Officials Break Ground on Gateway Plaza in Richmond
New High-Rise Office Building Features Modern Technology, ‘Green’ Amenities
Officials with the City of Richmond and Clayco today celebrated the construction of Gateway Plaza, Richmond’s newest high-rise office building, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the project’s site in the heart of the downtown business district.
“Gateway Plaza is becoming a reality. Its creation is cause for celebration by the City of Richmond, the area’s business community, the lead tenant McGuireWoods and Clayco. It represents an incredible commitment to the city by McGuireWoods, and we appreciate the confidence everyone has shown in Clayco. Gateway Plaza also offers a superb combination of the highest quality materials, technology and construction techniques to create a truly Class A business setting that is efficient, convenient, environmentally-sensitive and geared to the needs of 21st century organizations,” said Bob Clark, chairman and chief executive officer of Clayco.
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones noted that Gateway Plaza brings new opportunities to the City.
“Gateway Plaza will be an attractive addition to the Richmond skyline and will offer significant benefits to the City of Richmond. Economic studies show that this project will generate 812 construction jobs with more than $50.7 million in wages; another 1,653 jobs, including retaining more than 630 at McGuireWoods; and new cumulative tax revenues for the City are estimated to be more than $117 million over the next 30 years,” the mayor said.
Gateway Plaza will be located on property bounded by 8th and 9th streets on the east and west, and Canal Street on the south. The 18-story building will have 315,000 square feet of office space, more than 14,000 square feet of first-floor retail space and a 506 space parking garage. The structure represents a combined investment of more than $110 million.
The formal groundbreaking ceremony commemorates finalizing the city’s economic development plan for the project and closing on the financing provided by an affiliate of New York-based Lexington Realty Trust.
Construction work on Gateway Plaza already has begun. Recently, the 8th Street Connector, which bisected the site, was closed. Street improvements, which are well underway, continue with completion slated in several weeks. Construction crews are installing the building’s drilled caisson foundation support system to be followed by work in the immediate future that includes constructing the concrete frame structure that will span the first six levels of the structure, underground systems installation and utility construction.
Anchor tenant McGuireWoods LLP has signed a lease to occupy 217,000 square feet of the structure’s office space, including a first floor office and a state-of-the-art conference center on the top floor.
Occupancy by McGuireWoods, with more than 630 attorneys, staff and consultants, should occur in 2015. The firm now is in the James Center, located on East Cary Street in the block adjacent to the Gateway Plaza site.
Colliers International is the leasing agent for the project and represented McGuireWoods in its search for a new office. Colliers now is engaged in discussions with other companies interested in moving to Gateway Plaza.
Gateway Plaza will set a new standard for office buildings in Richmond. The stunning all-glass tower and distinctive crown will set Gateway Plaza apart from every other building in the city. This sophisticated state-of-the-art building will incorporate the newest technologies and environmental sustainability in a way that will enhance the downtown central business district and should achieve at least a LEED Gold certification based on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria.
Celebrating the groundbreaking and actually beginning to build this exciting development project is the best part. With the project underway, Clayco very quickly will complete construction on a very fast schedule. The top piece of steel will be set by July 2014. The building will be substantially complete by the end of 2014, and McGuireWoods will move in by the summer of 2015.
Clayco is a full service, turnkey real estate development, architecture, engineering and construction firm that delivers clients around the world the highest quality solutions on time, on budget and above and beyond expectations. With revenue in 2012 of $872 million, Clayco specializes in “the art and science of building,” providing fast-track, turnkey solutions globally for commercial, institutional, industrial and heavy civil infrastructure related building projects. For more information, visit www.claycorp.com.
McGuireWoods LLP is an international law firm with more than 900 attorneys in 19 offices throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.mcguirewoods.com.
Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world, with over 12,300 professionals operating out of more than 520 offices in 62 countries.
Learn more about Gateway Plaza online at -- http://www.gatewayplazarichmond.com/.