Richmond council approves $600,000 for Jackson Ward revitalization

By: Will Jones | Times-Dispatch
Published: January 26, 2010

The Richmond City Council agreed tonight to commit $600,000 in public funds to revitalize two landmarks in Jackson Ward.

The decision sets the stage for a developer to convert the Hippodrome Theater and adjoining Taylor Mansion into a live-music and entertainment venue that would open next year one block from the Greater Richmond Convention Center.

The project, known as The Hipp, also will include a restaurant, retail space and 31 apartments.

The Hippodrome and Taylor Mansion are on North Second Street, which was once the center of African-American nightlife and entertainment in segregated Richmond.

The new theater will be operated by the Bensusan Corp., which established the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, and it will make Second Street an entertainment and tourist destination like Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn., said developer Ronald Stallings, of Hippodrome-Taylor Mansion LLC.

With the council's 6-1 vote, the city will contribute $281,000 in an economic-development grant, plus $319,000 from its share of federal HOME funds, which are used to create housing for low-income residents.

Councilman Bruce W. Tyler and two residents opposed the agreement, arguing that public funds should not be directed to the for-profit venture and that council was rewarding Stallings for keeping the Hippodrome in a blighted state for years.

But Councilman E. Martin Jewell said Jackson Ward deserves the help, given how part of the neighborhood was diced up to make way for the convention center and biotechnology research park.

"If any neighborhood deserves help from this city for resuscitating itself, it's Jackson Ward," he said.

The theater was built in 1904 and rebuilt after a fire in 1945. James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and other black entertainers graced the stage during the venue's heyday.

The Taylor Mansion was designed by architect John Lankford and built in 1907 for the Rev. W.L. Taylor, a leader of the United Order of True Reformers. The home was credited at the time with being the largest home of a black American in the United States, and it later became an Elks lodge.

The council also approved Mayor Dwight C. Jones' proposal to consolidate the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Community Development into a Department of Economic and Community Development and to create a new Department of Planning and Development Review.

The consolidated department is being led for now by Peter H. Chapman, deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development. The new planning department is being led by Rachel Flynn, former director of community development. The city plans to eventually hire a director for the consolidated department.

Council President Kathy C. Graziano said she looks forward to that appointment "so we will be at a level playing field with the counties in economic development."

The reorganization, announced last September, was approved in time for Jones to claim it as an accomplishment in tomorrow night's State of the City address at Richmond CenterStage.

Tyler said he supports the reorganization in part because the administration is projecting a net savings of about $200,000 from beginning in fiscal 2011.

"The current community-development process is broken," he added. "I believe the city needs an advocate for people who want to develop in the city. I believe Mr. Chapman understands that and is going in that direction."

Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com.