Broad Street in downtown Richmond -- always a barometer of the city's health -- is seeing its stock rise after decades of disinvestment, stagnation and blight.

The gradual reversal of fortune along the city's signature boulevard comes after the area bottomed out in the early 1990s when Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers abandoned their department stores, leaving downtown retail for dead.

"Realistically, we've got a ways to go, but as you look at the needs, look at what's going on," said William "Bill" Harrison, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Broad Street's rise is being fueled on its eastern edge by a host of government projects, including a new federal courthouse and improvements to City Hall, plus the expansion of Virginia Commonwealth University's medical campus on and extending north of Broad. On the western end, near Belvidere Street, the driving forces have been restaurants, art galleries and a mix of small businesses and other ventures.

Now, investment dollars are also trickling into a stretch in the middle -- roughly from Jefferson to 4th streets. City officials haven't attempted to quantify the investments along Broad Street but they easily exceed $1 billion.

Kevin W. Korda said his home-renovations store, Renovation Resources, could have landed in Carytown or Short Pump, but it settled at 18 West Broad St. because of the area's artsy, eclectic mix.

"I liked the idea of developing the urban atmosphere down here," he said. "It was really just a diamond in the rough. . . . I saw this revitalization happening here, I just wanted to be part of it."

Korda said he's supported the First Fridays art walk and helped launch Broad Appétit, a festival taking place today to celebrate food and the arts.

"One of the reasons was to get people to see downtown in a new light," Korda said.

. . .

Gary Murray also is eager to get Richmonders thinking of Broad Street as the bustling corridor of old. He and his business partners are preparing to open Rendezvous, a restaurant, lounge and nightclub at 17-19 W. Broad St., which once was home to Central Furniture.

"It baffled us to why it still wasn't" thriving, said Murray, who moved to Richmond from Florida. "We wanted to be part of bringing that [liveliness] back to downtown."

Rendezvous, which is expected to be fully open by this summer, is aiming to cater to professionals and trade on exclusivity, with valet parking, a bright facade and a red carpet stretching onto the sidewalk.

"We want to set the bar as to what true luxury nightlife is," Murray said.

A few doors down, at 105 E. Broad St., Bookwright Properties LLC is renovating a former pawn shop to include a pair of condominiums priced from the upper $400,000s. The first-floor space is being marketed as office or retail space.

Todd Harbold, a partner in the development company, sees the weak housing market, not the gritty stretch of Broad, as the main obstacle to attracting buyers. He proudly shows off the spacious units' wood floors and their shared garage, which features a two-level mechanical lift that creates room for two vehicles.

"When you look at the redevelopment and now fuel prices, I think people will want to live and not have to drive so far," Harbold said.

. . .

A key player that is keeping property owners bullish about Broad Street is Douglas Development Corp. The Washington-based company has invested in buildings throughout downtown and along Broad, including the former Central National Bank, the United Way building and Harper's Department Store.

"He's sort of a key at this point, as far as I'm concerned, as to when this area starts to take off," Harbold said of company president Douglas Jemal.

Officials with Douglas Development did not respond to messages seeking comment, but the company has begun work on several blighted buildings along Broad at Second Street that were recently purchased. Rachel Flynn, the city's director of community development, said the company has disclosed only that it's planning retail uses on the buildings' first floor with offices or residences above.

"We're very hopeful," she said, "and it sends a message that you too can do this."

Korda said, while the particulars of the projects remain a mystery, he's encouraged.

"It's like waiting for Christmas," he said. "One day, the package will be unwrapped."

. . .

Broad Street's rise hasn't been without controversy. The demolition of the Eighth Street Office Building, formerly the Murphy Hotel, to make way for a state office tower, and similar fates planned for West Hospital and other buildings on VCU's medical campus, have drawn protests from historic-building preservationists.

"We don't have that much left on Broad Street between Eighth and [Interstate] 95, so why is it such a big issue to keep the handful of buildings that remain?" David Herring, interim executive director of the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods asked rhetorically.

The Downtown Neighborhood Association is concerned about blight and graffiti, and it's working to address one of the downsides to its growth spurt -- overflowing Supercans, Harrison said.

The association is talking about placing recycling receptacles throughout downtown to give businesses an alternative to throwing away their plastic bottles, newspapers and other recyclables.

Harrison said Broad Street's prospects are good because its fortunes are tied to a diverse set of players, including government, young professionals, artists and students.

Beads and Rocks, a shop offering stones, handmade jewelry and clothing, opened about a month ago at 420 W. Broad, just east of Belvidere, after relocating from Carytown.

Store manager Gaby Torres said the new location is preferable because it offers enough space for studio work and provides proximity to First Fridays and VCU's bulging academic campus.

"I just like it down here," she said. "In Carytown, you don't really feel like you're in a city. Down here, I'm like, 'Yes, I'm in a city!' . . . You just get a sense that something is coming."
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.