Virginia ABC sells former warehouse to VCU to create athletic village

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Virginia ABC recently sold its former central office and warehouse facilities to Virginia Commonwealth University.

The 20-acre site near The Diamond sold for $16 million. The deal closed on Friday, June 10, according to Virginia ABC.

Now, on top of other properties already purchased, VCU has over 40 acres at its disposal to build new facilities and fields.

With this move, sports tourism is expected to boom in the Diamond District with the influx of more athletes, fans, and revenue.

“I’m very thankful that we’ve got VCU as a partner and an investor for the future growth and prosperity of Richmond, and so this athletic village can be a game-changer,” President and CEO of ChamberRVA Brian Anderson said.

The athletic village would include a tennis center, practice fields, soccer and outdoor track stadiums, as well as a multi-purpose facility.

This village allows VCU’s main campus to focus on student housing and academic resources, rather than cramming athletic space into the inner city.

Anderson says the Diamond District will be unrecognizable and booming with growth after all of the improvements in the next few years.

“That redevelopment of that whole area is just another one of those places that we’re seeing some early life and now what connects Scott’s Addition to Downtown,” Anderson said. “It’s hard to find anything that’s not positive about this type of advancement.”

Businesses in the area say the improvement and expansion of the Diamond District is exciting to watch.

As the area around it grows, so does foot traffic and revenue for businesses.

They are looking forward to all the new opportunities the athletic village will bring to the city of Richmond.

“There’s got to be a hot market like ours where you’ve got things to do in addition to sports, but we’re filling up our hotel rooms because parents and players are coming to this market to play games,” Anderson said. “I think sports tourism is going to be not only huge now, it’s gonna be one of those pillars we keep building on.”

VCU has also purchased several properties around here for its athletic village. The school is now raising money to start construction.

In addition, the city has some neighboring land that has been purchased. There have been talks of redeveloping it for a new ballpark, which VCU baseball and the Flying Squirrels could possibly share.

ABC occupied the space at 2901 Hermitage Road from 1971 to 2021. It was ABC’s third headquarters in its 88-year history.

ABC completed a new, larger headquarters and distribution center in Hanover County in June 2021.

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