Shockoe Development: The Bottom, Again

With a proposed baseball stadium now apparently dead before arrival, the latest big idea for Shockoe Bottom entails a state-of-the-art medical complex. Several members of the City Council have lined up in support of at least studying the concept, as has former councilman and current Del. Manoli Loupassi.

Advocates -- chief among them Paul Goldman, who also was a force behind the city's current elected-mayor system -- say the economic benefits could be huge. That's an open question, which an ad hoc study commission presumably would answer. Other open questions concern what, if any, role VCU would play, how the business proprietors of Shockoe Bottom feel about the idea, and what state regulators would have to say about the public need for such a facility.

The biggest question of all, of course, is: Who's going to build it? VCU? The city? Local hospital chain Bon Secours, or HCA -- or perhaps a consortium of all four? The current debate over health care reform in Washington adds an uncertain factor to the larger equation. On a purely gut-check level, our instincts struggle between cheering on those who dare to dream big -- and wondering about the practicality of an idea hatched seemingly at random, like a musical in those after-school specials in which someone shouts, "Hey, gang! Let's put on a show!"

There's a lot to sort out, and a commission would help with that process. A medical complex in Shockoe Bottom would represent a major investment -- and a major change to the district. It would be foolish for anyone to reject -- or endorse -- the idea before it has received a thorough vetting.