Construction has begun on the facade of the Richards Building

Spring is in the air, and with warmer temperatures comes many things: the sound of birds chirping, the emergence of green shoots and... the sound of construction??

Passersby on Blackwell may have already noticed the work going on with the ground-level facade of the Richards Building. We are beginning the demolition work that precedes full renovation of the building facade. Crews have begun taking some of the large windows and glass doors out of the front and replacing them with plywood. Inside, sections of floor along Blackwell are being removed.

For now, sidewalk traffic on Blackwell is unaffected by our work. In a few weeks, as we start work on the new exterior finishes, we will need to build a temporary wall that partially blocks the sidewalk. We apologize for the inconvenience in advance!

We hope the wait will be worth it, as we transform the ground level along Blackwell into a new Marketplace and Lunch Counter.

Interior of the future Marketplace, pre-construction.

And, of course, when all work is complete the exterior of the Richards Building will have received a total makeover. Stay tuned for more updates!

Rendering of the facade after improvements are complete. (Note: street level murals are just a placeholder.)