By George Simonton

The city of Richmond has a long and complicated history. Located along the fall line of the James River, the city has played an important role for centuries. Founded in 1737, it replaced Williamsburg as the capital of the colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. It played a pivotal role in the American Revolution, including Patrick Henry’s famous lines, “Give me liberty, or give me death,” delivered on March 20, 1775 in St. John’s Church in Church Hill. It eventually became the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War. 

In the modern day, Richmond must plan how it will progress and grow as a city. In the complex world of city planning, there are a variety of factors that must be considered when it comes to developing such a diverse community with limited space. The developers must consider what they want the focal point of the city to be, and how they can reach these goals through different developments and values in their upcoming projects. 

In December 2020, the city of Richmond decided to adopt the Richmond 300 Plan—a plan to guide sustainable development so Richmonders can see how the city can thrive with equity at the forefront of their minds. This plan highlights the vision of a beautiful, equitable, and sustainable future by 2037, Richmond’s 300th birthday. This master plan has five main topic visions: housing, thriving environment, high-quality places, equitable transportation, and a diverse economy. This plan acknowledges the fact that Richmond is a growing city and is located in a great spot on the East Coast, which makes it prime for economic growth and prosperity. 

However, it also highlights the challenges the city faces. The plan mentions that the city is unable to annex any more land and is stuck with its 62.5 square miles of space. It also addresses the reality that its recent growth has not benefited every community, and there is still a persistently high level of poverty in the city. The Richmond 300 plan uses node maps, future land use maps, and future connections maps to envision the ideal world around us. It helps to imagine changes, such as rewriting zoning ordinances for the city, to improve it and represent the plan’s values. All of these maps and planning tools highlight thriving crossroads in our community so the city can plan things in the most beneficial way possible.

Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game. Photo credit: Eli Christman.

One of the most well-known changes that has resulted from this new way of thinking is the new $110 million baseball stadium planned for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. The new stadium will not be further than a block away from the current Diamond stadium, but will lead to a new look for the district as a whole. This is all a part of the Richmond Diamond District renovations, and the goal is that it will lead to a new vibrant area. It will feature a mixed-use neighborhood with retail spaces, housing, and green space, in addition to a $25 million renovation to the nearby Sports Backers Stadium. There are plans for the development of affordable housing units so people of various income levels can live, work, and play in the area. The Diamond District also plans on using an 11-acre lot near the Science Museum of Virginia to implement an abundance of retail space, parking, and a green space. This development will be showcasing friendly pedestrian walkways, as well as bike lanes, to provide equitable transportation for all, and intends to be representative of the vision for the city as a whole in the future. Mayor Levar Stoney seemed to be incredibly pleased with this project and said in a statement that came with the announcement of this project that the “residents will reap the benefits for years to come.”

The well-known but abandoned Richmond Coliseum, located in the Jackson Ward neighborhood, is also slated to be revamped in the near future. The Coliseum has been closed since 2019, and the adjacent 6th Street Marketplace has been closed since 2003. Both areas were at times hubs for activity; however, now they are dead spots within the community that waste precious space the city could be using for other things. In 2022, the Economic Development Authority of the City of Richmond and the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority put out a Request for Interest (RFI) looking for any companies who were interested in redeveloping the area. 

During my time learning about this request and the Richmond City Center as a whole this past summer with the Cochrane Summer Economics Institute (CSEI), I explored all of the different aspects that go into urban development, from the communication that must go on between the various parties involved to the construction of the buildings themselves. I was overwhelmed and amazed by everything that goes on behind the scenes and how thoroughly planned every last detail is. 

Fortunately enough, I was able to tour this defunct area with Maritza Pechin, the Deputy Director for the Office of Equitable Development for the city of Richmond. One of the most memorable things I was able to do was explore the abandoned 6th Street Marketplace and The Blues Armory. The 6th Street Marketplace is now abandoned, but when it opened in 1985, it was a local hotspot, with a number of stores and a food court. It was loosely inspired by historic Faneuil Hall Market in Boston, Massachusetts, which is extremely successful, but the 6th Street Marketplace did not have the same fate.

Photo credit: George Simonton.

The marketplace was connected to the Blues Armory by a large glass-covered hall. Eventually, the lower levels of the armory were incorporated to become a part of the 6th Street Marketplace. The large brick building was once the headquarters of the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, a volunteer militia that served in every major conflict up until World War II. At one point, they were even a part of the Virginia Army National Guard. The developers must find a way to get creative with how they will incorporate the Blues Armory into their plans, as it cannot be demolished because it is registered as a Virginia Historic Landmark.

My experience touring the Richmond Coliseum, the 6th Street Marketplace, and the Blues Armory was surprsing. We were not able to actually go inside of the Richmond Coliseum, as it is boarded up and completely shut down. However, my group and I were able to go inside of the fenced off area and get a look at what it was really like. After a brief glance, I was astonished that this thing was still standing. The surrounding area was completely overgrown, filled with tall grass, weeds, and unattractive plants. There was also some graffiti and ugly grim buildings. I was searching for something appealing about this place, but I could not find anything that fit that description.

Former Food Court of 6th Street Marketplace. Photo credit: George Simonton.

The 6th Street Marketplace and the Blues Armory were in a much worse condition, but debatably were much more interesting to look at. Before my group was even allowed to step foot into the locked buildings, we had to get a police officer and a security guard to sweep the building to make sure it was clear of any squatters. After a few steps of exploring using nothing but the flashlight coming from my phone, I began to notice the shards of glass beneath nearly every step I took. I next noticed all of the intricate graffiti that covered the walls, leaving no wall bare. 

It will be interesting to see how the developers will attack the problem of designing and transforming these two buildings. Specifically, the developers must decide how they will address issues like keeping the Blues Armory, as well as seamlessly incorporating it with the rest of the development of the Richmond City Center. Once the development is finished, the developers hope to bring the buildings back to the level of popularity they once had in the 1980s.

There were various criteria that had to be met for the prospective design pitches in order for them to be taken into consideration. One of these criteria was the designs all had to include a new hotel that is capable of holding many occupants, and it would be located directly across the street from the Richmond Convention Center, on North 3rd Street, just off of Interstate 95. During my time with Pechin, I learned from her that one of the problems with this area is that the Richmond Convention Center is typically only occupied around 30% of the time. A leading reason why conventions are reluctant to come to Richmond is because of a lack of adequate space for all of the incoming visitors. Additionally, the pitches are all required to have mixed-use residential spaces, as well as ample space for foot traffic, so that the Richmond City Center can serve as a hub for urban activity in the future. Keeping with the themes of the Richmond 300 Plan, all of these proposals have kept up the common themes of sustainable and equitable development. As of right now, there are four finalists for the development project, but a winner is yet to be determined.

The companies all have different ideas with what they are going to do with the spaces, but unfortunately the final designs are not fully available to the public at this time. Different pitches for the City Center all offer slightly different attractions, with each of them having its own style and appeal. These pitches include an extension of VCU Health, a new Gateway Hotel, and a concert venue, all of which could revitalize this area. 

A new development in the greater RVA area, in Henrico County, is the GreenCity. The GreenCity plan details a sustainable eco-district located at the crossroads of the interstates I-95 and I-295 and is designed to bring in an influx of people to this area. At the center of this plan is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena that will be capable of accommodating NCAA basketball tournaments, concerts, and hockey games. Additionally, there will be a 40-acre park system, as well as retail spaces, commercial offices, and residential spaces among other things. GreenCity plans to do all of this while keeping sustainable systems, services, and lifestyles at the forefront of the design and also will have efforts to minimize energy consumption, have sustainable water and waste management, and use renewable energy. 

While all of this may seem like the city of Richmond is trending in a positive direction as a whole, that is not to say there aren’t problems. Currently in Richmond, there are a variety of issues related to the stormwater runoff in the city, as well as an excess of pavement and concrete throughout the city. Additionally, there is a significant problem with getting adequate housing for the citizens of the city, especially affordable housing. Drawing people into the city has proven difficult, and there are often dead spots where there is a lack of vibrancy due a lack of attractions or a mass of federal and state buildings that block the flow of urban foot traffic. 

Despite all of the challenges the city of Richmond may face, it is great to see that things are trending in the right direction. The city is taking the proper steps to grow to become as equitable and vibrant of a city as possible, and it is reassuring to see all of the plans for redevelopment that will do just that. I can’t wait to see how the city will continue to grow in the future.

Featured image credit: Bill Dickinson.