Quirk Hotel and Stone Brewing Co. recognized for impact

Published May 12, 2016 by Paula C. Squires

The Quirk Hotel in Richmond’s Arts District and Stone Brewing Co. have won top awards from the Richmond Real Estate Group (RREG).

The 2016 Impact Awards ceremony was held Wednesday night at Stone Brewing Co.’s new facility in the city’s East End. The group said the awards recognize projects that have a positive impact on the region and contribute to economic growth and prosperity of the local communities they serve.

The Quirk Hotel, at 201 W. Broad St. was recently listed as a top destination in Richmond in an article by Travel & Leisure Magazine that ranked the city No. 3 among the 50 Best Places to Travel in the world in 2016. Richmond came in behind No. 1 Bocas del Toro, Panama; and Guadalajara, Mexico. The hotel offers 74 guest rooms, an art gallery, rooftop terrace bar with views of the city, and the Maple and Pine Restaurant.

Stone Brewing Co. is a 216,000-square-foot distribution facility that resulted from collaboration between the city, its Economic Development Authority, Stone Brewing and the Greater Fulton and Greater Richmond communities. It has full brewing production from distillery to packaging, storage and distribution. The facility also has offices and a beer garden. Currently, Stone has opened a tasting room and retail store, and it’s planning a grand opening.

Brett McNamee, a senior vice president for Divaris Real Estate and member of RREG, said the winning projects stood out because of “their unique design characteristics, their long term economic, tourist and development benefits to the Richmond region and their demonstrated ability to generate other development and activity in two areas of the Richmond region which have been either overlooked (Fulton Bottom) or slow to develop (Broad Street) for many years.  Both we believe will prove to be catalysts for these areas to continue to flourish.” 

Three other finalists vying for the awards were:

·       The Terraces at Manchester, 600 Semmes Ave. in Richmond’s Manchester District. The high-rise apartment complex offers large private terrace units, a Sky lounge, the city’s first rooftop dog walk and river vistas. The developers are Mark Purcel of Purcel Construction and Robin Miller of Miller & Associates.

·       ARC Park, a 2.9-acre recreational park at 3600 Saunders Ave. in Northside Richmond. Its play and fitness elements accommodate those with and without disabilities.  The park features three playgrounds, recycled safety surfaces and a wheelhouse accessible tree house.  It was built by Greater Richmond ARC, a nonprofit that serves the disabled.

·       Libbie Mill Library, developed by the county of Henrico in Libbie Mill Mid-town. This 60,000- square-foot, three-story library offers digital media labs and collaboration spaces. It’s part of a mixed-use project, Libbie Mill Midtown, that’s under development off Staples Mill Road.

The Richmond Real Estate Group is a membership organization of about 75 active members and more than 30 senior members representing all phases of commercial real estate including developers, architects, engineers, lenders, brokers, title companies, attorneys and service providers to the Richmond real estate community.