The City’s Department of Economic and Community Development invites developers to learn more about the $20 million Economic Development and Housing Revolving Loan Fund Program in the city of Richmond on Tuesday, July 30 at 8 a.m. on the 2nd floor of Main Street Station, 1500 East Main Street. Funding for this loan program is being provided as gap financing for eligible projects, through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Section 108, to assist with economic and community development activities in the city of Richmond. The funds have been used to create a business loan pool targeted to special projects to include affordable housing that will have positive economic and community development benefits within targeted neighborhoods. Target neighborhoods include the Arts & Cultural District, Shockoe Bottom, Manchester, Jeff Davis corridor, Brookland Park Boulevard, and the 25th Street - Nine Mile Road corridor. However, the City will be willing to provide business loans to eligib...

To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, which begins August 1, Richmond’s Big Latch On is set for Saturday, August 3 at 10:30 a.m. at the Bell Tower on Capitol Square. The Richmond Healthy Start Initiative is partnering with Bon Secours Richmond Health System, HCA Healthcare and VCU Medical Center to host this year’s event. The Richmond event is part of a worldwide gathering of thousands of breastfeeding women and their babies and/or children who will assemble in their communities to take part in synchronized breastfeeding events. Registration for the Richmond event begins at 9:30 a.m. and all nursing mothers and their babies in the metro-Richmond area are invited to participate in the Big Latch On . In the event of inclement weather, the Big Latch On will move to Virginia State Capitol House Room 3, which is accessible through the Bank Street visitor’s entrance.  “This year's Big Latch On is sponsored by the Richmond Health Action Alliance, a Healthy Communities Action Tea...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones received the final report of the Breastfeeding Commission today from the commission he created in July of 2011. The Breastfeeding Commission was created to provide recommendations on ways to increase the number of women breastfeeding, particularly among underserved and fragile women in Richmond, where participation is well below the state average. Over the course of the Commission’s work, state officials recognized the city as the first locality in Virginia to establish a breastfeeding commission and for bringing together businesses, government and healthcare advocates to encourage women - especially low-income mothers - to breastfeed. “I would like to thank Dr. Stephanie Ferguson and the other members of this diverse group of individuals for their diligence in creating recommendations to aid my administration in increasing the number of breastfeeding mothers in the city of Richmond,” said Mayor Jones. “The Commission has recommended a comprehensive, co...

~Addressing food deserts in the city a major focus of groups work~ Mayor Dwight C. Jones today received the final report of the Food Policy Task Force; a task force charged with providing the Administration advice on food policy and land use planning issues in the City of Richmond to include urban agriculture, development of markets for locally-grown food, food education, child nutrition, and the development of inner-city supermarkets. Mayor Dwight C. Jones established the Task Force in July of 2011 as part of his multi-pronged approach to finding ways to address concentrated poverty in the city of Richmond and advance the quality of life. A number of “food deserts” exist (areas where low-income residents have no access to grocery stores) in the city’s lower income neighborhoods, which can contribute to a continuing cycle of poor health and poor outcomes for segments of the city’s population. “I want to express my thanks to the many individuals who devoted their time an...

Mayor Dwight C. Jones and the City’s Minority Business Development held a graduation ceremony today at Main Street Station for minority and emerging small businesses that completed the Money Smart for Small Business program. The Money Smart program is a nationally acclaimed, comprehensive financial education curriculum developed jointly by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Mayor Jones stated, “The Money Smart program is an invaluable tool for small businesses seeking to improve their financial capability and literacy. I applaud all of the individuals who completed the program and I hope they use this new found knowledge to open more minority and emerging small businesses in the city of Richmond.” The 10-module training curriculum provides introductory training for small businesses in the basics of organizing and managing a business and prepares entrepreneurs for more advanced training and technical assistance. The modules ar...

~Three-week project focuses on Neighborhood revitalization~ A six-member consulting team commissioned by the worldwide technology services company IBM has concluded a three-week research project in the city of Richmond and is now finalizing an action plan to help Mayor Dwight Jones’ efforts associated with poverty mitigation. The work comes as part of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge, a worldwide initiative to distribute a total of $50 million worth of services and technical assistance to a total of 100 cities through 2013. The Richmond project carries an approximate value of $400,000 at no cost to taxpayers. The City asked IBM to specifically look at ways to enable businesses, citizens, and community leaders to identify, champion and produce economic opportunity in targeted neighborhoods. In sharing the findings, IBM executives acknowledged that the city of Richmond is on track to become a Tier One City through targeted economic, community, and workforce development effo...

The City of Richmond has been awarded an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community-Wide Brownfields Assessment Grants for Petroleum and Hazard Substance Sites. The total award of $400,000 consists of $200,000 designated for Petroleum Sites and $200,000 for Hazardous Substance Sites. The City’s Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) will administer the grant funding. ECD aggressively pursued and obtained this highly competitive grant funding, and is one of 240 grant awardees nationwide. Only 106 of the 240 grant awardees support communities with populations greater than 100,000. This community-wide grant covers costs associated with the completion of Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments for eligible property owners or prospective purchasers of previously used commercial and industrial properties. The grant period begins October 1, 2013 and concludes September 30, 2016.  “This EPA grant will allow the City to continue to promote and encourage ...