The VPM team accepting their award at Thursday’s ceremony. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
The post-fire restoration of a Fan elementary school and a public media nonprofit’s new downtown home were among the top honorees at this year’s Golden Hammer awards, held Thursday evening at Hardywood Richmond.
Presented by nonprofit group Historic Richmond, the annual awards honor standout real estate projects in the region, judged by a panel of local designers, developers, preservationists and consultants. A total of 16 awards were presented among 39 nominees in categories including restoration, new construction, adaptive reuse and placemaking.
The City of Richmond’s T.B. Smith Community Center. (Images courtesy Historic Richmond)
The night’s big winners included the City of Richmond, which picked up two Golden Hammers: one for the James River Park System’s Belle Isle Nature Exploration Area, and the other for the parks and recreation department’s T.B. Smith Community Center on Ruffin Road. The projects won Best Placemaking (Large-Scale) and Best New Construction – Community Facilities, respectively.
Richmond Public Schools also was a winner, picking up Best Restoration for its rehab of William Fox Elementary School, which was heavily damaged in a 2022 fire.
Before and after pictures of Fox Elementary School.
RPS worked on the Fox restoration with design firm and tax credit consultant Quinn Evans; engineers Dunbar, Thompson Consulting Engineers, and Setty; Gulf Seaboard General Contractors; Commonwealth Advisors Capital; and Foodservice Consultants Studio, Shen Milsom & Wilke and Ratchet Designs.
On the Belle Isle project, the park system worked with landscape architect Marvel, Truetimber Arborists, Friends of James River Park and The Robins Foundation. On the T.B. Smith center, the parks and rec department worked with architect Baskervill, which was also the MEP engineer; structural engineer Dunbar; civil engineer and landscape architect Timmons Group; and contractor Whiting-Turner, among others.
VPM’s new headquarters building on Broad Street.
VPM’s new downtown headquarters building was awarded Best New Construction – Mixed Use/Commercial. Project team members included design firm SMBW; engineers VHB, Dunbar and Salas O’Brien; contractor Clark Construction; and landscape architect Fall Line.
Best New Construction – Residential went to 2100 Bainbridge, the 83-unit apartment building in Swansboro by the nonprofit Project:Homes. Team members included architect Johannas Design Group; engineers Speight Marshall Francis, Salas O’Brien and VHB; and contractor UrbanCore Construction.
Best Residential – Single Family went to The Dollar House, a restoration of an 1890s-era house at 1716 Monteiro St. The owner, Corner Minor LLC, worked with ARK Construction & Development Corp. and draftsman Clark Glavé.
Best Interior Design went to Historic Hill House, a restoration of a 1910s-era rowhouse at 324 S. Cherry St. in Oregon Hill. Owner Rachel Howlett worked with Studio Howlett, which was the architect, contractor and interior designer.
The Haxall Padel Plant, fitted into the old Haxall Canal hydro plant.
Best Rehabilitation, Renovation & Adaptive Reuse went to Haxall Padel Plant, the racket sports venue conversion of the old Haxall Canal hydro plant. Developer Nordheimer Cos. worked with design firm WPA Studios; engineers Oneil Engineering Services, Westwood PS and Timmons Group; contractor J.D. Lewis Construction Management; and tax credit consultant Sadler & Whitehead.
Best Design was awarded to Kinsale Capital Group for its North Building at Kinsale Center at 2025 Staples Mill Road. Team members included Marchetti Development; Baskervill; engineers Introba, Timmons and TRC Cos.; contractor Hourigan; conceptual designer Wendel Architecture; and property manager Range Commercial.
Noah Scalin’s Cardinal Points sculpture near the Parkline Townhomes.
Best Placemaking (Small-Scale) went to Cardinal Points, a sculpture by artist Noah Scalin on Addison Street beside the Downtown Expressway. Scalin worked with fabricator Chris Martin; Parkline Townhomes developers Lory Markham, Kevin O’Leary, Walter Parks, Richard Souter and Jason Vickers-Smith; and the City of Richmond, which owns the gifted sculpture.
Special Golden Hammers were also awarded for 2-4 East Broad, a renovation and apartment conversion of the Broad Street Hardware Building at 2-4 E. Broad St. by developer Gray Development; The Hues apartment conversion of the former Sampson Coatings factory in Manchester by developer Thalhimer Realty Partners; and interior renovations to the Taylor House at 2325 Monument Ave., led by Glave & Holmes Architecture.
Also recognized were Maymont Foundation’s restoration of Maymont Mansion, and Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, which received the “Crowd Pleaser” award.
The team behind the Bolling Haxall House restoration, which won the People’s Choice Award voted on by attendees.
Back for a second year was the People’s Choice Award, presented based on votes from attendees during the event. This year’s popular winner was the Bolling Haxall House renovation, led by the Bolling Haxall House Foundation, design-build contractor Daniel & Co., interior designer Nita Enoch, and architects 510 Architects, Joseph F. Yates and 3North.
Judges this year included Historic Richmond’s Cyane Crump, Better Housing Coalition’s Lee Alford, VCUarts’ Laura Battaglia and Camden Whitehead, Lexi Cleveland of Black Heritage Preservation Alliance of Richmond, Tyler Silvestro with design firm Marvel, Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond’s Audrey Trussell, Richmond Memorial Health Foundation’s Albert Walker III, and WPA Studios’ Sean Wheeler.
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