December 8, 2009
Vacant properties deter Richmond redevelopment
Taking the Richmond Vacant Property Registry as a starting point, student journalist Maureen Link has pulled together a look at the impact of the high rate of vacant properties in the area:
“It’s not the urban issues that keep people away so much as the fabric is really destroyed in a lot of ways,” [he says]. “Sure people have the right to own property as a profit making venture but this is a community where people live. We’d have more kids in schools, more people buying stuff from our stores, restaurants…everything it would be better in every way if not for all these vacant properties.”
The story includes a devastating map of all of the properties on the Richmond Vacant Property Registry.
23 Responses to “Vacant properties deter Richmond redevelopment”
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The best proven method of encouraging owners of neglected properties to sell or fix is to report them each and every time for anything that is not permitted. Weeds (incuding front walkways and tree wells), Snow accumulation, trash, peeling lead paint, etc.
Yes !!!
John
Be aware that more code vigilence can have unintended consequences- i.e. more code violations against actual resident/homeowners who may not always be able to take care of them. The City does not discriminate about who they hand violations to. In fact, I sometimes wonder if they find it more convenient to go after residents.
I am not saying you should not report code violations, but make sure your intentions are clear, front and center- going after absentee landlords.
Keep talking and working with your neighbors, regardless.
I reiterate the concept of ‘landlord licenses’ for the City of Richmond, especially since so much of the population is college kids. Landlords pay a small license fee to the City. If there are repeated problems and code violations with property or tenants, the landlord’s license can be pulled and they lose the ability to rent the property, at least for a time period.
This has been done in other college cities like Gainesville, Fl. Of course, our City Council is so bought out by developers that it will be difficult to pass here.
great article!!
it is quite important to remember the difference between vacant and condemned i guess.
i feel bad for the condemned ones.
Would be interesting to see if there’s any correlation between crime rates and the percentage of vacant property in a neighborhood.
RE #3 – Community vigilance > increased government regulation and interference.
Any day of the week.
Nice article, and awesome spotlighting on the continued opportunity for improvement.
There is one house on my block not on the list. it’s been vacant for 2 years now. Another is on the next street over owned by Bayou… been vacant for years.
I would think vacant properties would usher in development, at least golden opportunities to renovate and bring a lot of the houses back into being someone’s home.
Great article. It’s frustrating to read about these dead beat owners/investors. Is a shame there are not more stringent regulations in place. Am wondering if there are any viable forms of protest such as picketing at Ms. Martin’s place of business?
Maybe someone (read: everyone) should leave messages on her cell and at work, encouraging her to sell?
From the Hermitage Realty site:
Stacy Martin
Office (804) 285-1180 ext. 102
Cellular (804) 855-4451
Email: hrstacymartin@aol.com
Darn-they are getting closer!
I find it ironic that on this thread you’ve got vacant properties being a problem and on another, a builder is being harassed for wanting to build. Maybe if there were a friendlier environment for building we’d see some change.
#3 it wouldn’t pass in Richmond because it is restricted by state law, not because the city is “bought out by developers.” A lot of the issues that are difficult to deal stem from restrictions at the state level. Not to say diligence at the local level can’t help but many of these “simple solutions” that may work in other cities are prohibited in Virginia.
Ramzi – Let’s not forget the raking over the coals the poor women who built the blue house on the 500 block of 28th St had to indure. It was stunning!
I understand that there is a new State Delegate who was on City Council, from Church Hill…
This trap of saying nothing can happen because of state law is bogus.
#11 Ramzi – I couldn’t possibly agree more… In a crippling effort to resist change, it often times feels like Richmonders are aiming to preserve blight, as ridiculous as that sounds.
The argument of “we’re not opposed to change and development we just want it to be responsbile and consistent with the fabric of the neighborhood” has become beyond tiresome…..well, at least for me it has….
#14 If you think dealing with state law in Va is bogus you clearly do not understand the workings of government in Virginia. Virginia is a Dillon Rule state. We have a sitting governor who was on Richmond city council and mayor. No one says nothing can happen, things happen at a very slow pace. It is not as easy as saying “they do it in Gainesville, Fla” thus legislation should be enacted. Gainesville, Fla can enact an ordinance locally to fit their need. Richmond cannot arbitrarily empower itself with an ordinance without authority from the state.
Great map, but I can think of 2 properties off the top of my head on East Franklin not listed, and I bet there are more.
Item 14 on this list – We purchased this in foreclosure last Oct. and began construction immediately. It took almost 8 months to restore. We have had a lovely, very involved addition to the neighborhood living in the house since June. How this house got on this list is a mystery to me. So, before we attack, maybe we should see that the info. is correct. I do agree with all being said about vacancy and blight. It’s a complicated issue that now involved banks not wanting to go into these areas.
It’s not ‘vacant properties’ that deter Richmond redevelopment. It’s ‘vacant properties that people won’t sell’ that deter Richmond redevelopment. I’ve bought and ‘redeveloped’ (renovated) three vacant properties. (It’s much more difficult to renovate a non-vacant property, though some of us do that too.) But for some reason, some people who own properties leave them vacant and ‘melting’ into the lots on which they sit.
“No one says nothing can happen, things happen at a very slow pace.”
Right. So where are your elected officials on this? Slow pace is better than no pace and the Dillon Rule can’t always be the excuse.
If no one brings it up, it will never happen.
re post#9. hey you idiot if you dont have the cojones to post under your real name why would you out somebody? at some point murden you have to make a choice about allowing anonymous numbnuts to write nasty shit about other folks without offering equal time to the victims of these mystery hysterical preservationists. for conversation ,pseudonymwork just fine. to publish someones info just to gratify the nasty urges of some gutless wanker is a little concerning. is it ok to use shitty tactics if you are a hysterical preservationist? all this crap about neighborliness is a little hilarious when you realize it all goes out the window when the chance to act shitty presents itself with no risk of retaliation.dan you are truly a special kind of turd.buddycorbett
The info that Dan posted is publicly available. Google for the Hermitage website, it is on their contact info page.
[...] property owner signs and returns the Graffiti Removal Release of Liability (PDF). This long-time vacant house and the empty lot next door, however, are both owned by an absentee landlord out of Stafford, [...]