The agenda for the June 26 City Council meeting includes a few specifically local items.
The first transfers money to RRHA towards the grocery store project, and notably pushes the target completion date from December 2017 to “no later that December 31, 2021”:
ORD. 2017-115 To authorize the Chief Administrative Officer, for and on behalf of the City of Richmond, to execute the First Amendment to Grant Contract between the City of Richmond, Virginia, and the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, to make a grant of $500,000 to the Authority for the purpose of allowing additional time for the construction of a full-service grocery store at the intersection of North 25th Street and Nine Mile Road in the city of Richmond.
The 2nd provides money to purchase the East Lawn Shopping Center on Nine Mile Road as part of the redevelopment of that whole area:
ORD. 2017-111 To amend Ord. No. 2016-053, adopted May 13, 2016, which adopted a General Fund Budget for Fiscal Year 2016-2017 and made appropriations pursuant thereto, to transfer funds in the amount of $200,000.00 from the Department of Economic and Community Development agency and to appropriate this $200,000.00 to the RRHA for East End Transformation line item in the Non-Departmental agency for the purpose of the acquisition and redevelopment of a property located at 1815 North 30th Street.
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So the “target date” for the new grocery store is pushed back 4 years to the end of 2021?
If you think about it, I guess, that really means nothing since it’s just a “target” which means it could conceivably be built before 2021 or even after 2021 since the “target date” could be moved further into the future yet again.
FOUR MORE YEARS? WHY? I thought this was nearly a done deal. Why are they pushing back the completion date? Anyone have any clue, including John Murden?
4 year extension on completion date???? That’s a LONG time, wow. Was looking forward to this being completed in a timely fashion.
The grocery store landscape is changing rapidly. I wouldn’t expect this store coming to fruition. This is not the time for small independents especially in an over-stored market like Richmond. Lidl and Aldi are game changers for the market and expanding rapidly. Whole Foods being snapped up by Amazon will step up the pace of grocery home delivery and make pricing competitive. Kroger is reigning in expansion plans, under-performing comp sales. WalMart will not sit idly by and watch their sales erode. Pricing will get very sharp or their will be no survival; not to mention they have a new supercenter down the street. Some grocers in Richmond will fail. An independent cannot compete in this environment-especially catering to a down-market. The first sign is Martins…the stores that Publix did not buy will simply go dark.
What–what?
Is this the Markel development?
Wondering if this is actually going to happen in my lifetime.
From a [then] Councilperson Delores McQuinn Town Hall meeting in *2006*:
That stinks.
Can anyone shed light on what IS scheduled to go up (or down) next? Is there a timeline?
It seems that demolition is complete @old Armstrong, and that no one is lined up to work on that section of the ‘plan’
The announcement in May 2016 by Jones and Newbille not too long before last council election pretty well assured results of the 2016 election for the 7th district…who could have run and won against a candidate who proclaimed the coming of the store because she had heard the community asking for it: “I have heard members of the community asking for a full-service grocery store in this area,” said Councilperson Newbille. “And that is what is being proposed for the East End community. Further, we will be going to the community together with the developer to talk about how this project will look, the services that will be provided, employment opportunities, and other ways that it can enhance the neighborhood.” (https://chpn.net/2016/05/17/zoning-application-made-for-new-grocery-store-on-25th-street/)
A Walmart on Mine Mile Road less than 3 miles from the proposed location for the above market is announcing it will be open for business on July 19, 2017: https://www.walmart.com/store/7032
And as announced in May, 2017, is hiring 300 people: http://wric.com/2017/05/27/walmart-to-hire-300-associates-for-new-henrico-county-location/
Seems that Jim’s is struggling to make a go of things in Hampton Roads hence being non-committal as operator. Were there any other outfits in play as potential operators?
@HW – I’d heard at one time that the project was not dependent on having Scanlon as the operator
If I were to place a bet, I’d bank on an Aldi landing closer to this neck of the woods. I would bet against Nine Mile for that location; traffic counts would have to be far higher for that to happen. Somewhere near Broad and Shockoe/ or White Oak area would be ideal. Don’t look for independents to be opening anything in the short or long term…they would be insane. With big boys like Food Lion, Kroger, and Target running scared, now is not the time. Kroger on Laburnum is as good as gone.
Four years? 🙁
HW and John M- I don’t believe the store is dependent on having Jim. But I imagine not having Jim is part of the delay. Need an operator to move forward. Id be surprised if the delay is anywhere near as late as end of 2021 though.
This was presented to the community like it was a done deal. Residents are losing confidence in leadership daily…
http://www.richmond.com/local/city-of-richmond/article_dff12fbe-dcff-5935-ba83-d2b47fc87773.html
I’m not suggesting the funding is dependent on Jim’s, but the project is to a degree. There simply aren’t a ton of independent grocery operators. The site as planned is too small for an Aldi. Lidl already has plans for Wiliamsburg road. Given that the grocery is an anchor i assume the project either gets reimagined without the grocery or perhaps it becomes something much smaller like Chimbo mart.
Personally I wouldn’t like to open a local grocery store with margins now approaching zero. My suggestion is a free shuttle bus every half hour either to White Oak or the Lidl coming on Laburnum.
the reading of the ordinance tells the story. the city gives rrha $500,000 to finish the project late, reinforcing bad behavior.