Addition by Subtraction: Musings on our Move to Scott’s Addition

Jon and I recently had some fun strolling down memory lane as we recorded an episode of our Teaming Up podcast. The topic was our early December move to our new expansive offices in Scott’s Addition, abandoning the familiarity of our Shockoe Bottom home where we have held court for 19 of the agency’s 22 years.

Moving, as most of you know, is not for the faint of heart. When we first pulled up stakes from our Shockoe Slip office, it was out of necessity – we had outgrown the second-floor space above Siné, and thanks to the generosity of the late Ted Cox, we found “Bottomed Out,” as you might say. Soon after moving it, we helped organize an ill-fated initiative to coax the powers to be into building a new AAA ballpark across a desolate parking lot from us, but despite the best efforts of our RBI (Richmond Ballpark Initiative) – not to mention the fact that the R-Braves liked the idea as well – it was not to be, and our vision of watching games from the roof of our building dried up much faster than the floods from Hurricane Gaston in 2004.

We had high hopes back then for the Bottom. It is, after all, the birthplace of the city, convenient to popular arteries like the James River and I-95, and it’s got good bones, as they say. But for whatever reason, its growth and transformation has been painfully slow, even as we remain hopeful for a renaissance. 

As it turns out, rather than our coaxing a new ballpark to our neighborhood, the opposite is now happening: we have moved down the block and around a corner from what will be Carmax Park in 2026. Count on us to be there on opening day.

Truth be told, our move is less about baseball and more about the strategic needs of the agency. We’re excited to occupy a large office – all on one floor – at 3301 W. Moore Street, and we hope to fit in with the other “cool kids” in the neighborhood, including our friends at Fahrenheit, Brand Federation and Two Tango, among others. (And from a personal perspective, I’m looking forward to working next door to my son Tucker at Brandito.) We’re indebted to our friends at One South Commercial for its help in our relocation, even as we promised ourselves we wouldn’t fall in love with the first space we toured. Thanks go to consummate pros, Ken Campbell and Ann Schweitzer Riley. 

We also have taken the opportunity to refresh The Hodges Brand, both its look and feel and our market positioning, but more on that later. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Campfire & Co., on our new brand and interior design, and we’re excited to show it off and to open our doors to a range of community events. And as Jon likes to point out, with such a giant screen TV in the main, open-air part of the space, we expect some sports-watching parties will be in order as well. 

I’ll round out our thanks to our internal team who has spearheaded the many logistics that go with the move, particularly Paulyn Ocampo, Casey Prentice and Anna Friesen. They’ve made it look easy. And so have our long-time friends at Hilldrup, which handled the physical move itself. 

Stay tuned for information into the New Year on a housewarming of sorts – or as we like to call it, “Opening Day.” We hope you can join us for the ceremonial first pitch. Onward!