The American Institute of Architects Richmond was founded in 1976.

Riverside Brick

After nearly 3 years of planning and construction, Riverside Brick & Supply is proud to open its new office and showroom on Maury Street in the Manchester neighborhood.  The facility sits on 15 acres, has a new 14,000 square foot office building and 2 warehouses totaling 30,000 square feet.  This project enables Riverside Brick to combine its two Richmond operations into one, as they will be closing the Scotts Addition location.

The Maury Street property has a long history of brick making going all the way back to the 1870s but manufacturing ceased in the early 1990s as the distribution business grew.  The brick making past only complicated construction and the primary challenge was how to demolish a brick plant, build 3 new buildings and maintain distribution operations all at the same time.  Even with 15 acres the brick distributor couldn’t demolish everything at once.  The solution was to demolish small strategic areas so that inventory could be moved to the newly constructed area and then continue that process until the project was complete.  It’s a much slower, costlier way to build, but the only way they could make the project work. 

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Plant demolition underway. One warehouse is complete with the office and second warehouse nearly complete. Image courtesy of Riverside Brick.

Combining the Richmond operations was always a long-term goal of Mike Wray, Riverside Brick & Supply President, and seen as the best way to streamline communications, shipping and inventory management.   “We’re really glad we could expand the Maury Street operations.  The business has been part of the Richmond and Manchester community for a century and a half, and we are excited to be there for the foreseeable future” says Wray.  The new building offers a 3,000 square foot interior showroom in addition to an impressive exterior display area.  “We’ll have the ability to show much more product” said Thomas Parrish, Riverside Brick Vice President. “We’ll now be able to offer a better, more comprehensive design experience and I look forward to showing people all we can offer” he added.  In addition to the new facility, Riverside Brick recently launched a new website which is more product focused.  With all these changes it’s clear the 150-year-old business continues to change and reinvent itself to meet modern expectations and demands.

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Brick making at Maury Street in the middle of the century. Beehive brick kilns were still in use. Image courtesy of Riverside Brick.

Riverside Brick & Supply has five locations throughout central and eastern Virginia and is a full-service masonry distributor carrying brick, block, mortar, natural and manufactured stone, hardscape materials and additional masonry related products.  The company has a long history of supporting the Richmond architectural community with dedicated sales reps and product lines.  Employing 80 people, the business prides itself on providing the best service and pricing in the industry.

Riverside Brick
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