Map of the Richmond Metro area depicting housing value change since 2004 by zip code area. Click to enter your zip code (Credit: Washington Post)
CITY OF RICHMOND
In San Diego, Richmond leaders compare approaches to public housing
On the edge of downtown San Diego, an executive with the city’s public housing commission pointed a group of Richmonders toward a sleek high-rise. The reaction from the visitors was swift. “That’s affordable housing?” someone gasped. “Is that a pool on the mezzanine?” another questioned. Jennifer McKinny, the vice president of real estate operations for the San Diego Housing Commission, smiled, acknowledging what she referred to as “a robust amenity package.” As part of ChamberRVA’s InterCity visit last week, about 30 local officials learned about San Diego’s work to reinvent its approach to public housing.
Consultant’s report on Boulevard leaves fate of stadium uncertain
A consultant’s report on the “highest and best use” for 60 acres of city-owned land on the Boulevard might have generated more questions than answers in Richmond’s ongoing stadium debate. Pittsburgh-based Tripp Umbach’s final report, presented to the City Council on Monday, largely reiterated the same point it previously made when the firm presented its draft report in January: The city would generate the most tax revenue by developing the property as a dense, mixed-use development. But it also acknowledged that residents expressed a clear preference for a stadium on the Boulevard during a series of public comment sessions held this year.
Squirrels, city and VCU say they’re workin gon new stadium site ‘near the Diamond’
The Richmond Flying Squirrels and Mayor Dwight C. Jones are back on speaking terms and, according to a joint statement Tuesday, working together to identify a new location for a baseball stadium. Where are they looking? Officials did not say what sites are under consideration beyond specifying that it will be near The Diamond but not on the city-owned 60 acres bounded by the Boulevard and Hermitage Road where the stadium currently sits.
CHESTERFIELD
Losing Providence: County leaders seek answers as school construction cost overruns
Members of the Board of Supervisors and School Board convened a rare joint meeting last week, along with a committee created to provide oversight on county construction projects, to discuss the troubled Providence Middle School renovation.
The school system cancelled an invitation for bids earlier this month after the lower of two bids came in 35 percent, or more than $6 million, over the project’s construction budget. Some citizens have noted a disturbing pattern in the schools’ $304 million revitalization program: The first project on that list, a $14 million renovation of Monacan High, had a $3.3 million cost overrun (24 percent) last May that school officials covered with money from a reserve fund.
Chesterfield school staff violated state procurement laws, audit finds
A recent internal audit found that Chesterfield County Public Schools employees violated state procurement law during the transformation of the former Clover Hill High School building into the county’s Career and Technical Center @ Hull from October 2011 to April 2012. The report, dated March 31, concluded that the staff had not complied with competitive selection procedures required by the Virginia Public Procurement Act during the project’s pre-design work phase. A violation would be a Class 1 misdemeanor, but county officials consider it unlikely there would be any prosecution.
HANOVER
Hanover supervisors backtrack on position for high-speed rail project
The Hanover County Board of Supervisors has revised its position toward a high speed rail project that would link Richmond and Washington, pivoting away from its initial support of a western bypass of Ashland that was offered as one potential option. The board passed a resolution revoking its previous endorsement of the bypass at its meeting Wednesday night but did not formally adopt a position supporting any of the proposed alternatives. County officials have faced pressure in recent months from landowners and residents imploring them to rescind a letter sent by County Administrator Cecil R. “Rhu” Harris Jr. to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation in January that indicated the county preferred the bypass over adding a third track in Ashland, which residents in and around the town have also roundly opposed.
HENRICO
The Henrico County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved its budget for fiscal year 2017. It is based on a 3.2 percent increase in the general fund to roughly $811 million, up from about $786 million in the current fiscal year. It goes into effect July 1. Earlier in the meeting, no one spoke during public hearings on several rates and fees.
Henrico planners back fourth phase of Rockett’s Landing
The next phase of the Henrico County portion of Rocketts Landing is moving forward. The county Planning Commission approved architectural plans Wednesday for 28 three- and four-story single-family town houses south of the structures already built in the development. Overall, Rocketts Landing is expected to span about 45 acres in Richmond and Henrico. When the land was purchased in 2005, the project was expected to take a decade to complete. The first residential units opened in 2007, just as the housing market collapsed.
Henrico School Board approves larger, amended budget
The Henrico School Board has received a boost from the state and the county’s Board of Supervisors. On Thursday evening, the School Board approved an amended budget of nearly $455.1 million. In February, it passed a spending plan of about $448.8 million. The new figure marks a 3.2 percent increase over the current fiscal year’s $441.2 million budget.
POWHATAN
Public speaks up on county spending
Public comments were pretty evenly split last week at the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors meeting between people who called for more fiscal responsibility and others who say the county has needs to be met. At the board’s meeting on Monday, April 18, a total of 18 people spoke during public hearings regarding the county’s fiscal year 2017 operating budget, proposed at $78.8 million without transfers; the FY 2017 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), proposed at $80.2 million for capital projects and other capital programs, and the potential issuance of $54.5 million in bonds to fund capital improvement needs.
STATE
Alison Zizzo: Proffer law already needs reconsideration
Amendments to Virginia Code Section 15.2-2303.4 go into effect July 1, and most localities are paying close attention. The law appears to be a perfectly wrapped gift to residential developers around the commonwealth. While it purports to stem the tide of unreasonable proffers, an issue that needs attention, the law may be an unintended Trojan Horse ready to stifle new development. A development proffer is usually a monetary contribution by a developer to aid a locality with the cost of infrastructure. This new law applies to proffers made in connection with new residential developments and re-zoned parcels associated with new residential uses, with some exceptions.
NATIONAL
Empty buses serve a purpose
Most transit agencies have been through some version of this scenario: In one part of the city, buses drive around stuffed like sardine tins, while elsewhere they can be all but empty. Car drivers mock the empty buses in low-density parts of the city. Some elected official picks up the banner, demanding that the transit agency stop flagrantly wasting taxpayer money by running these money-losing routes. If you hear echoes of the federal fight over Amtrak, you’re not going crazy — it’s the exact same conversation. And it merits the exact same answer.
America’s great housing divide: Are you a winner or loser?
The Post analysis, based on data from Black Knight Financial Services spanning 2004 through 2015, shows how the nation’s housing recovery has exacerbated inequality, leaving behind many Americans of moderate means. It also helps explain why the economic recovery feels incomplete, especially in neighborhoods where the value of housing — often the biggest family asset — has recovered little, if at all. While a typical single-family home has gained less than 14 percent in value since 2004, homes in the most expensive neighborhoods have gained 21 percent. Regional factors such as the Western energy boom explain some differences, but in many cities the housing market’s arc has deepened disparities between the rich and everyone else, such as in Boston, where gentrifying urban neighborhoods have thrived and far-flung suburbs have fallen behind. Also striking is how minority neighborhoods lag in the recovery. Zip codes where blacks are the largest population group are more than twice as likely as white Zip codes to have homes now worth less than in 2004.