A looming debt payment no longer looks ominous for the cash-strapped authority that oversees a number of parking garages in downtown Richmond, but another big shortfall already is in sight. The city advanced more than $655,000 yesterday to the Broad Street Community Development Authority to make up a shortfall in the debt payment due June 1 on bonds that were sold six years ago to pay for new parking, demolition of Sixth Street Marketplace and public improvements to the declining downtown retail corridor.

Metro Business asked Andy Thornton, co-owner of LaDifférence home-furnishings store at 14th and Dock streets in downtown Richmond, about operating a business downtown and what the future holds for that area: “We really enjoy the whole character of what is down here. “Everybody in retail is challenged right now no matter where you are in the country. Downtown is having its own issues like the West End. “But the long term is a really exciting place to be. “[Downtown] just has a great dynamic. . . . People have a totally different perspective on life down here.“ Watch the full video interview with Thornton on TimesDispatch.com. Keyword: Metro Business

Bob Scudder and Dougie Bowman would have had a spectacular view of downtown Richmond from one condo on the 15th floor of Vistas on the James. They decided to go for the knockout.

Dividing the space is key to loft decor Lofts bring to mind wide open spaces with massive windows, exposed architectural elements and urban ambience. They’re hip and sophisticated, but can be a challenge to decorate. One room flows into the next, leaving everything you own within sight of guests. Forget dirty dishes in the sink or heaps of paperwork on the dining room table.

The Richmond Marriott is getting dressed up along with other buildings on East Broad Street. The owners of downtown’s—and the region’s—largest hotel have begun a $14 million upgrade that’s already renovated its 410 guest rooms and fitness center. A lobby overhaul will start next month and give way to exterior improvements, including a fountainlike feature by the Fifth Street entrance.

Roy Dasya wanted to live in downtown Richmond, where he hangs out with his friends after work. “I needed a small place because I work all these long hours,“ said Dasya, 25, who is a waiter at a restaurant. He bought in the Jackson Ward area of downtown Richmond, spending the same on his mortgage payment that he paid for a two-bedroom apartment off Parham Road in Henrico County.

The Lady Byrd Hat Factory in Richmond’s historic Shockoe Slip is home to more than Toad’s Place, a music venue. The upper floor is chic office space with exposed trusses and duct work, a cobblestone water wall and original skylights.