Coming soon: The statue and memorial plaza honoring Richmond great Maggie L. Walker at a gateway to the historical African-American section of Downtown known as Jackson Ward.

Capping 18 months of talks, review and discussion, the Richmond Planning Commission sealed the deal Monday by approving the location and design of the memorial plaza in which the statue will stand at the current intersection of Brook Road and Adams and Broad streets to salute the pioneering woman.

Mrs. Walker has long been among the most admired Richmond figures for the role she played. As the leader of a fraternal group, she battled bigotry and other crippling conditions at a time when women, at best, had second class status. Her greatest achievement came in 1903 when she became the first woman to found and lead a bank to take savings and make loans to promote betterment of the African-American community.

Her statue will be the first the city has created to honor a woman and the second statue in Richmond honoring a woman. The first is a tribute to civil rights activist Barbara Johns that the state developed in Capitol Square.

With a unanimous vote, the Planning Commission, which has the final say on public art, cleared the way for the city to spend up to $660,000 in taxpayer funds to develop the plaza where the statue will stand.

The approval of the plaza plan, which assures the project will move forward, is a triumph for Mayor Dwight C. Jones at a time when he is struggling to keep the city’s budget in balance.

Two years ago, he spearheaded the effort to use public funds to make this project happen.

While some critics still question the cost and site, the mayor issued a statement after the voting calling the Planning Commission’s action “gratifying.”

“The vision for the Maggie L. Walker statue and this project has been under discussion for quite some time. ... This is right for our city, our state and our country,” stated Mayor Jones.

He won support from Richmond City Council to make this a city project in 2014, four years after the council had approved a statue

proposal but only if it was supported by private donations.

“I have no words. I am overwhelmed,” said Melvin Jones, a Maggie L. Walker High School alumnus who has lobbied for seven years to secure a statue honoring Mrs. Walker.

Work on the plaza is expected to begin within two months and possibly to be com- pleted by December, city officials said.

Though depicted in white in renderings, the approved design calls for the plaza to be of green granite inset with five darker bands of granite. The plaza is to feature gray granite benches and three trees.

The live oak tree now growing on the site is to be removed, and a short section of Brook Road is to be closed to make room for the 6,600-square-foot plaza, ac- cording to the approved plan.

Among those happy about the vote is the statue’s sculptor, Antonio “Toby” Men- dez of Maryland, who has been involved with the plaza design, along with VBH, a Massachusetts-based firm.

“This vote means we can now move forward to create this memorial to Maggie Walker that will tell her story to future generations. To have a role in this is the best a sculptor can pray for,” he said.

Mr. Mendez said he already is moving on the design of the $300,000 statue he was commissioned to create.

Mr. Mendez said that he expects to complete the 9- to 10-foot clay version

by the end of September and to send the figure to a Baltimore foundry by October for casting into bronze. He said the foundry would have five months to complete the work, but could be done sooner, depending on its scheduled work.

The timing may prevent the statue from being set up on its 40-inch granite pedestal and from being dedicated before Mayor Jones leaves office Dec. 31. Mr. Mendez said the ceremony could be held in March.

Not everyone is happy that the city’s Public Arts Commission has been saddled with the lion’s share of the project’s cost. The commission agreed to pick up the $300,000 cost of the statue. But the com- mission was not notified until earlier this month that, according to a city estimate, it would also have to pay an additional $192,000 for granite items in the plaza that will be inscribed with information about and quotes from Mrs. Walker — a move that will reduce funds it can use to pay for art for other buildings.

The Department of Public Works and the Department of Public Utilities are to pick up the remaining expenses, estimated at about $302,000. The city has indicated that the actual cost of the plaza would run about $494,000, but has included an additional $124,000 for contingencies or unexpected expenses.

Sarah Driggs, a Public Arts Commission member who chaired the site selection committee, expressed support for the plaza, but was dismayed that the Jones administration “ignored and manipulated” the commission process to gain ad-

ditional funds.

Jennie Dotts, a real estate

broker who has supported the statue, but has been outspoken in opposing the site and the loss of the live oak tree, also said the city used an unfair process. She said the statue was supposed to be paid for by private donations in recalling the 2010 council vote, “and now the taxpayers are on the hook.”

However,forGaryFlowers,an- other advocate for the project, the vote to move ahead to create this memorial “is long overdue.”

Another Maggie Walker High School alumnus, J. Maurice Hopkins, also hailed the com- mission’s action, calling the Walker memorial artwork “that will bring the city together.”