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 Rosie’s Gaming

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 of these

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 build on

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 Stoney. “Fortuna

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 Virginia Bio+

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 continuing its evaluation o

  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 acknowledgement of the cemetery.