The historic Hotel John Marshall in Richmond, Va., was designed in 1928 by local architect Marcellus Wright and opened October 30, 1929, the day after the stock market crash that signaled the start of the Great Depression. Despite the bankruptcy that soon followed, the hotel managed to survive for another six decades, until it closed in 1988.
In 2007 Virginia Atlantic Development and Dominion Realty Partners formed John Marshall Building LLC to redevelop the vacant property. Starting in April 2010, the Building Team of Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, Stanley D. Lindsey & Associates, Leppard Johnson & Associates, and Choate Interior Construction restored the 16-story, 310,537-sf building into the Residences at the John Marshall, a new mixed-use facility offering apartments, street-level retail, a catering kitchen, and two restored ballrooms.
Special attention was given to restoring the building’s historical elements. In the grand Virginia Room, three of the original ballroom chandeliers, weighing 600 pounds each, underwent two years of intensive restoration, including hand polishing and restringing 18,000 individual crystal beads.
PROJECT SUMMARY
RESIDENCES AT THE JOHN MARSHALL
Richmond, Va.Building Team
Submitting firm: Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio (architect)
Owner/developer: Dominion Realty Partners
Structural engineer: Stanley D. Lindsey & Associates
MEP engineer: Leppard Johnson & Associates
General contractor: Choate Interior ConstructionGeneral Information
Size: 310,537 gsf
Construction cost: $39 million
Construction period: April 2010 to June 2012
Delivery method: Cost-plus
The Building Team worked with specialty exterior restoration engineer Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates and the local historic society to restore the limestone façade, the supports of which had deteriorated over the years. Every limestone panel was reanchored with stainless steel fittings bolted into the building and then patched. Terra cotta details at the top of the building were also restored, or in some cases recreated with glass-fiber-reinforced concrete to match the original. “The restoration of the façade was notable, when you consider they had to reattach every piece,” said Reconstruction Awards Judge Daniel Moser, SE, PE.
For its sustainability efforts, the Residences at John Marshall earned three out of four Green Globes through the Green Building Initiative.
The Hotel John Marshall reopened this past summer with 77% of its commercial space leased and more than 85 events booked prior to occupancy. As of early August, 202 of the 238 apartments were leased. “That’s a very good real estate story,” said Judge Martha Bell, FAIA. +
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Feb 24, 2022
First new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years opens
City Club Apartments completed two multifamily projects in 2021 in downtown Detroit including the first new, mixed-use high-rise in Detroit’s central business district in nearly 30 years.
| Feb 24, 2022
Signs of ‘Antiwork’ appear in the architecture industry
Reddit's r/Antiwork forum highlights the mounting pressures everyday workers face in a purely capitalistic society. AEC industry professionals are not immune to these pressures.
Office Buildings | Feb 23, 2022
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building tops out
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building, topped out on Feb. 10, 2022.
Codes and Standards | Feb 21, 2022
More bad news on sea level rise for U.S. coastal areas
A new government report predicts sea levels in the U.S. of 10 to 12 inches higher by 2050, with some major cities on the East and Gulf coasts experiencing damaging floods even on sunny days.
Wood | Feb 18, 2022
$2 million mass timber design competition: Building to Net-Zero Carbon (entries due March 30!)
To promote construction of tall mass timber buildings in the U.S., the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and USDA Forest Service (USDA) have joined forces on a competition to showcase mass timber’s application, commercial viability, and role as a natural climate solution.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
On-campus performing arts centers and museums can be talent magnets for universities
Cultural facilities are changing the way prospective students and parents view higher education campuses.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2022
A vacated school in St. Louis is turned into a center where suppliers exchange ideas
In 1871, The Carondelet School, designed by Frederick William Raeder, opened to educate more than 400 children of laborers and manufacturers in St. Louis. The building is getting a second lease on life, as it has undergone a $2 million renovation by goBRANDgo!, a marketing firm for the manufacturing and industrial sectors.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Feb 17, 2022
Metal roofing trends
New ideas in design and constructability are radically changing how metal systems are used as roofing for commercial and institutional buildings. Behind the investment in these new kinds of expressions and construction approaches is a growing interest in improved performance and reduced environmental impact. Metal roofing systems can cut cooling and heating loads significantly, according to the EPA.
Data Centers | Feb 15, 2022
Data center boom: How two AEC firms plan to meet unprecedented demand for data center facilities
Ramboll's Jim Fox and EYP Mission Critical Facilities' Rick Einhorn discuss the recent joining of their companies at a time of unprecedented data center demand. BD+C's John Caulfield leads the discussion with Fox, Ramboll's Managing Director for the Americas, and Einhorn, EYP Mission Critical Facilities' Managing Director.
Architects | Feb 15, 2022
Binkley Garcia Architecture and Goodwyn Mills Cawood join forces in Nashville
Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) is pleased to announce the acquisition of architecture and interior design firm Binkley Garcia Architecture in Nashville.