEL YOUR MEMBERSHIP BY LOGGING IN OR BY CONTACTING SUPPORT@BUSINESSDEN.COM.

ALL CHARGES FOR MONTHLY OR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS ARE NONREFUNDABLE.

EACH MEMBERSHIP WILL ONLY FUNCTION ON UP TO 3 MACHINES. ACCOUNTS ABUSING THAT LIMIT WILL BE DISCONTINUED.

FOR ASSISTANCE WITH YOUR MEMBERSHIP PLEASE EMAIL SUPPORT@BUSINESSDEN.COM




Return to Homepage

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

11 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Bruce Milam
Bruce Milam
26 days ago

There will soon be a lot of apartments and more apartment construction on Arthur Ashe Blvd. I often travel through that confluence of the two interstates and the expressway and find that ramp that feeds AAB through that weave to be a major issue. I can’t imagine how it is on game day at the ballpark. Is there an on-going study to improve that access to AAB or are we stuck with what we have?

Martha Lee
Martha Lee
26 days ago
Reply to  Bruce Milam

Agreed. That section of road is a mess on a good day. Go a few blocks up to the intersection at Holton Elementary – that will make you a believer that the entire stretch needs to be addressed. Ongoing accidents there.

Charles Frankenhoff
Charles Frankenhoff
26 days ago

This is great to see – I hope the actual building looks attractive, like these renderings do

Richard Rumrill
Richard Rumrill
26 days ago

Great to see an apartment building with an attractive and cohesive facade. Not a fan of the apartment buildings that do a poor job of looking like a bunch of row houses built with different materials at different times.

Brian Glass
Brian Glass
26 days ago

It’s nice to see the removal of the blighted Greyhound station for additional housing. I do agree with Bruce that there will be additional traffic challenges with Arthur Ashe Blvd. and I-95. I don’t believe there are any plans for VDOT to address it.

In my opinion the next domino that needs to fall is the awful motel across from the entrance to I-64.

Blair Archibald
Blair Archibald
26 days ago
Reply to  Brian Glass

In my opinion the next domino that needs to fall is the awful motel across from the entrance to I-64.

According to BizSense’s Development Tracker, there seems to be something proposed for that site: https://richmondbizsense.com/new-bizsense-development-tracker/

Peter James
Peter James
26 days ago
Reply to  Brian Glass

Good call on that motel – it needs to go. Unfortunately, it’s outside of the actual Diamond District redevelopment footprint. The best hope is that a private developer will come in and redevelop the property, dovetailing with the overall thrust of the Diamond District. If I were a betting man, I’d wager we’ll see this happen once the Diamond District non-ballpark components take off.

Stephen Weisensale
Stephen Weisensale
26 days ago
Reply to  Brian Glass

A group of us Northside residents met with a potential multifamily developer’s attorney regarding this site last year but they walked. Word was that they could not come to agreement with planning staff on the city’s recommended changes to their plans.

Charles Frankenhoff
Charles Frankenhoff
25 days ago

The city needs to stop putting up hurdles to building things. Almost anything that was built there would be better than that motel. And it’s the gateway to Richmond

Peter James
Peter James
25 days ago

Good article covering both the new construction on Arthur Ashe Blvd and the shift of Greyhound service to MSS. One point: the article mentioned Main Street Station’s “train shed” right across the street from The Plaza bus stop. Technically, the red brick structure on Main Street is the station’s head house. The long train shed is the portion that actually extends north from the head house. Man, I really wish the train shed WAS available for Greyhound to use. I’m not comfortable with riders having to get on the bus in a parking lot across from the station. I hope… Read more »

Inez Thornton
Inez Thornton
24 days ago
Reply to  Peter James

Perhaps a walk over connecting main station to bus connection having an overview of area businesses and night life.