'It's a place that people want to be': Panelists discuss how the James River parks will evolve
Richmond is making big investments in the parks around the James River, and the early returns have been positive, with millions of people enjoying those spaces over the past few years.
On Sunday afternoon the Richmonder brought together representatives of three major stakeholders — the city, Venture Richmond and Friends of the James River Park — to discuss what the upcoming years will bring, and how to preserve the city's signature attraction.
Alex Dahm, Operations Manager at Venture Richmond, noted the success of Daisy's restaurant, which opened in July.
"I mean, immediately that place is full, and I have constituents sending me photographs from the patio, asking me questions about something that they're seeing," he said. "So it's interesting just how much pent-up demand there is for access to these spaces."
Those crowds are likely to grow as major projects take shape on Brown's Island, Belle Isle and Mayo Island in the coming years. The group also offered an update on the Pipeline Trail, as well as a reminder that success now creates a need for more planning as well.
"The number of young people using the parks is enormous, and if just a fraction of those people continue to use the park system as they get older ... handling the number of people that are going to be in our parks is going to be something we all have to think about a lot for the next 10 to 20 years," Dahm said.
The sold-out panel discussion was held on Sharp's Island, a privately owned island in the middle of the James River accessible only by boat. Some of the topics discussed included...
Mayo Island
Graham Moomaw
Chris Frelke, the city's Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, said the renovation of Mayo Island represents one of the best opportunities yet to expand the number of people with access to the river.
"We do see at Brown's Island a lot more diversity of people that attend our park system over there, and it really is a better reflection of the city that we live in," he said. "And we hope that this will also go to a whole other level, because we'll have about 50 spaces of parking, we'll have ADA parking, and that trail will make it so much easier for people to feel safe to see the river and access the river."
Work is underway, with the goal of opening the park's initial phase by next fall.
He said that the island has been an industrial site for almost 100 years, so there is a focus on finding plants that will help clean up the soil.
Josh Stutz, Executive Director of Friends of the James River Park, pointed out that Mayo Island is a key addition from a geographic perspective.
"Mayo was one of the big missing pieces of the James River Park system," he said.
Belle Isle
Belle Isle is already one of Richmond's most popular destinations, but Stutz said future improvements will help unlock even more of the space, and do a better job of telling the park's history.
"I think what people don't realize is there were probably close to a hundred buildings on Belle Isle at some point in history," he said. "There were houses, there was a school, there was allegedly a tavern, there were industrial buildings, and you walk around that space today, and for a lot of Richmonders, that's nature.
"I think that's an interesting story we have, is 'What is nature?' in a city where everything's been disturbed and written over so many times, and how do we look at restoration, and getting things back to a natural state, when that natural state's been gone for 300 years?"
Andy Thompson
He noted that the space under the bridge, which is known as the Civil War camp space, will be put into play with the proposed renovations.
"Belle Isle's had this really great history of turning over and turning over, and there are items on maps from 1819 that you can still see the shape of around the power plant today still, which is kind of a cool thing about Belle Isle," he said.
Brown's Island
The island will largely close to the public on Nov. 19 so major renovations can begin.
"Saying we're giving it a facelift would be incorrect," Dahm said. "We're giving it full facial reconstruction surgery."
Graham Moomaw
He said that at the moment, it's a riverside park, but one you can't see the river from.
The renovations will restore its natural beauty and river views, but also add needed amenities like bathrooms.
Pump House Park
Work is continuing at the Pump House, a 100-year-old structure that once hosted parties on its upper floor.
A bid to stabilize the roof is expected to go out by the end of the year.
Stutz said there are a number of challenges to solve, like a lack of plumbing in the building.
"We all understand why it's beautiful and why we want to see it saved," he said. "It's just a really logistically challenging thing to do. Like most of Richmond, the infrastructure is not always where we want it to be, right in the exact spot we want it to be in."
Pipeline Trail
Panelists agreed that there is very little that can be done imminently on the Pipeline Trail, given that the land is owned by the CSX railroad, which has a number of demands before allowing it to reopen.
Sarah Vogelsong
If it returns, it will have to be brought up to current building codes.
As with much of the James River, Frelke acknowledged that progress can often mean losing some of the gritty charm that made it popular in the first place.
"The reason we love it, or the reason I love it, and I think a lot of you too, is because it's a back-of-house, secret, sketchy place," he said. "This is, like, the paradox of park management, right?
"You want to make everything accessible. You want to make everything shiny and well-lit and safe. But that's not necessarily what we like about a lot of our park spaces. ... It's an interesting thing I think about quite often: How do we preserve these spaces to the extent that we can, without taking away what is interesting about them?"
He added that the renovations to Mayo Island will bring parkgoers close to the Pipeline Trail spot, and reopen access to that portion of the rapids.
Overall investment
The groups overseeing the James River parks have put in about $100 million of work in the past decade, with more still to be done.
Dahm noted that when the Canal Walk was originally built as a centerpiece of the area, the concept of recreational bike riding was still young, and the space was built to discourage bikers.
Now, it's a full 180, as new developments aim to encourage bus riders and other transit options. The panelists agreed that protecting the park space is crucial to Richmond's future.
"It's a reason why people want to live here," Dahm said. "I was in a meeting on Thursday night and a woman who just moved here is like, 'I feel like Richmond's getting this right better than anywhere else in the country.'"
He added: "The river and the riverfront sell itself. Whether we exist or not, any of us exist or not, people would want to build their businesses, their buildings, here. It's a place that people want to be."
Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.
The Richmonder is powered by your donations. For just $9.99 a month, you can join the 1,000+ donors who are keeping quality local journalism alive in Richmond.
