Richmond has seen many positive changes in the last four years and 81% of our citizens have seen them as well. With increased public input and interest, they are seeing the revival of our neighborhoods and our entire Downtown area.
 
Now, we have an unprecedented opportunity to develop two large tracts of land - in an otherwise landlocked City - that can generate new revenues to become major economic engines to further revitalize the City.

 

On Monday in City Council chambers, the Administration unveiled the first steps toward a grand vision to develop the areas of land on the Boulevard around the Diamond as well as Shockoe Bottom, which could include a new home for a baseball park in the City. The process is not about baseball, however.
 
The vision presented in these plans is - above all - about economic revival driven by smart, market-oriented development and making the best use of the Boulevard land tract, as well as establishing a transit-oriented development within a family-oriented entertainment district in Shockoe Bottom. It also establishes Richmond as a regional transportation hub centered around Main Street Station.
 
The entire process, unlike others in the City's recent past, has been measured and vigilant. The Request for Proposal (RFP) process has been done carefully. All of the developers who submitted plans to develop the Boulevard tract agreed that the best use of the Boulevard land did NOT include a baseball facility. Only one developer submitted a plan that included it and later admitted he only did so after assuming that was what the City wanted, NOT because it was the best economic use of the land.
 
The vision for the Boulevard is a market driven, mixed-use development with a combination of residential, office, hotel, and retail, including a box retailer (such as a Target) similar to the new West Broad Village development in Short Pump. The Boulevard land is centrally located and easily accessible to many Richmond neighborhoods, including Sherwood Park, the Fan, Ginter Park, Highland Park, and the Museum District. 
 
In last year's Crupi Report, the consultant recommended this very solution. He wrote about the Boulevard tract:
 
"Create the first large downtown office park to spawn a major commercial development.

 

"Richmond needs a commercial/corporate base to fund its dreams. It should start by creating a campus-style office park modeled after West Creek, The Boulders and Innsbrook inside the city limits.
 
"Such a development would help balance the city's tax reliance on residential property."
 
Companies that might consider locating in the suburbs would find the Boulevard location very enticing. Residents would find various retail shops within the City limits to be much more convenient than travelling to the suburbs. In January, we will see the opening of the first new 17-screen movie theater within the City in almost 40 years just across the railroad tracks from this land. Other amenities are sure to follow.
 
In historical terms, Shockoe Bottom was the official birthplace of Richmond in 1737 and grew into the heart and soul of the City. In recent years, it has seen challenges but through it all, has proudly remained the cradle of Richmond.

Since 1995, the City, state, and federal government have invested $394 million in infrastructure improvements to the area. This includes a floodwall, major drainage improvements, the Canal Walk (in concert with the Combined Sewer Overflow project), the renovation of Main Street Station, new parking decks, and much more.
 
Why would we invest in the Shockoe unless we intended to see this area prosper? The next step includes a vision that will link all of these investments together to create a vibrant neighborhood and family entertainment district centered around transit-oriented development.
 
Like the Boulevard, the RFP process for Shockoe Bottom was lengthy and deliberate. It has resulted in a workable plan to build neighborhood-appropriate density around Main Street Station with a mixed use of retail, office, cultural, residential, and entertainment. And it also includes a proposal for a new baseball park. 
 
The Shockoe Bottom proposal, however, is different from others that have preceded it. Design changes have been made to include concepts from the Downtown Master Plan to enhance Broad Street as well as obscure the stadium not only from the surrounding hillsides but in many cases, even from street view, to maintain the neighborhood's historic character and scale.  

These are the types of projects that are often admired by those who travel to other cities and return to tout what others already have and then question why we cannot accomplish similar things here. As has often been the case in our past, that talk is rarely if ever followed by action.
 
This is our chance to move this City forward. Both the Boulevard and Shockoe Bottom plans are ambitious in scope and vision, and driven by the private sector. Government, of course, has a role and that is where we stand today.

 

It is similar to an Olympic 4x100 relay with each stage being critical to the next.  
 
The first leg of the race (the process of awarding the RFP) has begun and the second leg is now beginning. The new Administration and Council will draft and approve a development agreement and a letter of intent, followed by the third leg that will determine the financial and other obligations among all parties. The final leg consists of actual construction that represents the realization of this vision. 

 

This is a bold prospect in which the City can marry vision and opportunity to create two economic engines that will be generating new revenue to keep our city moving in the right direction and even elevate it to new heights.

Now is our chance to make that vision and that talk a reality.