RICHMOND, Va. — After eight months of delays, Richmond City Council appeared finally set to decide the future of the Intermediate Terminal building at its meeting this week.
But a last-minute request by Stone Brewing Co. has thrown yet another wrench in the process.
Stone sent a letter requesting Richmond City Council to delay voting on changing the agreement between the brewery and the Richmond Economic Development Authority that would allow for the demolition of the building at 3101 E. Main St. to make way for Stone-branded restaurant and beer garden.
In the letter, addressed to Jane Ferrara, COO of the EDA, Stone chief operation officer Sean Monahan writes that the brewery has “concluded that we require additional time to further consider the current proposal and other options for bringing a Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens experience to Richmond.”
The 30,000-square-foot Intermediate Terminal building was originally slated to be converted into the bistro concept, until the city and the brewery said it was deemed structurally insufficient for redevelopment in an “economically feasible manner,” as was explained in Stone’s letter.
The parties opted to seek to demolish the building and construct a 12,000-square-foot from-scratch bistro in its place. Doing so requires an amendment of the language of the agreement between Stone and the EDA, a process that requires council approval. The council has since delayed voting on the matter 10 times since March.
This latest hold-up was the first time that Stone itself requested the vote to be delayed.
