RECENT COMMENTS
Mayor declares 25th Street/Nine Mile Road “a top priority for redevelopment and revitalization”
Mayor Jones’ State of the City Address (PDF) last week gave promise of change on the 25th Street/Nine Mile Road corridor:
Further, we cannot waste the enormous potential of the 25th Street/Nine Mile Road Corridor. This area will be a top priority for redevelopment and revitalization. Our comprehensive approach to economic and community development provides an opportunity to revitalize a commercial corridor that has long suffered from disinvestment and declining market base due to urban flight.
This corridor already has clear competitive advantages:
- strong civic support
- stable housing market with opportunities for infill and renovations
- proximity to downtown and riverside
- public transportation
- access to interstate highways
- historic structures
- city resources (Enterprise Zone, CARE area [Commercial Area Revitalization
Effort], Neighborhoods in Bloom)These projects are so critical to the goal of poverty elimination and the de-concentration of
poverty.
I’ve heard of an upcoming charrette for the area, set for sometime in the spring, with Better Housing Coalition, Bon Secours, and RRHA as the organizers. More info on that as it comes in.
From the take it all with a grain of salt file: work on that big vacant spot at 25th and Nine Mile was supposed to have been well under way by now. OK…
I hope they can save that one house at 24th and T. It’s in incredibly good condition from the outside and well maintained.
Umm..yes, about fifteen years ago, it was also supposed to become a vital urban corridor – same talk, different adminstration. Task force was formed, people got paid to be on the task force (wow), and flag banners were purchased to fly from light poles all along 25th Street proclaiming it a new urban commercial corridor, a survey was taken of residents who wanted a viable grocery store, hardware store, etc etc etc…so far, there’s a dollar store up there near 25th and Nine Mile. Oh, and a roundabout at 25th and M Streets.
I suggest that Mayor Jones look at history, maybe he’ll learn from it (doubtful – although maybe he’s got some people who want to be paid to be on yet another task force…)
Meanwhile, if he wants 25th Street to be revitalized, he might consider having it plowed during snow storms. At 5 p.m. on Sunday, it was plowed – from Broad to Main Street, all three blocks. I stood at the intersection on Broad and it sure looked snowy heading north.
Oh, an improvement that I forgot – we also got some really tacky Xmas decorations to decorate 25th Street from Broad to Nine Mile, thanks to McQuinn’s Paygo account.
Sounds good. But I hope the city can keep things simple and straight up push to make the east end Richmond’s great historic neighborhood. We’ve seen efforts in the past get bogged down with the absurd argument that revitalizing a neighborhood = “gentrification” – which is supposedly somehow bad.
Along those lines – what’s the deal with the new development by Micky-D’s? I thought it was supposed to be slick cosmopolitan high end lofts a la Tobacco Row. Instead there’s a sign up advertising that HUD has a hand in the project? What’s the gameplan there? Section-8?
Bullwinkle, I don’t recall the details but it’s a HUD backed (as in guaranteed, I think) loan, NOT Section 8; just a way of financing apartments. I know a neighbor down there who was notified of the development; if I find out more, I will post here.
Considering I’ve heard one of the biggest obstacles to getting a restaurant or other business in the area is parking (because of city ordinances), I was wondering if free city parking lots, like that in Carytown, would be beneficial.
@3 – HUD guarantees the permanent financing on all manner of multifamily properties, including market rate. It was likely necessary for the developer to acquire permanent financing at a reasonable rate in the current market.
The project based (e.g. financing of a building) Section 8 program is essentially dead.
I’d much rather see some kind of zoning status or overlay that removes the need for parking requirements rather than have surface parking implemented. There are plenty of thriving restaurants in the Fan and around VCU, and places like Croaker’s Spot and Mama Zu’z, that don’t have attached parking lots.
Did you notice that he is planning jobs creation and economic development in areas that are R or B zoned…so I guess the jobs that will be created are either service worker or fast food/retail. But the developer will get rich.
more typical city of richmond BS
Contrary to (what seems to be) everyone’s cynicism, I think this is a good thing. This could be a good entryway to the East End from Henrico. There are plenty of stakeholders in the area, in addition to the city, with the resources to create change. A few of which are named above…
Regardless.. its better than ignoring it.
Quite right…There are other examples of successful Richmond areas without public parking. I’ll need to brush up on my zoning. Additionally, there are already a number of existing lots, which may not be available now for public parking, but have the potential for some overflow, such as the East End Municipal Lot, Leigh Street Baptist Church, Mt Sinai Baptist Church, Mt Olivet Church, Sunny Market, etc…Perhaps they would allow some parking so long as it didn’t interfere with their normal operating hours.
I’m all for fixing up that stretch of road and am glad that the powers that be have identified it as a target area for investment and improvement. I just hope it doesn’t get compromised by the usual back-and-forth baloney.
I truly believe that Richmond should be a bright spot on the nation’s radar as one of the country’s most charming, historic, and culturally diverse cities. And the east end is its oldest and most historic area and should be maintained as such – both for purely historic reasons, and as a kind of marketing vehicle (for lack of a better term) to draw new residents and businesses to the area. (i.e. If someone from out of town were to get off I-64 today and drive into Richmond via 9-mile Rd, they prob. would NOT want to move in right away. Let’s get that fixed!)
Charleston has the waterfront, Savannah has its downtown and Victorian District, Boston has North End and Beacon Hill. These are meticulously maintained super-desireable places to live, work, and play. What has prevented the same sort of thing from taking root in Richmond’s great Church Hill / Shockhoe Bottom / Tobacco Row /East End neighborhoods?