VACUL has taken over four adjacent buildings on Eighth Street. Photo by Michael Schwartz.
The main state lobbying organization for credit unions in Virginia is finalizing a $4 million investment in four adjoining downtown buildings.
The Virginia Credit Union League is in the last legs of construction on its new Credit Union House of Virginia, a three-story, 13,000-square-foot outpost at 108 N. Eighth St. that will serve as a home for some of its staff and as a base for its lobbying efforts on behalf of its members.
The path toward establishing the credit union house began about four years ago, the group’s CEO Rick Pillow said. The league, which for 80 years has been headquartered in Lynchburg, had been leasing space downtown since about 2001 and its board began thinking about expanding its visibility in Richmond.
“We came to the conclusion that we needed to come to the capital and have a presence downtown,” Pillow said. “Credit unions are creatures of law, so we’re constantly putting in bills and watching legislation.”
The building will house VACUL’s local offices, additional office space for lobbyists and a common area. Renderings courtesy of VACUL.
In 2012, it received an offer to buy the adjoining buildings where it had been leasing space. Then the two neighboring buildings came up for auction. The group jumped at both opportunities, Pillow said, purchasing 104-110 N. Eighth St.
“All of the sudden we had four buildings, and we said wouldn’t it be nice to build a credit union house,” Pillow said.
League spokesman Lewis Wood said the concept for the facility is modeled after the national Credit Union House in Washington, D.C., where industry representatives lobby the federal government. The new downtown facility will be one of only a handful of state credit union houses in the nation.
“The primary objective here is to elevate our advocacy work,” Wood said, referring to the group’s work with the General Assembly and the State Corporation Commission.
“Having a location on their doorstep we hope will help.”
The finished building will have two floors of office space. The league will take the top floor and will have nine offices on the second floor to lease out when the renovations are complete. Several of the existing offices in the building are already leased by lobbyists, Wood said.
The ‘house’ part of the project includes a bar and lounge-type area.
The first floor will be home to the Credit Union House, which will consist of a reception area, banquet room, a bar area and a board room.
It will also be a place for credit unions from around the state to use when they are in town on business. There are about 150 credit unions in the state, all but about 20 of which are VACUL members.
“We look at this as credit unions’ home away from home when they are visiting the capital,” Wood said.
The league has put $4 million into the project and is preparing for a grand opening at the end of September to show off the renovations that have knocked down the walls between the four buildings to create one connected structure.
The league funded the project internally and with the help of more than $1 million in sponsorships from its member credit unions.
Locally based Emerald Construction is the general contractor. Enteros Design of Petersburg and City Studio in Providence Forge handled the design and architectural work.
The league will maintain its office in Lynchburg, where it has operated for 80 years and still has about 20 employees. A handful of its employees, including Pillow and Wood, now work in Richmond full-time.
VACUL has taken over four adjacent buildings on Eighth Street. Photo by Michael Schwartz.
The main state lobbying organization for credit unions in Virginia is finalizing a $4 million investment in four adjoining downtown buildings.
The Virginia Credit Union League is in the last legs of construction on its new Credit Union House of Virginia, a three-story, 13,000-square-foot outpost at 108 N. Eighth St. that will serve as a home for some of its staff and as a base for its lobbying efforts on behalf of its members.
The path toward establishing the credit union house began about four years ago, the group’s CEO Rick Pillow said. The league, which for 80 years has been headquartered in Lynchburg, had been leasing space downtown since about 2001 and its board began thinking about expanding its visibility in Richmond.
“We came to the conclusion that we needed to come to the capital and have a presence downtown,” Pillow said. “Credit unions are creatures of law, so we’re constantly putting in bills and watching legislation.”
The building will house VACUL’s local offices, additional office space for lobbyists and a common area. Renderings courtesy of VACUL.
In 2012, it received an offer to buy the adjoining buildings where it had been leasing space. Then the two neighboring buildings came up for auction. The group jumped at both opportunities, Pillow said, purchasing 104-110 N. Eighth St.
“All of the sudden we had four buildings, and we said wouldn’t it be nice to build a credit union house,” Pillow said.
League spokesman Lewis Wood said the concept for the facility is modeled after the national Credit Union House in Washington, D.C., where industry representatives lobby the federal government. The new downtown facility will be one of only a handful of state credit union houses in the nation.
“The primary objective here is to elevate our advocacy work,” Wood said, referring to the group’s work with the General Assembly and the State Corporation Commission.
“Having a location on their doorstep we hope will help.”
The finished building will have two floors of office space. The league will take the top floor and will have nine offices on the second floor to lease out when the renovations are complete. Several of the existing offices in the building are already leased by lobbyists, Wood said.
The ‘house’ part of the project includes a bar and lounge-type area.
The first floor will be home to the Credit Union House, which will consist of a reception area, banquet room, a bar area and a board room.
It will also be a place for credit unions from around the state to use when they are in town on business. There are about 150 credit unions in the state, all but about 20 of which are VACUL members.
“We look at this as credit unions’ home away from home when they are visiting the capital,” Wood said.
The league has put $4 million into the project and is preparing for a grand opening at the end of September to show off the renovations that have knocked down the walls between the four buildings to create one connected structure.
The league funded the project internally and with the help of more than $1 million in sponsorships from its member credit unions.
Locally based Emerald Construction is the general contractor. Enteros Design of Petersburg and City Studio in Providence Forge handled the design and architectural work.
The league will maintain its office in Lynchburg, where it has operated for 80 years and still has about 20 employees. A handful of its employees, including Pillow and Wood, now work in Richmond full-time.
The resurgence of residential uses downtown, fueled by tax credit financing, is now reviving the office market there. Soon, downtown will no longer be a ghost town on weekends, but filled with pedestrians, bicyclists, and tourists. This city is on the way back and may be on the cusp of some really big progress.