RECENT COMMENTS
What could have been for Carrington Street
Proposed: looking west along Carrington Street from 23rd Street…
In early 1994, Better Housing Coalition, VCU Dept. of Planning and Community Development, Richmond Community Development Corporation, and New Visions Civic League drew up Church Hill: A Vision for the Future (90MB PDF), a plan for the Carrington Street corridor that drastically re-imagined an area that is to this day vacant and disconnected. With goals including both the revitalization of neglected areas of Church Hill and to forge new connections between neighboring areas and downtown, the plan redrew Carrington Street as a thriving residential center for the areas surrounding it to the north and east.
The plan also makes suggestions for 25th Street. Mosby Court, and Jefferson Avenue. Specific notice is given to the convenience store on Jefferson Avenue which “attract loiters and criminal activity and are perceived to be undermining the stability of the community”. The document also references plans to build “approximately 45 quality townhomes on the vacant block bounded by Jefferson, 24th, and 23rd Streets” (which later became Jefferson Mews_.
Proposed: looking east along Carrington Street from Mosby Street…
I believe this still can happen. Carrington’s cobblestone street and blank canvas can be transformed into a pedestrian friendly, well-planned, thriving community.
Whoa, now! These circa 1994 renderings called for the wholesale destruction of the existing architecture of Carrington Street. Not to mention the outrageous (suburban) set backs of the houses and the widening of the street with the grassy median.
This was a low point in BHC’s relationship with greater Church Hill.
In early to mid ’90’s BHC was dead wrong on some of the stuff it floated in Church/Union Hill. The community in this area fought some of their ideas (including the expansion of Jeff Mews across Jeff Ave to the north side of the corridor.)
To be fair, the 90’s was when BHC was getting it’s bearings in greater Church Hill/Union Hill. It was like a toddler learning to walk, with the neighborhood’s help. Unfortunately, life was so desperate up here in the early 90’s that some folks would say yes to anything (including wholesale building demolition & uber-cute urban planning) just to make the drug dealers go away.
Fortunately, over the past 2 decades, BHC has grown up considerably, gaining our trust and acting responsibly with regard to the use of our Federal Tax Dollars via HUD.
Thankfully, BHC come a long way due to the fact BHC listened to the community and took seriously our pleas for quality construction, architecture and site planning that reflected the existing neighborhood.
Nowadays, BHC is a good neighbor…but it’s no accident, and the community helped form their current p-o-v regarding construction on the hill.
But as good as BHC is, it should never get a blank check to do whatever it wants. Just a couple years ago, BHC tore down the small commercial building on the triangular lot at Pink/23rd/Carrington. The structure was a straight and tall, a free-standing wood frame structure who’s only fault was that it was abandoned. It wasn’t at risk of falling down…just waiting for the right owner to come along (and perhaps R63 zoning.) It was a victim of the “old ways” of thinking regarding corner stores.
The century old building was demolished for a silly little park-like thing that I’ve never ever seen anyone use.
Hey, we’re all human and we all make mistakes. BHC not infallible, and we need to keep “checks and ballances” in place with them.
For what it is worth, neighbors directly around 23rd/Short Q/Carrington saw the demolition of that commercial building as nothing but a good thing, and are pretty pleased about the little triangle park.
#2/UnionHill RVA:
I’m with ya on this!
I am so glad this did not come to being. It looks like all they did was just extend Mosby Court. There’s so much better that can be. What a distraction from Veneable would a widened Carrington be?