Mayor Stoney supports the recommendation The city’s Resort Casino Evaluation Panel has recommended that the ONE Casino + Resort move forward as the city’s preferred casino gaming operator at the proposed site on Walmsley Boulevard in South Richmond. The Evaluation Panel’s recommendation is supported by Mayor Stoney.   “ONE Casino + Resort presents a tremendous opportunity to develop a resort casino project in Richmond,” said Mayor Levar Stoney. “The project will create over 1,000 good paying jobs, generate a significant amount of new revenue for the city, and establish an additional economic engine in South Richmond. I applaud the work of the Evaluation Panel in their vetting of the proposals and engaging the entire city throughout this project.”   ONE Casino + Resort was proposed by Urban ONE in partnership with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment. Urban ONE is a publicly traded integrated media company.  Peninsula Pacific Entertainment owns and operates several casinos and ...

Nine local, minority-owned businesses have graduated from the Diverse Supplier Mentoring Program, a collaborative professional development program made possible by the City of Richmond Office of Minority Business Development and Capital One.   Led by Capital One, the program provides business owners with the tools, resources and counsel needed to succeed in today’s marketplace. As a part of Capital One’s Impact Initiative, the program aims to accelerate the success of small business owners to create more jobs, strengthen the local economy and move our society toward a more equitable future.   “At Capital One, we recognize the longstanding impact of Richmond’s Black-owned businesses on the social and economic vitality of the city,” said Jim Gorzalski, Chief Procurement Officer and Senior Vice President of Enterprise Services at Capital One. “As part of our greater supplier diversity work, we are honored to provide mentorship to accelerate the revenue and business growth...

Immediate actions include introduction of a resolution addressing the public health crisis Mayor Levar Stoney, Police Chief Gerald Smith, members of Richmond City Council and other city leaders and community members gathered outside City Hall today to announce their intent to declare gun violence a public health crisis through a formal resolution.   The resolution outlines the current state of gun violence, which for generations has disproportionately impacted Black communities and underserved neighborhoods. It also highlights some of the work that the city and community partners have done and continue to do to combat gun violence, and calls on the state and federal governments to take specific steps to prevent gun violence in communities like Richmond.   “This resolution is a unified acknowledgement that gun violence is a public health crisis with deeply rooted causes,” said Mayor Stoney. “But the legislation is more than just an acknowledgement; it is a commitment to...

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today is pleased to announce the appointment of Mona Adkins-Easley to the be the Director of the City of Richmond Department of Human Resources, and the appointment of Sheila D. White to be the Director of the city’s Department of Finance.   Mayor Stoney also announced today that Office of Budget & Strategic Planning Deputy Director Jason P. May will serve as Interim Director beginning June 15, following the departure of longtime director Dr. Jay Brown, who recently accepted a job as Deputy County Administrator for Hanover County.   Both Ms. Adkins-Easley and Ms. White had been serving as interim directors of their respective departments prior to their appointments. Mr. May will serve in the interim director’s position while the city seeks a replacement for Dr. Brown, who had served since 2014 through two mayoral administrations.   “Dr. Brown has served the city with distinction and we wish him the best in his new role,” said Mayor St...

Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Aditxt (Aditx Therapeutics, Inc.) (Nasdaq: ADTX), a biotech innovation company focused on improving the health of the immune system, will establish its first high-capacity AditxtScore™ Center in the City of Richmond in the second half of 2021. Aditxt plans to create more than 300 new jobs and targets making a capital investment of $31.5 million over three years to scale up its state-of-the-art immune monitoring center, including projected new jobs, laboratory equipment, and construction. Governor Northam and company officials announced the project during an event at the Virginia Bio+Tech Park, a campus of Activation Capital, where the company will occupy 25,000 square feet of Bio+Tech 8 with plans for future expansion.   “The Richmond region has emerged as a hub for cutting-edge biotech companies, and this thriving industry will be bolstered by the addition of Aditxt’s Immune Monitoring Center,” said Governor Northam . “The Virg...

The City of Richmond’s Resort Casino Evaluation Panel has reduced the shortlist of proposed resort casino projects being considered to Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond and ONE Casino + Resort.   The proposed Bally’s Richmond Casino Resort and the project’s proposed site of Parkway Crossings (Chippenham Parkway and Powhite Parkway) are no longer being considered by the Evaluation Panel.   “We appreciate Bally’s interest to develop a resort casino project in Richmond,” said Leonard Sledge, Director of the city’s Department of Economic Development.  “The Evaluation Panel is no longer considering the Bally’s project or the Parkway Crossings site for a resort casino due to concerns about site access, environmental factors, and required approvals from non-city entities that may not be granted or extend the project timeline.  We also appreciate the many Richmond citizens who have shared their thoughts throughout this process.”   The Evaluation Panel is con...

  Mayor Levar M. Stoney announced today the City of Richmond has acquired the private land on 1305 North 5 th Street – the known location of the historic Burial Ground for Freed People of Color.   Back in February, the city was the only bidder for the property, which was sold at auction for a bid of $145,000. City officials completed the transaction on Friday, April 16 and obtained the title to the property.   The purchased parcel represents 1.21 acres of a two-acre public burying ground established by the City of Richmond in 1816.  One acre was set aside for enslaved people and the other for free people of color. The last reported burial was recorded in 1879.   Over the past 200 years, the cemetery was expanded, referred to by various names, and desecrated -- including grave robbing to supply the Medical College of Virginia with cadavers in the mid-nineteenth century.   In 1960, the city sold the property to the Sun Oil Company with no ack...

Grenova Inc. to invest $10.6 million to increase production of pipette tip cleaning, washing and sterilizing machines Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Grenova Inc., a Virginia-based sustainable biotech firm that designs, develops, and manufactures devices that wash and sterilize contaminated pipette tips for reuse, will invest $10.6 million to expand in the City of Richmond. The company will relocate its operations from Manchester to a larger facility in Scott’s Addition and increase capacity with new production lines in response to the shortage of pipette tips used for COVID-19 testing. Governor Northam joined company leaders at the site of Grenova’s future location at 1900 Ellen Road to celebrate the project, which will add 250 new jobs over the next three years.   “We are thrilled to celebrate this homegrown sustainable biotech firm expanding and adding to its workforce in Richmond,” said Governor Northam . “It is remarkable to see Virgini...

The City Treasurer’s Office of Financial Empowerment is proud to announce its 2nd Annual Financial Literacy Fair to be held virtually on   Tuesday, April 20, 2019 from 11:30 am – 3:30 pm   in in support of Financial Literacy Month. Residents will have the opportunity to learn valuable information about their finances during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a new feature this year, workshops will also be held for the business community. While residents will learn how to better manage their finances during a pandemic, small business owners will learn how to maximize their dollar and benefit from other programs offered by the city.   Topics will be presented in quick, 30-minute segments on many topics, such as   Navigating Finances through COVID ,   Managing Debt During COVID , and   Better Living Through Spending Plans . There will be simultaneous sessions created for business owners on topics such as   Financing Your Own Business   and   Navigating t...

Mayor Levar M. Stoney today announced the hiring of a new Director of Housing and Community Development as well as the appointment of a Homeless Services Liaison for the City of Richmond.   Longtime affordable housing and community development professional Sherrill Hampton will serve as Director of Housing and Community Development.    Dianne Wilmore, the Community Service Manager at the North Avenue Branch of the Richmond Public Library, will assume the role of Homeless Services Liaison.   “Affordable housing and homelessness are two of the most critical issues facing American cities, and the City of Richmond is no exception,” said Mayor Stoney. “The need for experienced and caring individuals to address these issues has only been heightened by the pandemic, and that’s why I’m grateful to have two highly qualified public servants joining our team in this effort.”   Ms. Hampton has more than 25 years of experience in the affordable housing and community developm...

The City of Richmond has scheduled the next virtual community meetings to report on the public comments received since March 2021 on resort casinos and proposed resort casino projects and locations. The meetings will take place on Thursday, April 8, at 6:00pm, and Friday, April 9, at 12:00pm. The meetings will be held via MS Teams and will feature the same presentation.   Thursday, April 8 at 6:00pm MS Teams Link:   http://bit.ly/APR82021 Join via Phone:   1 804-316-9457 Conference ID: 478 604 710#   Friday, April 9 at 12:00pm MS Teams Link:   http://bit.ly/APR92021 Join via Phone:   1 804-316-9457 Conference ID: 175 675 932#   Videos of the two virtual meetings, the digital community engagement, and more information about the Resort Casino RFQ/P process can be found at   www.rva.gov/economic-development/resort-casino . ##

Pilot program uses public space to facilitate safe support for local businesses In June of 2020, Venture Richmond and the City of Richmond announced “Picnic in a Parklet,” a program designed to assist Richmond restaurants and other businesses with safe reopening and social distancing requirements. Through this partnership, business owners were offered design and permitting assistance for their requests for more outdoor space, particularly parklets. This week, construction will begin on five prefabricated parklets at locations adjacent to businesses who participated in the Picnic in a Parklet program. The first two pilot locations include N 29th Street in Church Hill, adjacent to the Nile Ethiopian Café, and N Shields Avenue in the Fan, adjacent to Joe’s Inn. Three additional locations are currently in the works with interested business owners.  “The Picnic in a Parklet program has been an exciting new frontier for the city and its partners,” said Mayor Stoney. “Public space is a va...

Group will engage teacher voices to advance career preparation and year-round school goals   The application for Richmond Public Schools educators to join the city’s Educator Task Force (ETF) is open and available   here .   The mission of the ETF is to engage and elevate educators’ voices to support and advance Mayor Stoney’s children, youth and education priorities for his second term while responding to emerging priorities as needed. Teachers, counselors and other support staff will comprise the task force.   “In any conversation on supporting Richmond’s children and families, educator voices are irreplaceable,” said Mayor Stoney. “I’m hopeful the recommendations of this group of experienced professionals will support the success of Richmond’s children inside and outside the classroom.”   The task force’s recommendations will inform the work of the Office of Children and Families (OCF). Planned for FY22, OCF will also convene a Youth Advisory Council to guide...

The City of Richmond today narrowed the field of proposed bidders for a resort casino development to three finalists. The three finalists selected by the City’s Evaluation Panel are:  Bally’s Richmond Casino Resort, Live! Casino & Hotel Richmond, and One Casino + Resort.  Six proposals were originally submitted and reviewed by the Evaluation Panel, which considered, among other factors, each proposal’s site control, feasibility of financial projections, organizational experience, community impact/benefits, location, potential city revenues, and economic development impact.  The top ranked proposals stood out because the operators provided strong proposals with detailed financial and operational analyses to support their vision for a resort casino in Richmond. The Evaluation Panel will enter into the next phase of evaluation and begin negotiations with these operators; while continuing to engage the Richmond community.  Proposals not advancing to the next round of...

At the March 22 meeting of Richmond City Council, the city administration introduced an ordinance to direct funds from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation to paint the Pulse Bus Rapid Transit bus-only lanes red. “With this ordinance, we’ll join other pioneering cities in using red lanes to help complete our streets, building a safer and more efficient transit system for our riders,” said Mayor Stoney.   The pavement of the transit-only lanes will be painted red, either solid or hatched, starting with the stretch of Broad Street between Thompson Street and Foushee Street. At peak travel, approximately 14 buses per hour use that section of the major thoroughfare.   Red lanes have two key benefits: route efficiency and pedestrian safety. Clearly marked, bright red lanes help drivers understand when they must vacate a bus lane, which improves bus arrival times. The clear red markings also indicate to pedestrians that the traffic flow is different from other l...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the City of Richmond Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), Henrico County Economic Development Authority (HEDA), and project:Homes (p:H), a 501(c)3 organization focusing on safe, affordable housing in Central Virginia, collectively hereinafter referred to as Coalition,   with a $600,000 grant to assess properties under its Brownfields Program. The federal grant will provide funding for the City and its coalition partners to assess commercial and industrial properties in target areas with environmental contaminants and potential redevelopment or reuse opportunities.      “This Brownfields assessment grant is crucial to moving our region forward by helping to encourage redevelopment, recruit businesses, create well-paying jobs and revitalize neighborhoods in the City of Richmond and Henrico County”, said Keisha M. Birchett, Project Development Manager for the City of Richmond.   Brownfields ar...

Features include enhanced map views, news alerts, upvoting community requests, easy-to-use mobile apps On Wednesday, March 17, the city will launch an updated version of RVA311, the city’s current customer service and response system, which includes improvements to the   online citizen portal   and completely new mobile apps.   Using the improved web portal at RVA311.com and the mobile app, residents will be able to: Sign up to receive important city alerts and announcements straight to their phone; Use optimized search functions to find the right request type for your needs; Explore requests around the entire city, view request details and check in on request status using a map; Switch to a simple list view if users do not prefer a map; and Turn city services into a team effort, “upvoting” and “following” requests of interest instead of creating duplicate requests.   Also through the new web portal, residents will be able to view requests citywide, in thei...