Dominion Resources will build a new office tower in downtown Richmond

Dominion Resources Inc. is growing, and the energy company needs more space. So it has joined other companies in downtown Richmond with plans for a new office tower.

Plus, it’s taking a hard look at its existing 21-story office tower, One James River Plaza at 701 East Cary St., to see if it should be refurbished or demolished with a new building erected in its place.

According to company spokesman Ryan Frazier, Dominion plans to build a new tower on the site that’s currently home to the Richmond Plaza building, a six-story building at 111 S. Sixth St. It will be demolished this summer, said Frazier, to make way for the new office tower, which should be ready by summer 2019.

Dominion selected Richmond-based Hourigan Construction as the general contractor for the project from a pool of 11 competitive bids, Frazier said. Chicago-based Clayco, which built the recently opened 18-story Gateway Plaza office tower – headquarters for the McGuireWoods law firm — will serve as a joint venture partner.

The architect of record will be Kendall/Heaton Associates of Houston while the civil engineer will be the locally based Timmons Group.

“We don’t know how big a building yet,” said Frazier. “The investment figure will depend on the size. We’re working on plans now and should have some potential conceptual designs by the summer of this year. ‘’

What is certain is that Dominion is outgrowing its current space. The Fortune 500 company has been adding to its alternative energy portfolio and recently announced a $4 billion deal to acquire Questar Corp., a natural gas company in Salt Lake City, Utah, that’s expected to close by year-end.

“We did some studies over the past year and determined a need for a new space and new buildings to house employee growth and our downtown workforce. We are outgrowing what we already have,” said Frazier.

Currently, Dominion has 2,400 downtown employees in several buildings: A three building corporate headquarters complex on Tredegar St., the Richmond Plaza building, which has been used primarily for parking; One James River Plaza (right across the street from Richmond Plaza), the 20-story Eighth and Main Building and a couple of buildings on Grayland Ave.

Dominion also has a control center building at Innsbrook Corporate Center, which Frazier says it will keep. “We are going to keep our building out there,” he said. “This is solely for our current workforce downtown and potential growth …” he added, referring to the new tower.

One James River Plaza St. is a 40-year-old building. “It has significant needs,” said Frazier. “It needs major upgrades for HVAC, lighting, exterior work. That will be something we will need to decide — either renovate it or demolish. Those are really the two options we’re considering.”

While the company is still early in the process with its office expansion plans, Dominion joins other major employers in the Richmond area that are transforming the city’s downtown skyline. Last month, SunTrust Banks, Inc. said it would move from its longtime headquarters at the SunTrust Center at 919 Main Street into a new 21-story office and apartment tower that will be built in The Locks development at 10th and Byrd Streets. The project will be known as The Locks at 3Twenty-One, and the developer is Dominion Realty Partners.