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Gray still questions cost of taking statues down
City Councilwoman Kim B. Gray, who is challenging Mayor Levar M. Stoney for the city’s top elected job, said this week that the Associated Press interview with contractor Devon Henry has not changed her view that an investigation is needed into the $1.8 million contract he received to remove the city’s Confederate statues from Monument Avenue and other public property in early July.
New police precinct building set for East End
A new First Police Precinct will be built on the parking lot of the Richmond City Justice Center in the 6th Council District, according to information shared with City Council this week.
$200M loss spurs City Council to revise real estate tax abatement program
For at least two decades, Richmond has primed the redevelopment pump by allowing individuals and companies that improve aging houses, apartment buildings and commercial properties to pay reduced property taxes over 10 years without any restrictions.
Arthur Ashe Center agreement reached
A potential roadblock for the projected $2.4 billion Diamond District development appears to have been cleared, the Free Press has learned, though questions remain on other aspects.
Fight over Richmond Christian Center property on South Side continues
Henrico County-based Mountain of Blessings Christian Center still wants to acquire the property of the bankrupt Richmond Christian Center in South Richmond. In a suit filed this month, Mountain of Blessings is requesting that U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Keith L. Phillips either enforce an order he signed in December authorizing Mountain of Blessing’s purchase of the RCC property in the 200 block of Cowardin Avenue or order RCC to pay Mountain of Blessings at least $2.7 million in damages.
Work to begin in Jackson Ward on Fay Towers replacement
Heavy machinery will soon start moving into a block of Jackson Ward where 154 apartments are to rise over the next year or so, according to Orlando C. Artze, interim director of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
Richmond barber helping rebuild lives, homes in Haiti
Kenneth Barney makes his living cutting hair. But in his spare time, the longtime Richmond barber is on a mission to build solid, safe houses in a community in Haiti where thousands make their homes in tiny ramshackle spaces.
Richmond Christian Center to be sold
Will it remain a church, but under a different name? Or will it be sold for development? These questions will soon be answered about the property in the 200 block of Cowardin Avenue in South Side where the Richmond Christian Center has made its home for 32 years.
VUU’s tower sign stays; scooter rentals advance
Virginia Union University can keep its logo shining at night from the top of a historic 60- foot tower on its campus.
Study estimates slavery museum would cost up to $220M
A hefty price tag would be attached to creating a national slavery museum on the site of the “Devil’s Half Aacre,” a once notorious slave jail that Richmonder Robert Lumpkin operated before the Civil War and that later became the birthplace of Virginia Union University.
Explanations sought on City Council's consulting contract cost
When a divided Richmond City Council voted 5-4 on Dec. 9 to proceed with hiring C.H. Johnson Consulting to review the $1.5 billion Richmond Coliseum replacement plan, most members had no idea that the company’s bid had come in 13 percent higher than the amount council had approved to pay a consultant.
Despite efforts, bank branch in Highland Park to close March 21
Bank of America is not backing down on its decision to close its Highland Park branch on Tuesday, March 21, according to Richmond City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson.
Federal commission approved for 400th commemoration of Africans, African-Americans in U.S.
In late August 1619, a storm-tossed English warship flying a Dutch flag stopped at one of the earliest English settlements in Virginia and changed the future of America and the world.
Sewer system upgrades may result in bills tripling for city customers
Richmond faces many challenges, but one of the biggest and most expensive lies underground in the sewer system.
Bus Rapid Transit would cost $3.6M annually to operate
GRTC would need a larger city subsidy to keep the proposed Bus Rapid Transit service called Pulse in operation, but perhaps not as big as some critics have suggested, according to the company. In a report released Sunday, Greater Richmond Transit Co. estimates that Richmond taxpayers would need to provide between $345,000 to $775,000 a year to cover the city’s share of BRT operations. The actual amount depends on whether BRT is a hit with commuters and attracts additional daily riders.
Mayor heading strongly into his second term
Mayor Levar M. Stoney sees bright prospects ahead for Richmond if COVID-19 can be defeated quickly.
City Council poised to approve $838.7M general fund budget for 2022-23
Major salary increases for police officers and firefighters, along with a 5 percent increase for other city employees and a city minimum wage of $17 an hour.
Enrichmond Foundation now owns East End Cemetery
Twenty months after buying historic Evergreen Cemetery with state assistance, a city-created charity has taken ownership of a second neighboring African-American burial ground, East End Cemetery.
City demands East End church pay delinquent taxes
Nearly 30 years ago, Mount Olivet Church went on a buying spree and acquired 12 properties adjacent to the church in the 1200 block of North 25th Street in the East End.
