Council to consider appointing Bilder, Wimmer to CAR

This would have worked better as an April Fool joke some months ago,than right now.

Yeah right… April Fools. Seriously, Bilder on the council will only be substituting Johannas since they work together with their ideas.

And so far Bilder hasn’t done much by way of keeping a high profile especially when it comes to his “theater” investment that sits years later with mulitple violations.

Do you want yet another perrson who dodges questions to represent the city?

Are there really no better options for CAR? I think the homeless people down by the Exxon station would seriously be better choices than people with these clear conflicts of interests.

The city needs to pick people who are NOT active in the districts they are approving for. Anything less sets up all kinds of bullshit where they can slip whatever they want through. If its going to be this crooked, no committee at all is better because at least it would be consistent.

Anyone else want to bring some pictures of Mr. Bilder’s theater to the meeting to be sure the Council is aware of his contributions to the community? If he gets confirmed, you can bet he’ll ram something pretty through in that location.

Josh Bilder has applied for a special use permit for the theater. It proposes a four story apartment project with an addition that would enlarge the footprint to the property line of the house on the corner, would have 39 small apartments, with only 10 parking spaces across 25th St. His architect is Walter Parks, of the McDonald’s projects below Church Hill.

The City Zoning office has responded with serious complaints regarding the density (195 people per acre, more dense than any project nearby by more than 70; our neighborhood is now at 21 per acre); the lack of open outdoor space for the residents; the closeness to the house next door (I live there); the lack of adequate street access for some residents; no trash removal plan; and more.

Bilder has not responded to the Zoning Office’s comments. Also, he has been denied tax credits by the Virginia Office of Historic Preservation because of the project’s expansion and scale in this neighborhood. Every city official within the land use and building approval process with whom I have spoken has serious concerns about Bilder’s proposed theater project.

We, in this neighborhood, would be happy to see the building rehabilitated and are not opposed to an appropriately scaled and well-appointed apartment building. But Mr. Bilder has pushed forward with a terribly conceived and overly dense project for this neighborhood, even in the face of official doubts and criticism at each step.

Though he would have to recuse himself from consideration of his own project, Bilder would seem to be an inappropriate choice for appointment to the CAR at this time. City Council will also be the final judge of his theater project.

Whether or not he is appointed to CAR, Bilder is scheduled to discuss the theater proposal at the Church Hill Association meeting on July 17th. Anyone who would like to know more and is interested should attend that meeting.

Great post Valerie.

I think the case against Bilder can summed up as:

1. He’s demonstrated a willingness to try to shove through questionable projects already.
CAR’s mission as I understand it is to preserve the neighborhood. I would assume their stakeholders would be the homeowners within that neighborhood? If that’s the case, why does the current CAR membership look like a rogue’s gallery of the most reviled developers? The theater is an easy piece of evidence that the community has not found Bilder to be the best judge of what is appropriate.

2. There’s also a macro-level concern about the appropriateness of selecting developers and architects active in the area to the committee. Doing so open up some serious conflict of interest potential. Recusing one’s self from the discussion is not enough. When your peers are also bringing projects for you to approve later, do you really think they’ll not look fondly on your crap? You’re virtually guaranteed to get whatever you want through.

Also, how many of you hold a position where you can judge one of your professional competitor’s work and stop them from moving forward if you want?

I’d love to see this become a part of the discussion also as it’s the only way to really fix what’s wrong with CAR. Drop the active members with conflicts of interests or require them to stop practicing in the districts until their term ends. Replace them with homeowners and/or architects from outside the area.

Interesting how the Church Hill Association Board rejected the recommendation of its own Zoning Committee to oppose the Special Use Permit for the property. Is there a disconnect here? Good the fight against Echo Harbor was well established prior to this.

The Church Hill Association meeting on July 17th will give the membership a chance to look closely at Bilder’s proposal. City Zoning officials will also attend that meeting to answer any questions that may come up, as well as to clarify any confusion about what their objections are to the Special Use Permit application.

If this project is to be modified to be more in keeping with a rational development of Church Hill, the Church Hill Association and Church Hill residents will have to become involved in the process–soon.

Valerie,
We HAVE trying to be involved! Have you not seen the numerous comments over the past couple of years on “Under the Radar”?! Bilder has promised to keep us informed, only to NOT keep us informed. 39 cramped apartments and 1 retail space is not what we expected. I think we would all agree that something needs to be done with that space, but this is ridiculous. As residents of the area, we just want some input. Now, you suggest that we must “become involved in the process-soon”? Where have you been? Giving Bilder a back rub? Lets come together and get this done in a way that satisfies all of us. However, I think it is clear that Bilder, who lists you as one of his referrals on this application, is going to do what puts the most money in his pockets. If he really cared about the residents, he wouldn’t have been so secretive. His reputation is getting worse and worse, and he needs to go away and learn some manners. We don’t trust him or those associated with him; the blogs say it all.

Sam,
I am not aware that I am listed as a reference, and I never gave any such permission, nor have I been contacted by him or the city about his application.

I share your frustration as my husband and I also asked Mr. Bilder to be kept informed about the project next door to our house. We only recently learned of his Special Use Permit application and, then, only through the Zoning Office.

His architect for this project is Walter Parks, of the McDonald’s apartments on Marshall Street.

I suggested that interested residents of Church Hill get involved soon because the issue will be discussed at the July 17th CHAssoc. meeting. Mr. Bilder is on the agenda; and City Zoning personnel plan also to attend.

When it comes down to it I believe Council woman Cynthia Newbille is a lot to blame. If you recall there was a lot of initial controversy when she was appointed because first she didn’t even live in the 7th District and at the last minute rented a newer house in the Urban Redevelopment section. She has been vocal about “progress” verses “preservation” in the past concerning the Elementary School conversion. Also, our grassroots group that failed tried to get her involved and show her examples of what is happening to our historic area with her “promise” to get back to us but she shunned us instead.

And there is lack of participation of people to get involved to voice their opinions against City Hall. There seems to be a lack of overall general interest when it comes to government on local levels these days. I have see what are called dismal turnouts for city council votes and look at the mayor Jones who was uncontested. There are thousand of people living in the 7th District which is basically the historic area yet look at this CHPN forum any given day on any given subject and you will see maybe 5 or 6 regular people posting comments. Is that the sort of representation we are talking about that can make a difference? I don’t think so.

And yes, having people who own companies or is active in their fields is a conflict of interest when one is supposed to be impartial when it comes to imposing rules and judging designs to conform to them. Not inject their own designs to conflict or loosely conform to written guidelines.

As for the theater, on May 29, 2008 inspector Orestis Marcoyiannakis said this about it: ” The only thing for me to do since there appears to be no concern of what happens to this building is to tear it down. It surpasses all criteria for demolition from the missing roof down to the soil mechanics from exposed earth, so this will be the final step for a permanent resolution. ” Not long after this the demolition request was halted by the owner who had an executive position on MCV’s council and I am sure some palms were greased or favors called in. It has sat unchanged ever since.

There was also threats to have the roof replaced and promises to do so but again, that never happened.

So, the building is still as far as the inspector was concerned past criteria for demolition as it sits today so why hasn’t anything ever been done to shore it up, clean it up, fix it up?

Enough with the ad hominem attacks against Josh Bilder. Sterling Row in Shockoe Bottom (brick arch on 19th) and his projects in Carver, including the nicest green roof in Richmond, show him to be far more in line with sympathetic design than any of you give him credit. Get informed.

Dear Neighbor… I am sure his designs fit in on outskirt or suburban areas but have no place within historic districts. The idea is to “blend in” seamlessly and not stand out. Placing a modernistic roof on a 1930s Art Deco building, one of the last in Richmond, is like putting a sequin gown on the Mona Lisa. It just doesn’t fly.

Concerned,
There are actually 3 vacant lots across the street from the theater, Bilder owning two of them starting September and December 2011. They measure 24×89 feet each (48×89 total) while the third is owned by someone else and is the corner lot! It is only 24×62 feet and being his sits between it and a house, I doubt a parking lot or deck will be built there? But then again… anything of the likes will be out of place on that side of the block with houses to the right and behind of Victorian era.

Possibly someone else can dig further on this or bring it up at the meeting?

Buddy Corbett, Finally a post that rings true from you… I agree 100%

As mentioned as long as we have people who are all bark and no bite when it comes to making changes at City Hall, everything will remain the same.

A handful of people alone can not make a change unlike that which happened in another city where 200 people turned out to voice their opinions against their CAR. Try and find 200 people in the 7th District who are willing to make a change publicly. It is like everyone had just given up and rolled over.

As far as Bilder being secretive I believe it goes with his promise to keep us informed about plans and progress here on the forum and he has not done so and ignored emails as well.

Dumb Neighbor… are you sure the two lots sandwiched in between the corner lot and the Victorian house are set aside for some kind of parking? How is that zoned there? Seems like it would be for residential.

“dumb neighbor” – Someone with an informed different point of view is obviously a shill? Thanks for proving my point.

Buddy – point well made on the dump and trash cans. Respectfully disagree on the trees. I might suggest that the heart of the neighborhood was torn out when dozens if not hundreds of neighborhood houses were turned into parking lots for suburbanites.

@28 – I agree with a lot of what you are saying but I also think some of this falls on the city too. Why does the process have to be so freaking difficult. I wanted to go Monday and complain about the Bilder appointment at the meeting but then saw that I needed to register in advance to be able to speak. The whole proceedings fell while I was out of town and because there wasn’t a lot of early notice, I had made plans to come back early and change my whole trip schedule.

It’s not 1930 anymore. People are busier than ever. But we do have tools that allow people to work more efficiently. Why can’t City Hall use some of these tools more efficiently. A decent website that list upcoming issues, accessible council members, posted plan for upcoming developments, etc. would all make it so more citizens could get involved. My guess is because the current system favors those who are well connected and know how to navigate the maze and that’s how city hall would like it. If we actually made the process user friendly, shit like this wouldn’t happen because people would be able to get involved.

Bilder’s appointment to CAR was continued to July 23. Come and speak up if you are concerned about this appointment.

Alex – you do not have to call and sign up to speak in favor or opposition to a particular paper. You only have to sign up if you want to speak during the open citizen comment period.

Anyone who would like to know exactly what Josh Bilder, and his architect Walter Parks, have proposed in their application for a Special Use Permit for the 25th Street Theater should come to the Church Hill Association meeting on July 17th. Mr. Bilder is scheduled to present his plan; and officials from the City Office of Land Use and Zoning will be there to explain their response.

@36 – How would you rank order these three options in order of preference?

1. A committee that throws red tape in front of ordinary citizens trying to fix their houses but turns a blind eye when one of their own has a special project.
2. Everyone is allowed to do what they want to their house and people can make changes quickly.
3. A neutral committee is in place that independently reviews proposals and acts fairly regardless of how well connected someone is.

My preference would be 3, 2, 1. Since this is Richmond #3 is a pipe dream and there’s no chance of the well connected getting shut down. So my next preferred option would be to at least treat everyone else the same. If Johannas and Bilder can make whatever massive hulking monstrosity they want in our neighborhood, isn’t the most fair solution to allow the average homeowner the opportunity to do the same.

Yes, I’d like a real CAR but we’re not going to get one. So let’s be realistic and stop allowing the developers to use it as a tool to get preferential treatment while the rest of us have to jump through a bunch of hoops.

Eric – I don’t think it’s very nice to say that I “don’t give a shit about history and preservation apparently” when you’ve never met me. I live in a frame Victorian just outside the O&HD but in Church Hill (North, so maybe that’s not good enough for you). I don’t like strip mall or suburban architecture in places like CH, nor do I like some of the ugly copycat stuff that gets built. Because I don’t live in the O&H (I’m one block out), there’s are alot of ugly houses that try and look “historical” but just don’t work, near me. They lack the character of my house, yours, and lots od others. There are also the odd 1950s houses near the water tower and the suburban brick house just around the corner. I’d rather see CAR approving interesting creative projects that show what’s new and what’s old like the lofts on 25th. I love them, you hate them, but they would never happen at a strip mall or in Short Pump. I like Lava Lofts – I think it’s a great reuse of a rotting structure. I also think Beckstoffer’s is interesting, and so is Sterling Row. The McDonald’s apartments are hideous, but those ugly parking lots were more so. But hey, I like restaurants and density too. I don’t hate history actually – majored in it – but I’m not a fan of not-quite-right replicas. I think an edition should be clearly an edition, and that a body like CAR should look at that stuff.

I don’t post on here anymore, but in the interest of shedding some light on this murky CAR appointment, I will share the following:

Josh Bilder nominated himself.  His name made it through the Land Use committee of City Council and through Organizational Development, that consists of the full Council…

BUT on July 9th Councilwoman Newbille asked to hold off on the appointment.  She gave no reason, but Ida Jones (646-7931) who handles these issues for CC told a neighbor that several calls have come through in opposition to Mr. Bilder.

Although it is scheduled for a vote on Monday, Ms Jones expects it to be placed on hold, since they are going to advertise vacancies on CAR in the paper in August – to be more fair.  They did not receive a list of three from the Association of Realtors, as described on the webpage.  “It’s hard to get any names from them, although two people said Mr. Builder would be fine.”

From Richmond Bizsense:

“Bilder, who owns Bilder and Terranova Development, said he was happy to be appointed to the committee and that he had always been interested in the group’s work.

“The committee is tasked with preserving the history of Richmond, and that’s important to me,” Bilder said. “I’m going to take this job very seriously.”

Bilder has done work in Carver and Shockoe Bottom and is working on the renovation of the East End Theater in Church Hill.”