A local resident sent this in overnight:

What is happening to the Shockoe Valley Market on Marshall & 18th Street? Though the market has been open for only three short months or so, it seems that the concept around which it was opened is already changing. It was exciting to see a new store opening in the neighborhood that was actually meant to be a “corner market” – not just another store relying solely upon single malt liquor, fortified wine, cigarette, and lottery ticket sales.

When the store opened, a variety of products were offered such as fresh produce, specialty items like soymilk and European confections, coffee, a hot food bar, an ice cream case, and a deli case. It appeared that the owners, with good sense, intended to cater to the diversity of the neighborhood.

Now, with the disappearance of the coffee stand, grocery items, deli case, and the like – along with replenishing the produce bins with beer, and the addition of a display case full of pipes, screens, and bongs – it seems that the owners have abruptly changed their minds about their desired target group. What’s more, it is disconcerting to hear rumors that the owners are actually planning to open a bar inside the store.

I ask: WTC – why the change? At the start, the store was not ideally laid out, but it had a lot of potential. In establishing any successful business, patience and consistency are key. Trying out a concept for only three months & scrapping it does not inspire confidence or loyalty in clientele. The current situation with Shockoe Valley Market leaves the distinct impression of the old “bait and switch” routine.

Three big projects under way along 21st Street and Broad Street will bring almost 500 apartments and more than 13,000 square feet of retail space to the area where Church Hill and Shockoe meet.

Five years ago, a rotted shell of a house sat on the block-long vacant lot at 21st and Broad and, a block south, work was just beginning on converting the American Tobacco building into more than 150 apartments. Following the success of American Tobacco, the Dill Building was rebuilt and reborn, bringing more apartments to 21st Street. Now projects at the Broad and Main intersections along 21st Street will make for a contiguous environment connecting Church Hill and Tobacco Row.

2001 East Broad

The fence recently went up at the construction site for this 74-unit mixed-use development at 21st and Broad Streets. Slated to be four floors of apartments above a ground floor that would includes a lobby and commercial space, with below-ground parking.

Cedar and Broad

The construction underway at the foot of Jefferson Park is the 204-unit Cedar Broad Apartments. The 4-story building will have covered parking spaces and 8,448 square feet of retail space.

Shockoe Valley Heights

Shockoe Valley Heights will transform the block bound by Main, 21st, Franklin, and 20th Streets and is being built in four phases. The first building, Bobber Flats, at 20th and Franklin was ready for occupancy in late 2009 (41-units). The 2nd phase, Engine Company Lofts, will see the 1899 firestation at 21st and Main (vacant for over 40 years) become a restaurant space with 3 or 4 loft-style apartments above. Also in this piece of the development, the building at the corner of 21st and Main will top out at 5 stories will and house 25 apartments and 2,000 square feet of commercial space. The 3rd phase, Old Stone Row (96 units), will be built on the former site of the Secrets of the City nightclub. The fourth phase, Trolley Commons, is planned for early 2011 and will be new construction along Main Street. These buildings will feature 80 residential units, an outdoor pool, 158 parking spaces and 3,000 square feet of retail.

See also:

• Shockoe Bottom firehouse part of block-wide plan (12/08 Richmond BizSense)
• Bobber Flats nears completion (11/09 Richmond BizSense)

George Emerson of the Emerson Companies said his firm is breaking ground this week on a 204-unit complex at 18th and Broad streets to be called the Cedar Broad Apartments. [...] The building will stand four stories tall and consist mostly of one-bedroom units. It will also have 110 covered parking spaces and 8,448 square feet of retail space. The property includes an existing McDonald’s restaurant, which will remain, and the apartment building will be constructed on the rest of the block, which is currently a parking lot.

Lyle Browning of Browning and Associates Ltd. said finding the brick cellar and hearth of a late-18th-century home on the 3-acre site at North 18th and East Broad streets was unanticipated. [...] Browning and his crew was expecting to find the remnants of homes built in the 1840s.

“To our surprise, we found no less than two 1769 or thereabouts buildings that were covered over by the 1840s homes,” he said beneath a tent covering exposed layers of brick and soil.

Walter Parks gave an overview of changes to the Cedar-Broad development at this week’s Friends of Jefferson Park meeting.

CURRENTLY PROPOSED TOP, PREVIOUSLY ABOVE; CURRENTLY AT BOTTOM

The big change is that the roof-top pool and clubhouse have been removed. Some of the materials planned for the project have been switched out for more economical materials, but this should not be readily apparent. Also, the treatment of the rising wall along Cedar Street has been given windows, both to break up the wall and to provide light&air to the parking under the building.

UPDATED: I’ve been forwarded the documents that accompanied the email from HUD about the Cedar-Broad parking lot. The Treatment Plan has the most info about the relevance of the block and the Site Plan is the 1895 Sanborn map superimposed over the parking lot.

• Finding of Effect
• Treatment Plan
• Site Plan
• Memorandum of Agreement