Despite objections from residents of Church Hill and city planners, the Richmond City Council approved Monday a plan to convert Chimborazo School into 50 apartments.
The council voted 7-1 to support developer Margaret Freund's proposal for the vacant school at 310 N. 33rd St.
Councilwoman Cynthia I. Newbille, whose 7th District includes Church Hill, said she believes that the developer had addressed neighborhood concerns about parking and the number of apartments. She urged her colleagues to support the development, noting that the city's planning staff had indicated it could support 44 units, six fewer than proposed.
However, neighborhood residents disagreed and urged council members to focus on the densities that they had endorsed for the property last year in a mass rezoning of Church Hill.
"Twenty-one apartments is enough," said Lori Schmiege, who lives on East Broad Street.
Other speakers, including representatives of Mount Carmel Baptist Church on East Broad and the Masjid Bilal on Chimborazo Boulevard, spoke for the proposal and said development is needed to revitalize the community and to promote safety. Masjid Bilal is leasing parking space for the development.
Paul Bratten, a spokesman for Freund's company, said Monday that in discussing parking solutions for the Chimborazo property, there were "peripheral conversations" years ago about purchasing the Mount Carmel property, but nothing came of it. He said construction on the Chimborazo property would start soon but offered no specific timetable for construction.
Councilman Bruce W. Tyler cast the lone vote against the project, suggesting that the developer and residents needed more time to negotiate.
Retirement system review
Citing rising costs and the need to protect the futures of city workers, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones announced a commission that will study the city's pension system, including a possible merger into the Virginia Retirement System.
The city is spending more than $40 million on the Richmond Retirement System this year, and the total is projected to exceed $45 million by fiscal 2012-13. The system is about 58 percent funded, with about 4,000 retirees among more than 10,000 total participants, the system's 2010 annual report says.
The Commission on Pension Liability Assessment will include Ron Tillett and Jody Wagner, both former state treasurers and secretaries of finance.
Other members are Norfolk City Manager Marcus Jones, a former deputy chief administrative officer in the Jones administration; Bob Blue, senior vice president for public policy at Dominion Resources; and Gina Elbert, an employee benefits attorney at McGuireWoods.
wjones@timesdispatch.com
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