RECENT COMMENTS
City pushing development along Nine Mile and 25th
Part 2 of Work It, Richmond’s look at Church Hill (previously) delves into the city’s push for economic development in the area:
The city is focusing on what it calls “gateway corridors,” which in Church Hill means 25th Street and Nine Mile Road. Since Church Hill and the larger East End form the eastern gateway to the city, officials want to make that approach more vibrant and welcoming.
Those gateway corridors “provide the greatest opportunities for new businesses,” Chapman said. But to grow small businesses the city must also address the high concentrations of poverty in Church Hill. The East End, which includes Church Hill, is home to four of the city’s public housing projects. Chapman said there are about 2,000 public housing units in the area, half of the city’s stock.
Get rid of the housing projects if you want to create a safe area for businesses to thrive.
I believe N. 25th Street and Nine Mile Road (to a lesser extent) can become vibrant corridors without eliminating any of the courts. N. 25th Street is beginning to blossom…the roundabout is looking more and more like the epicenter of revitalization in the neighborhood.
I hate the roundabout.
Tiny, please explain your negative sentiment.
I hate the word vibrant. The 25th St corridor is already “vibrant”.
the last time i was in church hill (a week ago) i drove out on nine mile road to Interstate 64 and it looked better, cleaner than i’d seen it before. in contrast, the ramp off 95 to east broad was disgusting. trash everywhere. what kind of statement does that make? maybe this does not have a city of richmond solution, but it is a city image problem. church hill is a place to be proud of, yet the visitor is prepared for the worst by this kind of neglect in the approach to it from the interstate.
I love the roundabout- I just wish people knew how to use it. But that will come with time. I do think vibrant can be a loaded word… what is vibrant to me may be not be the type of vibrant you are looking for.
Much of N. 25th Street is not “pulsating with life, vigor, or activity” but the corridor is definitely improving.
Development doesn’t happen b/c someone in the City puts their finger on a map & says “let’s have businesses come here.” It happens much like sprawl, creeping up streets where homes have been renovated, new construction & business are locating. How is Nine Mile a “Gateway to the City” if it doesn’t actually connect to the City?? Construction needs to be focused on Fairmount & Venable Streets to MLK Bridge to link the City w/the 25th St Corridor. AND de-concentration of public housing & the poor should be a paramount priority in order to obtain “a vibrant & welcoming” community. Stop w/the excuses & move Mosby Ct South away from the actual Gateway to the City – the MLK Bridge.
@Chris & Cynthia – I agree that we should get rid of the projects, but I think we can do it without displacing people from their own neighborhoods. I think the city should begin to replace low income housing with mixed income housing. This makes it safer and improves quality of life for everyone, regardless of income level. Moving the projects will just move the problem – I believe mixed income/mixed use housing could be a potential solution.
Rachel, that’s exactly what I mean by “de-concentration”. You just said it more eloquently! I don’t think ppl should be displaced from their neighborhoods. But neither do I think they should all be piled up on top of each other in cinder block barracks.