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An update on last night’s 7th District meeting: All about the new grocery store

An update on last night’s 7th District

meeting from Ann:

Subject: 7th district meet tonight, summary

7th District Meet, June 8, 2016

General Assembly Updates, Del. McClellan: Handout and talk

Public Safety Updates

• Fire and EMS Information – fires are down since last report, EMS calls up; and after 42 years Haynesworth will be retiring in September.
• RPD – No show

25th and Fairmount Store – which, as we were told tonight, has turned into much more than a grocery store. Information given from Mark Slusher, Senior VP, Thalhimer’s; and Attorney Jim Theobald, Chairman Hirschler/Fleischer – who urged input from attendees at tonight’s meeting as to pros, cons, and “I’d like to see…”

• Full service grocery store will be approximately 26,000 square feet, open 7am to 9pm, 7 days a week. “Jim,” who will be the hands-on proprietor of the store, was quoted by one of the presenters as describing the service to the community of his recently opened Newport News store by way of the deli and meat sections – that those departments make up 30% of the store revenue as opposed to an average of 10% of revenue from those departments in grocery stores that aren’t in a food desert.
• Steve Markel is the investor who will be supplying the approximately 10-million dollars to fund the entire project.
• Elevations show that the grocery store faces 25th Street and the apartments will face Fairmount. An attendee suggested that “they” go back to the drawing board and re-design the project so that the grocery store will face Fairmount and the apartments will face 25th. The presenter stated they will consider that but that the physical make up of the site itself probably will not permit that.
• Elevations include not just the 26,000 square foot grocery store but additional first floor space for retail (estimate at this time of 9,000 square feet), possibly a restaurant; and, prodded by Richmond Housing Authority within just the last couple of weeks, plans for 2 additional storeys to make available approximately 80 apartments with onsite management and maintenance. The additions to the scope of the project “…in no way” reduced the initial plans for the grocery store size.
• “Jim” was quoted as wanting to have a true community grocery store and that he intends to hire and train among the local population as much as possible. One attendee stated that “…you better not come in here and hire foreigners when we got local people who need jobs” and was assured by a presenter that was not the intent.
• Traffic is part of the plan with proposed ingress/egress via 4 routes
  Parking has been figured out for all components to the project, not just the grocery store.
  Zoning will help determine times for large truck deliveries so that residents are not inconvenienced.

• First presentation to City Council this month. Estimated time for project from now to completions depends on scheduling of council, zoning, site plan, weather, etc.