- another Westhampton/indie movie theater? I can think of two excellent buildings for that one.
- another Plan 9?
- a doctor’s office?
- a bookstore?
- a bike shop?
- a charter school?
- a plumber/construction business/electrician or any other nearby business that would be convenient for revitalization efforts in the neighborhood?
- or just about anything that will generate street activity during most hours of the day and maintain “eyes on the street.”

There are plenty of places along the 25th St. corridor just begging for attention. I hope the City’s Enterprise Zone program and mixed use designation spur at least some revitalization in that area.

My boyfriend and I also really want a Chanello’s pizza in the neighborhood (seriously). There’s a great building on Jefferson Ave. that would be perfect for it.

Of course, the parking requirements will pretty much destroy the chances for some of those, but one can still hope.

Pinball Arcade / Bar

East End Theatre Rehab (2nd run art house cinema and local film maker workshop that serves pizza and beer)

Bookstore run by Ward Teft

Montessori School (New to the list )

More Community Gardens

Artisan Bakery

Gift shop (similar to Mongrel on Cary St)

Vintage store

Tool Share program (how many variable speed routers does a neighborhood really need?)

Gas lights expanded north of Broad

Repave Marshall and Clay streets

Sidewalks on all blocks

Community pool for year round swimming

Bicycle parking at all local business , schools, and government buildings

More covered bus shelters

Maps of the bus routes actually posted on the backs of the bus stop signs

A well maintained sports playing field

Better use of Chimborazo Park especially the area at the bottom of the hill.

Some of the vacant cinderblock bunkers converted to studio / workshop space

More aggressive program to deal with vacant and blighted buildings

What started changing Edgewater and other Chicago “hoods” is community involvement and the introduction of retail and services that promote walking and mass transit rather than driving…or hid the driving underneath the stores in a tighter footprint. Target, Whole Foods, and other big chain stores are showing up in Chicago as small vertical stores that blend with the local neighborhoods rather than scream “strip mall.” I love that Richmond proper is all about the locals, and I don’t go to the chains if I can help it.

But, let’s be realistic, a great many people cannot afford to shop at Ellwood Thompson’s or Careytown fashion boutiques. I cringe to say this but rehabbing old buildings and lots in downtown and other neighborhoods, with a “local-flavor” Barnes and Noble or Target would do a lot to keep people in the city. (and hinder air pollution and the behemoth concrete jungle that is Short Pump)

We live on the 600th block of North 31st. I’d love a coffee shop and a restaurant/bar within stumbling distance. A movie theatre like The Byrd would be most awesome. A dry cleaner who doesn’t use perc (I have to go to the Far West End). A wine/beer shop would be great, but The Market does have a good selection of Virginia wines and has my favorite Coppola.

For that matter Douglas Wilder was not a resident of Church Hill, he was a resident of Union Hill. And to all the people saying they would like to see the Sunny Market converted, and more places to eat etc… All the places you are mentioning are in Union Hill.

I am a business owner in Shockoe Bottom, and a property owner in Manchester, and multiple properties including my house in Union Hill. Just like you I want to see thea area (Church, Union, Fulton, etc…) to thrive. I think that the people of the community make all the difference on this matter, but it bothers me that the boundaries of Church Hill include other neighborhoods, but then people seem so quick to pass the problems to the next association.

Jim, I am assuming you have my email address. I would love to arrange a time to meet with you, possibly at Captain Buzz’s?, to meet and talk about community involvement both in my neighborhood and yours. I would love to attend the monthly meetings but work Tuesday-Saturday from 9am-11pm. I promise you I am in no way interested in bringing your association down, but I would appreciate the time to discuss the boundaries, future plans, and ask some questions that you might have better answers to.

Back to the original topic, here are some things we’d like to see:
- better neighborhood schools
- quality daycare options
- a community pool!
- improvements to Chimborazo Park (b-ball courts and playground area)
- library expansion/renovation

I get tired of people taking potshots at the hard work of other. Most people I know who talk badly about the CHA either don’t participate, or are angry because some vote didn’t go their way.
Ther are many times I strongly disagree with the vote taken by our membership. But that’s the way the system works.

The Shockoe Bottom Neighborhod Association, I am sure, has done some very good things. They should be proud of what they have accomplished. It is, however, a very different area. It is a highly commercial entertainment district that was in danger of going down the proverbial tubes because of public reactions to some very high profile crimes. The city moved in to help. As I understand some of that “help” (parking restrictions) has put a terrible burden on some of the local businesses.

The CHA is a good organization, made up of good hard-working people, doing good things. If you disagree with what we do, come to a meeting, join up, and voice your disagreement. I do it ALL the time. Then we take of vote, and proceed as the majority rules. If you’re not willing to do that, your comments here are just the empty ramblings of a malcontent.
Jim Daab

The CHA has worked with the Planter Society up here for years to plant trees in tree wells. After hurricane Isabelle, Marion Macdonald and many volunteers canvassed the neighborhood with the city and located tree wells that needed replanting. Many trees were replaced because of this.

This fall the CHA is going to be planting many more trees in the area with the help from the city. This takes time, money are human resources.

Church Hill is a much larger area than Shockoe Bottom and the SBNA also has the business community down there influencing and contributing to your effort. Church Hill doesn’t have that resource.

You got all of that stuff because you’re in a commercial corridor community – not because your association is so awesome. Stop patting yourself on the back! The city just got tired of having to deal with all the stabbings and shootings that go on down there and the business community and the powers that be made the city clean up the area.

You don’t know what you’re talking about.

As for a bench on Jessamine and wherever, that’s Union Hill and they have their own association call the Union hill Civic Association. Maybe you want to have a go at them while you’re at it, or maybe the New Vision Civic League that’s up here as well?

william must have gotten his recreational drugs all mixed up.

“elite” a plastic car made overseas, not to be confused in any manner with the chevy corvette that has a plastic body and real metal inside

Elitism as a pejorative term
The term “elitism” or the title “elitist” can be used resentfully by a person who is not a member of an elite, or is a member but resents the elite position or uses it in a condescending or cynical manner in order to ridicule or criticize practices which discriminate on the basis of ability or attributes. Often, accusing someone of being an “elitist” is used as a pejorative remark meant to imply that the person in question does not in fact belong to an elite, but is merely a hanger-on. Sometimes, particularly in political circles, it is used simply as a generic insult, with little to no literal basis for the term’s use beyond a general animosity towards the target.

bill c. – I know. . . SWIMMING POOL.

SBNA got new lamps, trees, active police duty nightly, foot patrol police in teams of 2 on the weekends, no pan handling ordinances, monthly street cleaning, cameras, and special lights directed at high crime areas.

Why do Franklin St. and Grace St. look so amazing but nowhere else does? You can’t say it’s the owners of those houses only, but I do aknowledge they play a huge role. The CHA needs to have much more police involvement in the area.

Also you can’t say CHA cleaned up crime considering this quote:

According to the Richmond Police Department site, this makes it the fourth robbery in the area in about a week. Here are the other three:

8/4/07 3:45 a.m.
2111 E. Marshall St.
A male said he was assaulted and robbed by an unknown black male.

8/3/07 1:23 a.m.
2411 E. Franklin St.
A male said he was assaulted by an unknown black male who tried to rob him.

7/30/07 2:45 p.m.
500 N. 30th St.
A male said he was robbed by two unknown black males with a gun.

I’ve updated the crime map to show robberies in yellow, to make them more apparent, though that data is always a few days behind.

Posted at 7:17AM under crime, Church Hill

I love the Sunday mornings and the music.

The blueberry waffles this Sunday were top notch. There’s nothing over there to be sorry about. Just don’t go away, plus don’t take half these respondents seriously. STAY as great as you are!!!

Lu Motley

If we want to attract business investment in this area, we have to make the area appealing for a business to see the benefit of locating here. Most businesses that I am familiar with are very image conscious. And rightfully so, a great business image (and product) will attract dollars…

A note to Je…. there were some comparisons made to the menu price of the Hill Cafe compared to Je’s…. Not really a fair comparison… The Hill Cafe has had a long, long history at that location on the Hill. And you can’t deny location, location, location. The Hill Cafe attracts a wide array of folks (lots of downtown workers) from all over the city. History and location are on the side of success. Just a few blocks up the street from MCV. The area surrounding the Cafe is somewhat charming as well. Je’s, on the other hand, is further back into the Hill–lots of non Church Hillers won’t head back there…And the area is not quite so charming–yet. Je’s is doing a fantastic job and the food is outstanding. Located closer into the traditional historic district or along main street–folks would line up for the place. That was the reason for my pricing comment in another post. If you are depending on the few Church Hill residents that can afford your menu…that won’t happen. Most of these folks can’t begin to comprehend how much money you need to generate in order to survive. However, you may need to drive footsteps by lowering the menu price and obviously changing the offering to attract more locals on a regular basis. Folks outside the area are not going to travel into that area in great numbers to keep that cash flowing. Good luck with the business, you’ve done an outstanding job. But, let’s not fool ourselves here–perceptions are tough to overcome.

Have you ever been involved in the CHA? Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. It ain’t perfect, but it contributes greatly to the community through many dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time.

I’ve personally been involved in all the efforts that you say are lacking. I’ve not seen you on a garbage truck at 8:30 am on a Saturday cleaning the streets. I haven’t seen you involved in tree planting. Does your neighborhood have an active Block Captain program?

The last thing we need here is a turf war situation. We’re all trying to make our neighborhoods better places. Neighborhood Association bashing is just silly.

Please stop the petty bickering and appreciate the many wonderful residents who dedicate their time and energy to improving our community.

Any development in Church Hill should be less about convienence and more the improvement to the community. Let the burb dwellers have thier behemoth chain stores.

Je,
You are doing a fantastic job. I don’t frequent your place often enough. That space is best served with what you are doing and I wouldn’t change a thing.

That’s a great idea… just what we need more stray animals…

But I disagree that everyone leaves the city after 5 o’clock. I do almost all of my shopping within the city, and I have to support a family of five on a tight budget. And, since I don’t get off of work until 5:30, I shop exclusively after five. Around Christmas, I travel outside the city to shop at larger chain stores.

Frankly I love this place no matter what comes. It’s my home.

I’m still wondering why Animal Control is parked in Libby HIll this week? That’s another subject. What would you like to see leave the Hill? ANIMAL CONTROL!!!!

Lu Motley

I’ve been 5 years during which time retail establishments like The Market, CVS, the Video Store on Main, StylEZ, Jumpin’ Js, Capt. Buzzy, the Drycleaner on 25th, Fergusons, Settes, Sensi, and Accapella all opened.

More will follow as the community continue to revive but it all doesn’t happen with a snap of the finger.

The city doesn’t open small businesses, entrepeneurs do. A small business isn’t going to open in a neighborhood before it has enough potential customers to support itself. If you want to have niche businesses like the ones that have been mentioned in these comments, work to make your neighborhood appealing to those businesses and wait.

It sounds like a lot of people here are complaining that Church Hill isn’t enough like the Fan. One thing you need to keep in mind is that the Fan has been the kind of neighborhood you want (or on its way to it) for decades. You aren’t going to end up with Thai restaurants and organic produce markets overnight.

Hoping to see a specialty shop come around that’s only going to serve less than 1/12 of the Hill’s population is a pipe dream. It’s just not good business. I’d rather drive 10 minutes than see some poor guy lose his shirt trying to appeal to a handful of residents.

BTW, I’m sure if enough people took the time to write to Supervalu and the manager of our Main Street store then it’s likely you’d see more of the things you want to buy like organic produce and small label beers. They could be stocking the store based on an old sampling of the area’s demographic and need a shove to reevaluate things.

If you look at J’s menu, there are many small dishes that are more than enough for most of us and they run around $6-9. The entrees are around $13-21, very similar to the Hill Cafe and the Hill is packed a lot of the week.

The wine list is also similar to the Hill, and very good. Plus, Je has an outdoor area that is empty a good deal of the time.

If you are complaining about J’s or other joints in CH, then how do you expect any other similar, or even cheaper business to thrive up here.

We’re lucky to have what we have. Quit complaining and start patronizing what we have instead of wishing for something that we don’t have.

“I, for one DO NOT want a Target, or anything like that. I moved here to get away from strip-mall suburbia. If I really need to go to Target or Walmart or anything like that, I can go to Mechanicsville. I much rather have small, unique, and practical shopping here.”

It’s completely uninformed to believe that a Target or B&N automatically means “strip-mall suburbia”. There’s a fantastic B&N in the heart of Georgetown, and I’ve seen them (as well as Targets) smack dab in the middle of other thriving metropolises: San Francisco, Toronto (Chapters), New York, Chicago. If you want to live in the city, then let’s live in the city. Right now, Church Hill seems more like suburbia than the West End. They certainly have a better mix of housing and retail than we do.

Why do you think people abandon Richmond after 5pm Monday through Friday? *Because these stores aren’t available.*

This is also why we find ourselves having to drive to the West End just to shop for necessities.

Some other naive soul said:

“A Target/Barnes & Noble would be disastrous to the community!!”

How? Maybe more people would want to live here in some of these run down houses if there were actually places where people *WANTED TO SHOP* nearby.

Despite the debate, Ukrops is a premiere business model for the grocery store industry. Companies from all over the country come into Richmond to study Ukrops customer service, marketing and product development.

The Market is better now that Farm Fresh owns it, but it ain’t Ukrops.

Although I wish that Ukrops sold booze.

Ukrops bought the Community Pride store downtown from Johnson–only because of the new Kroger, the changes brought on by VCU and the proximity to the Fan. No retailer wants to give up all of their market share. If you have ever shopped at that Ukrops store, you will notice–it’s a dump and the food selection is not great either. Ukrop has stated that their are no plans to renovate that location. That should tell you where the Ukrop commitment is to the inner city. That store has just about the same customer-base shopping there as does the Market. No mistakes here.

As one poster accurately mentioned, this area does not have “critical mass” of the demographic necessary to support these businesses. That, and that alone, is the reason why The Market’s assortment of food offerings is disappointing to a high-end consumer. The Market has to stock what they will sell in quantity in order to survive. So, for those of you looking for organics and gourmet style prepared foods…. you have to keep driving to the West End for a while.

Another astute poster referenced the lack of traffic at J’s on a Saturday night… the menu price is too high for this area at this time. If they want to continue a successful business, the menu has to change to a more moderately priced offering in order to draw footsteps. Church Hill cannot command Fan prices because it does not have that many affluent households.