“The terminal building is a part of the whole Stone Brewing Co. experience we are trying to create in Richmond,” said Sabrina LoPiccolo, a spokeswoman for the brewer, which plans to operate a bistro and beer garden at the terminal in the second phase of the development project.

“We are aware that the Ripp family owns it and that the city is negotiating on terms to purchase it,” LoPiccolo said.

The terminal building and adjacent city dock are the centerpiece of Richmond’s plan for redeveloping the riverfront from Rocketts Landing at the Henrico County line to Great Shiplock Park.

The development of the terminal will coincide with plans to close Water Street, also known as Wharf Street, which passes beneath the warehouse building, and have Dock and East Main streets intersect west of the terminal to ease congestion at the current intersection of Water/Wharf and Main at Nicholson Street.

The plans also will enable Richmond to expand the riverfront park it plans on the site of the Lehigh Cement Co. and extend the city’s portion of the Virginia Capital Trail, a 55-mile recreational trail between Shockoe Bottom and Jamestown.

“This project is the catalyst to make all these things happen,” Downey said Friday.