Broad Street Revitalization

[Icetera]

1. A Greyhound bus station is very different from a bus stop.

2. 27 Broad St. is in a high pedestrian (for Richmond atleast) downtown setting vs. Libby and Grove (more suburban) and are really not comparable.

Also, any area that has a high vacancy rate is going to have higher crime, as there are less people to discourage it. Filling in the area will help reduce the crime. Getting businesses to actually take the plunge is the tricky part.

[burt]

1. A Greyhound bus station is very different from a bus stop.

2. 27 Broad St. is in a high pedestrian (for Richmond atleast) downtown setting vs. Libby and Grove (more suburban) and are really not comparable.

Also, any area that has a high vacancy rate is going to have higher crime, as there are less people to discourage it. Filling in the area will help reduce the crime. Getting businesses to actually take the plunge is the tricky part.

I read somewhere, not too long ago, that Greyhound has no intention of leaving North Boulevard for a depot at Main Street Station.

A small percentage of those who utilize the facility on West Grace east of Belvidere, the Salvation Army at Foushee and Grace and some who enjoy the largess of downtown churhes are pretty aggressive and can be, not necessarily dangerous, but frightening to potential shoppers. Repeat: I'm saying a small percentage which is the case in many cities that do not have heavy foot traffic on their streets. I suspect a number of unpleasant encounters downtown go unreported, except by word-of-mouth, thus perpetuating perceptions of fear.

[gntrphoo]

I read somewhere, not too long ago, that Greyhound has no intention of leaving North Boulevard for a depot at Main Street Station.

According to my city councilman, the station will be moved in conjunction with the development of the Diamond area, if the city has it's way. Hopefully we will see some of that start happening within the next couple of years.

[dklee]

Do you know how hard it would be for a bus to move around the Main St area? it would just hold up traffic. Plus, i don't think i would want to walk around that area if they do. I had to go to the bus station once to pick up a friend. I thought i was goign to get mugged, robbed, and killed. Sitting in the car is no better, you just asking to be carjacked. I will wait at Bill BBQ next time, and they can call, and jump into the car when it is slowly moving pass the entrance.

[wrldcoupe4]

Haha you know, when I was in elementary school (I think) we actually went on a field trip to the Greyhound bus station. In hindsight, that was a disaster of a field trip waiting to happen.

[burt]

Richmond's Greyhound terminal is one of the busiest in the bus line's operation. Apparently, Richmond is a change point for a lot of travelers.

It doesn't exactly cater to types who would prefer airlines or Amtrak.

[Cadeho]

I'd rather the station stay where it is, right by the highway and really... what's the problem with the Boulevard site?

[Henry]

Nice article on Quirk's Kathy Emmerson in the new Richmond Magazine. It talks about her efforts to revitalize Broad.

[burt]

Nice article on Quirk's Kathy Emmerson in the new Richmond Magazine. It talks about her efforts to revitalize Broad.

Henry, didn't she manage the 17th Street Market for several years?

Wish the Richmond Magazine article were accessible.

Downtown Dave said at RCW that the city is seriously studying plans to develop a "Reading Terminal" type market in (and under, I presume) the Main Street Station train shed.

[wrldcoupe4]

Thanks for the head's up Henry. That reminds me that I need to renew my subscription to the magazine... you can often get a ridiculously cheap annual subscription for like 15 bucks.

[Henry]

Yes Burt. Kathy ran the Market.

[wrldcoupe4]

"Vacant Places = Artful Spaces" -- Using Art to Revitalize Broad Street?

“Vacant Spaces = Artful Places” aims to breathe new life into downtown Richmond by beautifying the storefronts of 59 long-vacant buildings along the Broad Street corridor between Henry and Third streets. Empty storefront windows and walls are being cleaned up and converted into exhibit space for art. Local real estate developer Tom Robinson says the project aims to draw attention to the “dead space” represented by the vacant, often dilapidated buildings.

Why has art been identified as the catalyst for revitalization? Because art often elicits emotional response, provides delight, provokes thought and brings people together....

Key to this project is art’s capacity to draw attention — in this case, to the vacant buildings that could be renovated and put to new use. The first completed window display, located at 107 E. Broad St., inspired a Boston couple visiting Richmond recently to purchase $3,500 in artwork. It also drew the attention of a prospective buyer who is now negotiating a price for the building.

“Vacant Spaces = Artful Places” will be in full bloom for July’s Artwalk, with the June 1 preview of the project intended to coincide with the Richmond CenterStage groundbreaking. Both projects are driven by the quest for revitalization.

I think this is a great idea that at the bare minimum will clean up the streetscape along that stretch of Broad St. Thoughts?

[burt]

I think it's right on! A good beginning.

[wrldcoupe4]

This should please Cam and all!

Douglas Development hopes to buy 4 more buildings on Broad

Prominent Washington developer Douglas Jemal is trying to assemble the final pieces to launch a major face-lift of the Broad Street corridor in downtown Richmond.

An official for Jemal's Douglas Development Corp. confirmed yesterday that the company is seeking to add to its already extensive holdings in downtown Richmond by negotiating to purchase four buildings at Second and East Broad streets.

The buildings, owned by Eli Liniado, have been identified by Richmond officials seeking to test their spot-blight ordinance, which gives them a tool to take over buildings that have fallen into significant disrepair.

Douglas Development wants to add Liniado's four buildings to its expanding portfolio along Broad Street, a formerly bustling retail and commercial corridor that fell into disrepair but is slowly regaining life, thanks in large part to the growth of a community of artists in the neighborhood.

[burt]

The buildings Jemal is interested in purchasing are on two separate blocks -- a few on the north side of Broad between 1st and 2nd near the former Standard Drug, and one each on the northeast and southeast corners of Broad and 2nd.

[journiyin]

Having walked up and down Broad last Friday during the art shows, I would say that section is moving in the right direction, during the showings. But most of the people in attendance looked like they drove into see it. I walked 12 blocks, and it was a nice day... more people need to move downtown.

[Downtowner]

I was glad to hear this about Douglas Development but I must say jemal has hardly done anything in the Richmond market besides buying properties I almost wonder if he will ever get around to refurbishing them.

[journiyin]

Well, most developers in the market right now are only speculating. And sitting on their properties waiting to see what the lone fishes in the sea will do with their one or two buildings sporadicly all over downtown. If Jemal waits too long more people will move to the Bottom or to the immediate area around it, instead of his 1st and 2nd st foothold. Bad business decision to wait with the market fast becoming urban-centric.

[Cadeho]

I still don't understand with all the people sitting on properties and plans just gathering dust, why wait until the window closes? Yet they'd flock to a totally new place WITH NO QUESTION OR HESITATION. If they truly want to be a part of something and help make their mark in bringing downtown back, you best jump together.

[burt]

Take a look at this from the Urban Richmond blog:

http://richmondva.wordpress.com/2007/06/06...ntown-broad-st/

[journiyin]

I still don't understand with all the people sitting on properties and plans just gathering dust, why wait until the window closes? Yet they'd flock to a totally new place WITH NO QUESTION OR HESITATION. If they truly want to be a part of something and help make their mark in bringing downtown back, you best jump together.

Ah, easy answer... which one is easier in your mind to cut down... a tree or a stand of trees versus a building?

If you said a tree, you are a residential 'sprawl' developer.

If you said a building, you are Walmart.

If you said neither, you are a New Urbanist and a preservationist.

[Cadeho]

What if you said everything? Because we were able to flatten buildings and trees in Japan...

[burt]

Here's hoping Jemal gets his local act together. It would be good to see rehabilitation of those Broad Street blocks that would look as good as 7th Street in DC.

[mrd3b]

I'm all for rehabilitation, and Jemal may well be in the best position to institute a swift and extensive change in the area whenever he decides he has amassed enough properties to do so, but I find the idea of a single man controlling so much of this stretch of broad street somewhat unsettling. If the area has been improving well through the efforts of local gallery owners and restauranteurs, will the introduction of chain retail and restaurants accompanied by higher taxes and rent really have a positive impact on the existing community? I would hate to see hardworking local individuals driven from a community they have built together in the name of progress.

[wrldcoupe4]

For the most part though, the area where Jemal has amassed properties is still in very bad shape compared to other points on Broad Street to the East (courthouse, national, etc) and west (galleries and restaurants). The buildings near the CNB tower are in nasty shape. Broad street is one of the better positioned streets for national retailers. I'd like to see it become a mix of galleries, great local restaurants and shops, and some national chains. People that live downtown need access to certain stores so they don't have to drive out to the suburbs to shop. Jemal has yet to pull off anything big in Richmond yet, but if he was to pull off something along Broad street, I'd like to think it would complement the progress already made instead of push it out.

I'd be more concerned about the single property owners that have so many blighted properties along stretches of Broad and Grace... Broad is our signature and it should be treated as such.