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East End Transformation shows vision, but now what?
Tonight’s final presentation of the East End Transformation Charrette shared a vision of what could be for the 25th Street and Nine Mile Road corridors. Video & more…
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk of Duany Plater-Zyberk presented East End Transformation Plan to a packed house at the Robinson Theater on Monday evening. Based on multiple sessions over the past week with all sorts of civic, social, and governmental groups, as well as citizen input, the plan illustrates what a healthy, thriving 25th Street and Nine Mile corridor would look like, and some of what it would take to get there.
The RTD has a write-up which quote both Rosalene Bullock and Mary Thompson and gives a good overview:
In colorful drawings shown to about 400 people gathered at the Robinson Theater, planners suggested the intersection of 25th, Nine Mile and Fairmont Avenue could be turned into a “town center.” Replacing a swath of vacant property, a discount store and a Laundromat could be a new library and grocery store overlooking a traffic circle or roundabout with a gurgling fountain. […]
In addition, the study suggested reducing the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge from six to four lanes and using the extra space to provide improved landscaping with planters and access for pedestrians and bicyclists. It identified a mix of possible uses, including a YMCA, career and technical education center, daycare and community kitchen, for the former Armstrong High School building on North 31st Street.
BonSecoursRVA says that the presentation slides will be available tonight or tomorrow to their event blog. Complete video of Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk’s presentation, Cynthia Newbille’s remarks and Mayor Jones’ closing statements are below, along with a few detailed images from the presentation (including a good look at a very different north end of 25th Street).
Man much better than what I captured! Now, let’s continue to work toward this vision… although I like my grid better for Creighton.
I was thrilled to see the library- along with a grocery store, was a central part of the proposed 25th/Nine Mile intersection. A public use building is critical to the success of the proposed neighborhood center and an improved library is a perfect fit.
VERY Exciting! Now we just need to keep pressure on the City to ensure this plan reaches its full realization.
We definitely need a revamped library.
Who pays? Why do I expect this will be another effort for west end tax payers to pay for east end improvments?
well, David, I think Eastenders have paid a much bigger price for the excesses of the West End. So maybe we’ll be even now.
A better East End results in a better City of Richmond, which ultimately benefits the West End.
The architecural styles shown are most interesting to me. They are using the vernacular of the region – traditional elements, design and scale of old local buildings, even building that are now lost or are in different parts of Richmond. This may open the false historicism debate, but I for one very much favor the vernacular buildings that are shown over “modern” buidlings that look like a 1990s high school. These old styles speak the language of the area. A lot of stuff going up now elsewhere only speaks the language of post-modern (or whatever) style popular (again) among architects at this exact moment. Modern designed-by-committee styles don’t create, echo or preserve any sense of place. They also appear to choose vernacular styles that can be replicated without the use of lost craftsman arts or a trip to caravattis.
I love how the hypothetical library and market at 9 Mile and 25th look like lost buildings downtown like the old City Hall and former Farmers Market… how the gateway obelisks echo those on Mayo Bridge, on West Grace and the columns at many city limits boundaries… and how you get some height at the corner of Venable (OK because of Church Hill House) but keep the little buildings for a pocket park.
Well done from a design perspective. This is a better design than I expected.
Hey David, why don’t you go read the downtown short pump blog instead. I would love to know what you think the west end has paid for here in the east end???
BTW, I hate Short Pump, also. I think if you check city budget documents, you will find that the Sixth and Seventh Districts have the highest rate of spending in the city, and the lowest rate of revenues paid. High demands for social services, police costs, subsidized housing costs, high costs per pupil for schools, and if you check the CIP, the highest level of spending in FY11 for street paving is in the Sixth District, although much of that is Southside.
david #11, have you condered that might be because the West Enders and Counties took all their poor people and moved them into projects in the East End of Richmond? It’s a balkanized attitude to think that the scrubbing of the rest of the region didn’t have anything to do with those numbers you throw out.
The East End will rise!! The West End is so 1999.
I don’t think that 50 years ago they “took all their poor people…” but you are absolutely right that the practice of overloading the east end with public housing contributes heavily to the disproportiion of costs. It was a stupid policy, done almost exclusively for racial reasons, and we still pay today.
I say we, the tax paying East Enders, pull our funds together to move all the ghettos to Short Pump. That should teach them!
James,
I’ll second that! Excellent idea!
West Enders aren’t worthy of the East End experience.
during the sixties when the great society was being debated there were two schools of thought. one favored constructing mixed income neighborhoods the other school of course favored housing projects yknow for efficiencys sake. so yeah david they did pretty much ship all the poor folk into the projects. not really working out. now that the property is convenient to mcv and thus worth more money it is easy to do the math and see that soon the ghetto is gonna be worth too much to waste on poor people.thus the meetings and planning for the future which yuppie disdain notwithstanding will include the economically disadvantaged. using federal funds to construct MIXED income housing ala jefferson mews. this,coupled with modified rent to own and equity sharing programs might help break a cycle of poverty that helps noone. all the harrumping in the world aint gonna change a thing. if you dont like the varied lifestyles in the city there are plenty of gated gulags available to huddle in while the world goes to pieces. as far as the ghetto goes deal with it. if you are not to scared to find out meet a few of your neighbors not just the ones that share your provincial and laughable views. now would be the time for all you brave anonymous to make some more patronizing and disparaging remarks about people you havent even bothered to try and meet. its easier just to keep up your little circle jerk of intolerance. post #8 right on. thank you for athoughtful entry. some of you other guys…..shame on you. somebody on another post had a lot too say about my pointed prose and my accusations of racism and my being white. read this newsletter and look at the references to “greasy cell phone stores and chicken bone jokes .all done under cyber and pseudonyms thus proving that allowing people to vent anonymously doesnt really bring out the best in folks. if u wanna argue fine but dont call folks out if u r too gutless to admit who u r. everyone else……carry on6buddycorbett ps murden doesnt agree with me on a lot of stuff but since i quit calling guys out by name for their mystery hatin he hasnt deleted me lately. ok by me. the punkasses im talking about know who they are and after long nights of intropection i am sure u have made your peace with being cowards. have a lovely day
As predicted….lots of trees. The smiling happy people didn’t make it into the renderings. Hmmmmmm.
Can we get back to the original question… now what?
@ # 20 – Good point, Ry.
From what I’ve heard, this would likely require an amendment to the City’s Master Plan for this area. After that, I assume the area would need to be rezoned. Perhaps we can all write letters to the City and our Councilwoman to get the ball rolling on those two topics.
Perhaps we could ask the City to have a “Now what?” meeting. To walk us through their plan, step-by-step, to ensure that this project doesn’t end up covered with dust on a shelf somewhere in City Hall.
If the changes include getting rid of the old lady who smokes the funny stuff in the parking lot of the existing library – why then I certainly can’t get behind this proposal. She’s a hoot.
Didn’t even know this was happening – but I love the East end and am wondering “What Next?”. Are we going to do anything but hope and plan? Saw a man with a bumper sticker – “Eastern Henrico by Choice” and, we’re with him – no infestations of yuppies!