Development underway in Church Hill // The $30 million Church Hill North complex, which includes a new supermarket, continues to take shape at the intersection of Fairmount Avenue, 24th and 25th streets, and Nine Mile Road in Church Hill.
Richmond area business and philanthropic leaders Steve and Kathy Markel are undertaking the development, which also is to include 54 apartments, a Virginia Commonwealth University health and wellness center and J. Sargeant Reynolds’ new culinary institute for training restaurant chefs and a restaurant.
Much of the focus is on the new grocery store, which will be opening in the coming months. The store’s arrival could ease the anxiety of area residents who are facing the loss of another principle food store, a Farm Fresh-owned supermarket at 2320 E. Main St., now set to close May 14.
While the new development has been welcomed, there also has been criticism from advocates for black-owned businesses. According to Earl Bradley, a developer and business consultant, the Markels have failed to ensure that African-American-owned contractors participated in the project. The Markels have yet to make public any information on whether the development has created any employment opportunities for people who live near the store, a section of Richmond in which joblessness runs at least three times higher than the city as a whole.
