Dominion Energy to sell downtown Richmond high rise

Dominion Energy is selling its 20-story high rise building in downtown Richmond’s Financial District as the company looks toward a future that includes a hybrid workforce.

Mike Frederick, the company’s senior vice president-administrative services, told employees Thursday in a memo that Dominion’s Eighth and Main tower, at 705 E. Main St. will be sold. Real estate firm CBRE is marketing the tower for Dominion.

“This decision was studied thoughtfully, and our primary goal is to adapt to the current needs of our workforce while providing the best environment for you to continue delivering on our mission,” Frederick wrote in the memo. “While there is no set timeline for the sale, we anticipate that there will be great interest in this property.”

Built in 1976, the approximately 325,000-square-foot building is assessed at $31.6 million, according to city records. Dominion purchased the building in January 2008 for $34.4 million.

Dominion also put another property on the market earlier this year, at 2400 Grayland Ave. in Richmond’s Fan district. The Grayland property is used for Dominion Energy Virginia Operations, spokesman Ryan Frazier said. It is appraised at $6.7 million, according to city records.

A combined total of about 1,100 employees work at the Grayland Avenue property and the Eighth & Main tower, Frazier said.

Grayland Avenue employees will go to the Dominion Innsbrook Technical Center in Henrico County and the vast majority of Eighth and Main employees will be moved to Dominion’s Tredegar Street campus or the 600 Canal Place building, both in Richmond, Frazier said.

The reason for the moves is twofold: 300 Dominion employees went to Berkshire Hathaway Energy after Dominion sold its natural gas transmission and storage business last year. The second reason is the pandemic, Frazier said. Much of Dominion’s downtown workforce is working a hybrid schedule now, and that “brings opportunities to reduce commuting times, overhead and office space.”

Dominion’s Innsbrook facility, a 40-year-old building, is being renovated and made more energy efficient, Frazier said.

There is no set timeline for the move, and an asking price for the Eighth & Main tower was not set. Dominion employees have not returned to in-office work, and there is not a set time for them to do so, according to Frederick’s memo.

In April, Dominion announced it would no longer pursue building a second office tower in downtown Richmond at 700 Canal Place. Frazier gave similar reasons then. In May 2020, Dominion demolished its 22-story former headquarters building at One James River Plaza.

The Fortune 500 utility has 2,500 employees among its downtown Richmond offices.