The draft small area plan for Richmond City Center area is available for public comment through July 12. The community-rooted plan envisions the redevelopment of a core segment of Downtown Richmond.

Throughout the past year, the Department of Planning and Development Review (PDR) has worked with the community to develop the draft plan through public workshops, surveys, and focus group interviews. Now, residents can share their thoughts on the draft in a number of ways:

• Visit https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/city-center to read the plan and provide your thoughts on an interactive document.
• Attend a virtual meeting hosted by PDR and Councilwoman Robertson on June 22 at 6 p.m. to listen to a presentation on the draft plan, ask questions, and provide your input. The meeting link will be posted on the webpage.
• Invite PDR staff to a meeting of your interested group or organization to share more about the draft plan. Please email Richmond300@richmondgov.com or call (804)646-6348 to request a meeting.

What is City Center?

The City Center is generally the area from E. Franklin Street to E. Leigh Street and from N. 10th to N. 5th Streets in Downtown Richmond. The City Center Small Area Plan outlines strategies for redeveloping vacant and under-utilized parcels in Downtown Richmond, which are predominantly city-owned.

The draft plan envisions City Center as a mixed-use innovation district that attracts residents, employees, students, and tourists and leverages adjacent assets by connecting to the Convention Center, VCU Health, the VA Bio+Tech Park and the surrounding neighborhoods.

What’s next?

After this engagement period, staff will review the comments received, amend the plan, and then present the amended City Center Small Area Plan to City Planning Commission and City Council to be incorporated as a part of Richmond 300: A Guide for Growth, the City’s new Master Plan. Please contact Maritza Pechin at maritza.pechin@richmondgov.com or 804-646-6348 with any questions.

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