With a ballpark out of the picture, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones wants a new, market-tested plan for revitalizing Shockoe Bottom. The city was preparing to issue yesterday a request for proposals for an economic strategy to guide development and redevelopment of city and private property in the Bottom. “At the end of the day, we want something that’s implementable and market-driven,“ said Peter H. Chapman, deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development.

The Richmond Metropolitan Authority will deal with a pair of short-term baseball issues and after that, perhaps be involved with a long-term ballpark plan, RMA General Manager Mike Berry said yesterday. The RMA, which owns and operates The Diamond on behalf of the city and Henrico and Chesterfield counties, is working with the Eastern League to secure one of its 12 Class AA franchises for next season.

Highwoods Properties drops plans for Shockoe Bottom ballpark, Boulevard development. Mayor says while baseball will return to Richmond in the spring, a long-term plan must be developed.

The Eastern League still intends to relocate one of its 12 Class AA franchises to Richmond next season despite yesterday’s withdrawal of the Shockoe Center proposal and its $60 million ballpark. “Nothing changes,“ said Joe McEacharn, Eastern League president. “It’s more information that we continue to absorb. This does not affect our commitment to be there in 2010.“

The continued lack of a ballpark plan “complicates” the Eastern League’s process of identifying a Class AA franchise and ownership group for Richmond, Eastern League President Joe McEacharn acknowledged yesterday, but he added “it’s a challenge that we are committed to meeting.“ McEacharn said he remains optimistic that one of the Eastern League’s dozen franchises will be based at The Diamond next season whether or not the Shockoe Center proposal and its $60 million ballpark gain city approval.

Former Richmond City Councilman and federal prisoner Sa’ad El-Amin has resurfaced to oppose baseball in Shockoe Bottom and to help save black-heritage sites, such as the collapsed Eggleston Hotel. El-Amin sent a letter and an essay to Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City Council on Sunday, making the case that the Shockoe Center ballpark project should be rejected and that much of the Bottom be reserved to memorialize the area’s role during the slave trade.

Transformation is the shared theme of two ballpark plans for Richmond. In October, Highwoods Properties proposed Shockoe Center, a development that includes a $60 million ballpark that would transform Shockoe Bottom. A minimum of two years would be required to build that stadium, if the proposal gains city approval. Then, last week, Opening Day Partners presented a $28 million transformation of The Diamond on the Boulevard, a facility that opened in 1985. Just about everything but the field and part of the lower bowl would be demolished and removed, with a modern ballpark constructed on the stadium footprint, according to Maryland-based ODP. The transformed Diamond, says ODP, could be ready for baseball next season if construction begins Aug. 1.

Transformation is the shared theme of two ballpark plans for Richmond. In October, Highwoods Properties proposed Shockoe Center, a development that includes a $60 million ballpark that would transform Shockoe Bottom. A minimum of two years would be required to build that stadium, if the proposal gains city approval. Then, last week, Opening Day Partners presented a $28 million transformation of The Diamond on the Boulevard, a facility that opened in 1985. Just about everything but the field and part of the lower bowl would be demolished and removed, with a modern ballpark constructed on the stadium footprint, according to Maryland-based ODP. The transformed Diamond, says ODP, could be ready for baseball next season if construction begins Aug. 1.

Location: The ballpark would be framed by East Broad Street, North 18th Street, East Franklin Street and Ambler Street.
  Cost: $318 million for the entire project, which involves a $60 million ballpark.
  Ballpark capacity: 8,500.
  Features: Party decks, picnic area, grass berms, walkway around field, 24 suites, playground, computer-gaming area, high-definition scoreboard, Wi-Fi, capability of use for community-oriented events.

The developers of the Shockoe Center ballpark plan say they’ll forgo indefinitely their project’s third phase to ease concerns about construction near the Lumpkin’s slave-jail site. In light of a request by Mayor Dwight C. Jones and concerns of the Richmond Slave Trail Commission, the developers are proposing to defer all construction west of the Main Street Station train shed until studies determine the land’s historical significance.

The chairman of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority’s board of directors and the RMA’s general manager said yesterday that they find a $28 million transformation plan for The Diamond intriguing and worthy of evaluation. James L. Jenkins, the chairman, and Mike Berry, the GM, added that they also find the Opening Day Partners proposal somewhat familiar. The RMA, which owns and operates The Diamond, and the Atlanta Braves seemed set in 2004 to proceed with a major facility renovation that Berry now sees as comparable in some respects to the $28 million plan ODP released yesterday.

Bryan Bostic said yesterday that Richmond Baseball Club LC was about to close the deal to purchase the Double-A Connecticut Defenders on May 13. Then, “things happened,“ said Bostic, who was RBC’s leader. RBC did not meet the $15.4 million sale price of the Eastern League team by the May 31 deadline. The deal died. Bostic was the face of Richmond’s quest to secure a locally owned baseball franchise for Richmond. He said RBC included more than three dozen investors.

Concern about Richmond’s continued lack of a plan to replace The Diamond influenced a portion of Richmond Baseball Club LC’s investors to withdraw financial support to bring back minor league baseball, sources said.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones has declared himself intrigued by the idea of a Shockoe Bottom with high-speed rail, a bus-transfer center, black heritage sites and a ballpark surrounded by restaurants, residences and other development. But first, he wants to see if it all can fit on several blocks east of Interstate 95. At Jones’ urging, representatives of the proposed Shockoe Center ballpark development and the proposed bus-transfer center at Main Street Station said they’re working to resolve conflicts between their plans.

The developers of the proposed Shockoe Center ballpark project aren’t the only ones seeing a strong demand for housing in Shockoe Bottom. As the first units of a 351-unit apartment complex are set to hit the market this summer, at least two other projects are queuing up for the area east of downtown Richmond and VCU Medical Center. Those three projects would total about 625 units on top of the 250 apartments and 60 condominiums that are planned for Shockoe Center. In addition, the 65-unit Raven Place Apartments, at East Broad Street and Oliver Hill Way, opened last summer.