As reported in Style Weekly (5/17/06), there are plans for the redevelopment of Richmond Steel, just a short walk from the Diamond. 

Plans for an entertainment complex … that include a 12-theater multiplex and two restaurants are those of Bow Tie Partners, a real-estate development and entertainment company with principal offices in Manhattan and Aspen, Colo.

Bow Tie Partners specializes in redevelopment of historic and architecturally significant properties, while its affiliate, Bow Tie Cinemas, owns and operates a string of luxury movie houses.

As exciting as it sounds, we won’t know until the plans get a little further along.  As Style points out, "in May 2005 Bow Tie Partners bought a 2-acre block downtown….preliminary plans included retail and residential space and a movie cinema."

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(added 6/2/06) For more in-depth discussion about Bow Tie’s plans for Richmond (including this project), see the Richmond CityWatch forum.  The thread is under the forums, under "Development" and the name of the thread is "Bow Tie Development".  —- okay, the CityWatch forum doesn’t like referral links I guess, so copy and paste this link http://www.richmondcitywatch.com/ —- Thanks!

(added 6/2/06)  For more on Bow Tie Partners, see their website.