Donate
Newsletter

Jan. 16 Newsletter: The (Real) State of the City

Weather: More cold today, with scattered rain tomorrow and a chance at snow on Sunday.

On this date in 1995, Richmond City Manager Robert C. Bobb begins a department-by-department review of city services to promote efficiency.

Today's edition focuses on insights from yesterday's "The (Real) State of the City" event hosted by The Richmonder.

Avula: Creating housing stock, responsible rezoning are key to stabilizing market

Richmond Mayor Danny Avula moved into the Church Hill neighborhood in 2004. At the time, he said Thursday, it was a mix of different home sizes, costs and residents. 

“You had 2,500 square-foot houses next to 800 square-foot bungalows,” Avula said. “And that is not the case 21 years later, right? Most of those bungalows have been torn down. They've been replaced by single-family homes. The market has just totally changed. And that is happening in communities all over our city.”

Avula participated in a Q&A session with Richmonder reporter Graham Moomaw on Thursday morning. He spoke extensively on housing costs, and addressed critics of Richmond's code refresh. Read more here.

Data: Richmond is in for a tough budget cycle, but it’s for a good cause

The majority of the revenue in Richmond's annual budget comes from property taxes.

🤑
Home prices have been skyrocketing in recent years, and with that has come a cash windfall for the city in the form of increased assessments and tax bills.

However, the gravy train will come to an abrupt halt this year. Home assessments are being paused for a year, stunting budget growth after years of big spending increases. Read more here.

Taikein Cooper: Why can’t Richmond schools be the catalyst for a great city?

Three years into his work at the Richmond Ed Fund, CEO Taikein Cooper believes philanthropy can change the trajectory of Richmond Public Schools.

💼
“The unfortunate reality is over the last several years, the largest employers of Richmond Public School students are fast-food restaurants,” he said.

Cooper’s group takes outside investment and uses it in new and innovative ways to enhance learning. Read more here.

Greta J. Harris: Keeping Richmond’s character will require embracing change

The president of the Better Housing Coalition said it will take bold moves by public officials to protect Richmond's character and avoid displacing residents.

  • “If we aren’t careful and we aren’t intentional, Richmond risks losing the very thing that makes it special,” she said. “Suddenly we will look like Charlotte or Nashville or Austin or Portland — all successful, all thriving, and all increasingly homogenous. … Where the people who once gave those cities their unique character can no longer afford to live there.
  • "I don’t want that for Richmond.”

She encouraged leaders to make strategic investments to allow long-term residents to remain in their homes as prices rise around them, to create new housing for those who need it, and to lift up local businesses that give Richmond its flavor. Read more here.

Here’s Richmond’s first crack at designing a new Mayo Bridge

The first detailed plans for how a new Mayo Bridge could look are out — and they drew both praise and dismay from the city’s Urban Design Committee yesterday.

  • Cycling advocates criticized that the bike lanes aren't protected. "We shouldn't even call these bike lanes," said one member.
  • Fire officials said barriers were a no-go because they would block drivers from moving out of the way in case of an emergency.

The speed limit will also be dropped from its current 35 mph to 25 mph, and the city will add bus stops to accommodate transit options to the new Mayo Island park. Read more, including a debate over how much the new bridge should look like the old one.

In other news

The editor's desk

Thanks to everybody who attended The (Real) State of the City event yesterday morning! We're pleased to have offered Mayor Avula a warmer reception than he got the previous day at the Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast. (He announced he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan while introducing Washington football legend Art Monk.)

Michael Phillips, founding editor
mphillips@richmonder.org

Sent this by a friend? Sign up for our free thrice-weekly newsletter here.

Want to support The Richmonder? Become a donor for as little as $9.99 a month and keep quality local journalism in the community.

What's Next