Shockoe Area Small Plan
900 E Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Shockoe Small Area Plan
Adopted Plan
The plan includes four big moves that should be prioritized over the next five years. Among the Big Moves was the development of the Heritage Campus, on February 27, 2024, Mayor Stoney and other project proponents unveiled The Shockoe Project. The Shockoe Project is a comprehensive plan for the former Heritage Campus property as a commemorative space for recognizing the history of enslaved and free Africans and people of African descent. A second Big Move was to Rezone Shockoe which will be included as part of the recently announced Zoning Ordinance Refresh. The Shockoe Alliance was disbanded after the adoption of the Shockoe Small Area Plan.
Shockoe Bottom, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, was originally inhabited by Native Americans before being colonized by English settlers and later turned into the country’s second largest center for the selling and buying of enslaved Africans. To ensure a collaborative approach to initiatives of cultural and historical significance in the Shockoe Bottom area, Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced the creation of the Shockoe Alliance, a group of city staff, preservation experts and community members. The Shockoe Alliance is charged with guiding the design and implementation of concepts and recommendations for the future of Shockoe with the goal of creating an innovative space of memorialization, learning and transformation – all while protecting the area’s cultural and historic heritage.
The Department of Planning and Development Review is working with the Shockoe Alliance to create a Small Area Plan for the Shockoe Area. This plan will be the next-step in the implementation of the adopted Pulse Corridor Plan which focused on future development along the Pulse Corridor including surrounding Main Street Station. The intent is to knit together the policies and guidance embedded in the Pulse Plan, the ULI Rose Fellowship work, the Richmond 300 Master Plan, past studies and other work in progress to form a unified approach to revitalization and development.
Our Mission
The City of Richmond’s Shockoe Alliance is charged with guiding design and implementation of concepts and recommendations for the future of Shockoe as a holistic area rooted in history and informed by those with shared interests to advance these efforts in support of the mission.
The Shockoe Alliance aims to strike a balance between preservation, interpretation, restoration, and development, using Shockoe’s wealth of cultural and historical memory to maximize its impact on the contemporary community in the form of economic development, recreation, and education.
Our Vision
Our vision is to promote awareness and understanding of the significant history of Shockoe through sensitive memorialization, interpretation, preservation, and education, with honesty and authenticity, while embracing the opportunity to define Shockoe as a vital asset of Richmond’s cultural heritage, historic character, dynamic growth, and unique sense of place.
Shockoe Alliance Members
| Member | Organization |
| Delegate Delores McQuinn* | Virginia House of Delegates |
| Mayor Levar Stoney* | Rose Fellow |
| Council President Cynthia Newbille* | Rose Fellow |
| DCAO Robert Steidel | Rose Fellow |
| Elizabeth Kostelny* | Preservation Virginia |
| Ana Edwards* | Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project |
| Brian White* | Shockoe Partnership |
| David Napier* | Shockoe Neighborhood Association |
| Brian Jackson* | Shockoe Partnership |
| Louise Lockett-Gordon | Bike Walk RVA |
| Frazier Armstrong** | Capital Trees |
| Max Hepp-Buchanan | Capital Trees |
| Shelly Barrick Parsons | Capital Trees |
| Lisa Tripp | Capital Trees |
| Ben Campbell | Richmond Resident |
| Jeffery Burden | Church Hill Association |
| Lynetta Thompson | Community Unity in Action |
| Ellen Chapman | Cultural Heritage Partners |
| Trish Bernal | Friends of Taylor's Hill Park |
| Katherine O'Donnell** | Richmond Regional Tourism |
| Matt Robinette | Richmond Regional Tourism |
| Whit Richardson | Richmond Resident |
| Juan Braxton | Shockoe Property/Business Owner |
| Susan Gaible | Shockoe Property/Business Owner |
| Mark Chang | Shockoe Resident |
| Bill Martin | Valentine Museum |
| Lucy Meade | Venture Richmond |
* signifies an original member
** signifies a member who stepped down
For additional Information, please contact kimberly.chen@rva.gov or by phone at 804-646-6364.
