Moxy Richmond Downtown

Moxy Richmond Downtown revived a long-vacant 1916 office building at 5th and Franklin — after a redevelopment that stalled for nearly two years — into a 100-room, bar-first lifestyle hotel that opened in November 2022. Bar Moxy, not the front desk, is the real heart of the place.

The place

The hotel sits at the corner of 5th and Franklin Streets in downtown Richmond, inside an eight-story building erected in 1916 as one of the earliest commercial structures on East Franklin Street.

The concept

Before Moxy, the building spent decades as the Advantech Building, a city-backed incubator space for small and Black-owned businesses, and had sat vacant since 2016. Local developer Shamin Hotels bought it that year for $2.5 million, gutted it in 2018, then stalled the project when its development plan wasn't approved — construction only resumed in early 2020 and finished in 2022, with Chesterfield-based North South Construction as contractor. The result is Marriott's bar-centric, design-forward Moxy brand: an interactive lobby built around retro gaming and music, keyless entry, motion-sensor lighting and small, efficient rooms aimed at travelers who want energy over square footage. Because the building had never operated as a hotel before — office space, then a vacant incubator — the Moxy conversion counts as a genuinely new hotel operation rather than a rebrand of an existing property.

Dining & wellness

Bar Moxy doubles as the front desk and social hub, greeting arriving guests with a signature "Got Moxy" cocktail and offering small plates and games through the evening. A Grab n Go station covers coffee, local drinks and snacks, with a Breakfast Naan option in the mornings; there's also a fitness center.