The hard sell that is the Canal Power Plant
A large downtown property going unused.
When taking a look at the Haxal Canal Power Plant you can’t help but be struck by the massive smokestack and large windows facing the canal. Despite it’s uniqueness it has set unused expect as a canvas for murals. In the plus column you’ve got history, unique location and impressive architecture. In the negative column you have too large, not enough foot traffic, and parking hassles.
Richmond BizSense.com takes a look at the challenges and the options for the property.
But the 115-year-old building that once supplied power for Virginia Electric and Power Co. customers – and in a later life helped give a financial jolt for construction of the adjacent Riverside on the James condos – remains as dark as it was when it shut down about 50 years ago.
Local real estate professionals tend to agree that its location at 1201 Haxall Point and canal-fronting façade would make a great building for the right user. But while it’s an interesting-looking property, a list of complications, including its potential for tax incentives, makes the hydro plant a tough sell.
Last year, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer broker Jeff Cooke took the 21,000-square-foot property out to market. The canal-side building drew several bites but no signatures.
“One was interested in doing a small hotel with some restaurant spaces, another was looking at it as a mixed-use, primarily entertainment-oriented building,” Cooke said of prospective buyers. “There’s a ton of ideas, but nobody I was talking to could really make the numbers work.”
Cooke’s listing expired earlier this year, and now the hydro plant’s owner, Baltimore-based Cordish Companies, is assessing its options.
Images: Valentine Richmond History Center/Richmond BizSense.com/Burl Rolett
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Richard Hayes
When Richard isn’t rounding up neighborhood news, he’s likely watching soccer or chasing down the latest and greatest craft beer.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
That’s a gorgeous building. It was a perfect space for the pop-up market they had a while back. Maybe a more permanent version of that would work? Food court/public area in the middle with vendors on each side.
Overall, that area would do well to have better connectivity. I had heard rumors in the past about a bridge to the Italianate Building so it’s not on a dead-end. Also, the Troutman Sanders building and courtyard need to address the Canal Walk better. The fencing in between the two is a barrier as are the tinted windows on the first floor. They would do well to install some public art and water features in the courtyard and take the fencing down.
needs a solution to access and parking.
Scott, there is parking deck adjacent to the Troutman Sanders building that I believe is open to the public. Or one can easily park in one of several Shockoe Slip decks and walk. There really is no shortage IMO.
It’s a beautiful building, and the area is anchored by Richmond’s flagship bro bar, FW Sullivan’s. The hard scent of freshly poured Budweiser, a faint bouquet of hurl and bleach, and all the bros you an take a swing at, woo-wooing the night away.