The new General Assembly Building. (Photo courtesy Commonwealth of Virginia)
State opens new $300M General Assembly Building
The new General Assembly Building opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and plaque unveiling last week.
The nearly $300 million, 14-story building totals 414,000 square feet and includes meeting rooms, modern technology, food services and other amenities and public spaces designed to make it easier for the public to visit and participate in the legislative process, according to a press release.
Legislative offices moved out of the old GAB in 2017 for construction of the new building, overseen by the Department of General Services. Constructed on the same footprint as the former building, the new GAB includes has a Modern Classical design that incorporates the existing original 1912 façade of one of the previous buildings that were combined to form the original GAB.
The building is connected via tunnels to the new parking deck at the corner of Broad and Ninth streets, and to the Capitol’s underground Visitor’s Center. The tunnel from the GAB to the Capitol is expected to open ahead of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
A video released in 2021 showed the new GAB under construction as part of a trifecta of Capital Square improvements that included renovations of the Old City Hall and Morson’s Row buildings.
Chesterfield breaks ground on Nash Road project
The route of the Nash Road extension project is shown in red. The project would include a new signalized intersection on Iron Bridge Road and a bridge over Swift Creek. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Chesterfield officials held a ground-breaking ceremony last week to recognize the start of construction on the Nash Road extension, a $35 million project to build a less-than-mile extension to connect Nash Road to Iron Bridge Road.
The project involves creation of a two-lane road, a roundabout at the Nash and Beach roads intersection, a bridge over Swift Creek and a traffic light and turn lanes at the future intersection of Nash and Iron Bridge.
The Board of Supervisors approved a $25 million contract with Wagman Heavy Civil to handle the construction of the project. Other costs related to the project include expenses like design work, right-of-way acquisition and contingency funds.
Construction kicked off last week and is targeted to wrap up in spring 2026.
Sina Hospitality project on Chesterfield Planning Commission docket
The Chesterfield Planning Commission this week is slated to consider a rezoning tied to a new hotel in Chester.
Sina Hospitality wants to build a TownPlace Suites hotel on a roughly 4-acre site at 2011 Osborne Road, which is just north of the I-95 interchange at West Hundred Road. The hotel is planned to be three stories tall and have 137 rooms.
The Planning Commission will consider whether to recommend the project be approved by the board of supervisors, which will render a final verdict at a future meeting.
The commission’s agenda for its Oct. 17 meeting can be viewed here.
Hanover appoints interim supervisor to fill Kelly-Wiecek’s seat
- Brent Helmick was appointed last week by Hanover County to finish the term of Angela Kelly-Wiecek, according to a county news release.
Helmick works for Verizon as a senior security solutions architect. He’s also a member of the Virginia National Guard.
Kelly-Wiecek resigned from the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 6 in order to take a job with the state government. Her term continues until Dec. 31. The Chickahominy district seat will then be passed in January to the winner of the Nov. 7 election.
Republican Danielle Grieshaber Floyd and independent Hope Prince are running in the ongoing election for the seat.
Goochland names new parks and recreation director
Goochland County has selected Tom Cocke to lead the parks and recreation department. He was scheduled to start his new gig Monday (today).
Cocke was most recently director of recreation programs at UVa., and prior to that was the parks and tourism director for Loris, South Carolina, according to a Goochland news release. He takes over from Jessica Kronberg, who accepted a new role with Goochland as marketing and communications chief.
Cocke graduated from Coastal Carolina University.
The new General Assembly Building. (Photo courtesy Commonwealth of Virginia)
State opens new $300M General Assembly Building
The new General Assembly Building opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and plaque unveiling last week.
The nearly $300 million, 14-story building totals 414,000 square feet and includes meeting rooms, modern technology, food services and other amenities and public spaces designed to make it easier for the public to visit and participate in the legislative process, according to a press release.
Legislative offices moved out of the old GAB in 2017 for construction of the new building, overseen by the Department of General Services. Constructed on the same footprint as the former building, the new GAB includes has a Modern Classical design that incorporates the existing original 1912 façade of one of the previous buildings that were combined to form the original GAB.
The building is connected via tunnels to the new parking deck at the corner of Broad and Ninth streets, and to the Capitol’s underground Visitor’s Center. The tunnel from the GAB to the Capitol is expected to open ahead of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
A video released in 2021 showed the new GAB under construction as part of a trifecta of Capital Square improvements that included renovations of the Old City Hall and Morson’s Row buildings.
Chesterfield breaks ground on Nash Road project
The route of the Nash Road extension project is shown in red. The project would include a new signalized intersection on Iron Bridge Road and a bridge over Swift Creek. (Courtesy Chesterfield County)
Chesterfield officials held a ground-breaking ceremony last week to recognize the start of construction on the Nash Road extension, a $35 million project to build a less-than-mile extension to connect Nash Road to Iron Bridge Road.
The project involves creation of a two-lane road, a roundabout at the Nash and Beach roads intersection, a bridge over Swift Creek and a traffic light and turn lanes at the future intersection of Nash and Iron Bridge.
The Board of Supervisors approved a $25 million contract with Wagman Heavy Civil to handle the construction of the project. Other costs related to the project include expenses like design work, right-of-way acquisition and contingency funds.
Construction kicked off last week and is targeted to wrap up in spring 2026.
Sina Hospitality project on Chesterfield Planning Commission docket
The Chesterfield Planning Commission this week is slated to consider a rezoning tied to a new hotel in Chester.
Sina Hospitality wants to build a TownPlace Suites hotel on a roughly 4-acre site at 2011 Osborne Road, which is just north of the I-95 interchange at West Hundred Road. The hotel is planned to be three stories tall and have 137 rooms.
The Planning Commission will consider whether to recommend the project be approved by the board of supervisors, which will render a final verdict at a future meeting.
The commission’s agenda for its Oct. 17 meeting can be viewed here.
Hanover appoints interim supervisor to fill Kelly-Wiecek’s seat
- Brent Helmick was appointed last week by Hanover County to finish the term of Angela Kelly-Wiecek, according to a county news release.
Helmick works for Verizon as a senior security solutions architect. He’s also a member of the Virginia National Guard.
Kelly-Wiecek resigned from the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 6 in order to take a job with the state government. Her term continues until Dec. 31. The Chickahominy district seat will then be passed in January to the winner of the Nov. 7 election.
Republican Danielle Grieshaber Floyd and independent Hope Prince are running in the ongoing election for the seat.
Goochland names new parks and recreation director
Goochland County has selected Tom Cocke to lead the parks and recreation department. He was scheduled to start his new gig Monday (today).
Cocke was most recently director of recreation programs at UVa., and prior to that was the parks and tourism director for Loris, South Carolina, according to a Goochland news release. He takes over from Jessica Kronberg, who accepted a new role with Goochland as marketing and communications chief.
Cocke graduated from Coastal Carolina University.