A revised proposal for the Echo Harbour development east of downtown Richmond has been filed with city planners, but the project continues to face opposition for its effect on views of the James River from Libby Hill.
The latest plan by USP Echo Harbour attempts to address those concerns by lowering building heights further, and it mixes a hotel and office space along with the condominiums and public riverfront improvements that were already planned.
The revised proposal was submitted this week as the Richmond Planning Commission considers final amendments to the downtown master plan. At a hearing yesterday, Director of Community Development Rachel Flynn and many Church Hill residents made it clear that they're unlikely to support Echo Harbour under any circumstances.
George Ross, a principal with USP Echo Harbour, said an architectural rendering from Libby Hill shows that Echo Harbour's average 108-foot-tall eastern building would be about as far from a historically significant bend in the river as a 150-foot-tall residential building approved but not yet developed at Rocketts Landing would be on the bend's other side.
The rendering, by architectural firm Baskervill, does not show Echo Harbour's bigger western building, which would average 141 feet in height. The maximum height in previous proposals was 188 feet.
"When you're talking view and view shed, this is the part that we're focusing on," said Ross, noting that part of the view is currently blocked by the towers of the Lehigh Cement Co.
Though they're hopeful they'll be able to present their proposal to the Planning Commission and the City Council by late summer, the developers also are making it clear that they're not going to yield to residents and officials who would rather see the property turned into a city park. The downtown master plan currently endorses both development and preservation options, but changes are being considered.
"At the moment, there's no interest to sell, and the city has eminent domain powers" to force a sale, said James Theobald, an attorney for USP Echo Harbour. "And the owners have the right to fair market value."
As proposed, Echo Harbour would include 88 to 102 condos, a hotel with 130 to 158 rooms and a river walk that would connect to the planned Virginia Capital Trail and Canal Walk.
In addition, Echo Harbour would have 27,000 to 118,000 square feet of office space, light retail and parking. Overall, the project would represent an investment of $153 million, according to the developers.
Project officials have grown increasingly frustrated since filing the proposal about three years ago, saying city officials have used questions and other roadblocks to keep it from being considered.
"We've been negotiating with ourselves by necessity for the past year, responding to what we've been hearing from the community," Theobald said.
He said he's now hopeful that the revised plan and master-plan changes will be "processed in due course."
If that doesn't happen?
"We intend to see that it's processed in due course," he said.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.
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