Series of meetings on Shockoe Bottom kicks off

In a rare feat of late, a town-hall meeting with no shouting was held yesterday by Shockoe Bottom residents, business owners and city officials.

The discussion of the Bottom's future followed the city's issuance Friday of a request for proposals for an economic strategy to guide development and redevelopment in the neighborhood.

The project will be financed with $125,000 set aside by the City Council this spring.

The meeting, held at The Old City Bar on East Main Street, was the first in a series of discussions on the Bottom's potential, its revitalization needs and its assets.

"We want to use this little bit of money to start having an honest conversation about what really works in this area," said City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson, whose 6th District includes the Bottom, calling it "the most precious land in the city of Richmond."

She challenged the approximately 60 people in attendance to begin thinking about what Richmond lacks and how the Bottom could fill those needs.

Among the suggestions to focus on were transit, pride and history, creating a sense of place, tourism, blighted buildings, pedestrian traffic and enforcement of ABC laws.

"I think we need to acknowledge what being in the middle of the floodplain means," said Brian White, president of Main Street Realty. "Small-scale organic growth through this floodway is not possible. Opening up Shockoe Creek is not possible."

Robertson also stressed the area's historical significance.

"What we develop down here needs to be a statement to our visitors . . . to tell people, and ourselves, what Richmond truly is," she said, suggesting that black heritage should play a role.

Peter H. Chapman, deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development, said the plan would hinge heavily on Main Street Station, which will offer high-speed rail service in the future.

"It has the potential to be a catalytic anchor project to stimulate additional development," he said, adding that the strategy will also make use of the area's historic assets to increase foot traffic.

"This is not intended to be a panacea," Chapman stressed, calling it the "logical next step to the downtown master plan."

"It's to set us on the practical path to application -- getting stuff built," he said.

Yvonne Spain, a Richmond resident, said civic involvement was key to its success.

"Most of us you see at the meetings are old, old citizens who want to help the city of Richmond," she said. "We need to find a way to get some of the new folks coming in here to let us know what they want and help us do what we're trying to do."

Charles Macfarlane, who has lived and worked in the Bottom for 10 years, said the city needs to address the basics, pointing to broken parking meters, empty tree wells, overgrown weeds and a lack of trash cans.

"There are a lot of things that don't cost much that we've been screaming about for eight years and still haven't gotten," he said. "It's hard to have confidence in city government if we can't get basic services."

Chapman said the city expects to hire a consultant for the plan in October and have a report by the second quarter of 2010.

Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or .