Shamin Hotels Buys 700 Building for $7M; Plans to Plant 2 Hilton Flags

By Adrian Maties, Associate Editor

The 18-story office building at 700 East Main St. in Richmond’s central business district has experienced hard times in recent years, but it about to get a new lease on life. Shamin Hotels, the Richmond region’s largest hospitality operator, has acquired the 181,000-square-foot building for $7 million and plans to convert it into a pair of Hilton-branded properties.

Shamin plans to build a 144-key Hampton Inn & Suites and a Homewood Suites with 100 guest rooms, as well as a 5,000-square-foot restaurant on the second floor and a 2,500-square-foot bar and coffee shop on the ground floor.

Developed in the early 1960s, the 700 Building currently has a low occupancy rate but was once home to such tenants as Richmond National Bank, Hunton & Williams and Merrill Lynch. It offers 212 covered parking spaces, with views of the State Capitol and the James River.

Construction is expected to start later this year. While the project will renovate the 700 Building, the property’s facade will be maintained. Once renovated, the building will continue to house the U.S. Post Office.

Jimmy Appich and Gareth Jones of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. represented BH Properties; Shamin was represented by Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Mark Douglas.

Thanks to the 700 Building’s recent addition to the Main Street Banking Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Shamin is eligible to pursue historic tax credits.

According to research by Property Shark, the 700 Building previously traded in 2007, when BH Properties bought it from Wells Fargo for $8.2 million.

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