Libbie Mill development wins another award

Libbie Mill-Midtown in Henrico County has won another major award for a private-sector development, and Richmond’s new $134 million jail stood out out among projects in the public sector.

The Richmond Real Estate Group on Monday announced the two as winners of its 2015 Impact Awards, which recognize Central Virginia projects that have a major impact on the region.

The new Richmond Justice Center replaced a 1960s jail.  The six-story jail has 412,000 square feet of space — nearly double the old facility’s size.  Unlike its predecessor, it has air-conditioning and is equipped with medical and dental clinics. Inmates are housed in pods containing no more than 45 individual cells. Pods have a day room, eating facilities and an exercise room.

At Libbie Mill-Midtown Gumenick Properties is creating a new 80-acre community.  Located between West Broad Street and Staples Mill Road near Libbie Avenue and the I-64 interchange at Staples Mill Road, the community is being designed as a local community and a regional destination.  When complete, it’s projected to have up to 994 homes and 1,096 apartments, about 160,000 square feet of office and retail space. 

Several companies, including the Southern Season gourmet grocery store, already have moved there, and the new Libbie Mill-Midtown Library will open this fall. Last week, Libbie Mill, a $434 million mixed-use project that's expected to take ten years to build out,  won the 2015 Project of the Year award from GRACRE (the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate).

Among other projects considered for the 2015 Impact Awards were renovations at The Valentine museum, Deep Run III, The Depot at Virginia Commonwealth University, The Beacon Theatre in Hopewell, the new apartments at 1200 Semmes Avenue and the University of Richmond South Campus Residential House.

In announcing the awards for the Richmond Justice Center and the Libbie Mill-Midtown, Neil S. Kessler, president of the Richmond Real Estate Group, said in a statement that “these forward-looking projects offer a new vision of our region and offer a unique display of creativity, foresight and construction excellence,” Kessler is an attorney with Troutman Sanders and specializes in commercial real estate.

The Richmond Real Estate Group is a professional organization of allied businesses engaged in the real estate sector.  Members include brokers, appraisers, financial professionals, developers, contractors, facilities managers, attorneys, architects and engineers.