Missing the Mark on the Boulevard

At first glance, today's article on the City of Richmond's plans for the development of the huge swath of city-owned land along the Boulevard near the Diamond is promising. The city isn't rushing all willy-nilly into this project, not at all. In fact, Deputy Chief Administrator Harry Black is going to have a developer in place by January to develop a $150 million-plus commercial strip.

Urban Richmond nails the problem with Black's rosy picture of the future:

Back in March, I was pontificating on the redevelopment of this corridor, and I wrote:

With all this interest in the under-utilized Boulevard corridor, the question remains whether development of the neighborhood will happen haphazardly; preferences given to any developer, school, or interest-group who has money. Or will the city develop a new master plan for the area, guiding and facilitating the transformation of the neighborhood into a coherent, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use place to live, work and play?

I guess we have an answer- our elected and unelected politicians are going to choose a corporate developer to remake the Boulevard.  I was hoping for another charette, or perhaps a simple town meeting or two. Maybe that’s still possible, but if this process works in a typical fashion, the public will be responding to, rather than creating, a proposal.

The chosen developer will also be creating proposals for 6th St. Marketplace as well as, enigmatically, “one other part of the city.”

Note to the Department of Community Development: Remember the value of community involvement?

The city-owned land sitting along the Boulevard and Hermitage corridor is important for a number of reasons. It's a large, relatively connected swath. It's a gateway to the city from the north and the west. It has the potential to be a hub connecting the Bellevue/Ginter Park/Lakeside communities to the north and east; Scott's Addition to the west; the Fan to the south; and the long-disconnected communities of Battery Park and Highland Park to the east.

What an amazing opportunity to bring together the residents of those communities -- along with stakeholders like the Richmond Braves, Richmond Sports Backers, Virginia Union and VCU, Poseidon Swimming Foundation, the SPCA, Greyhound and the businesses along the Boulevard corridors -- to the table to create an aggressive and creative (and shared) vision for the future of this geographic diamong-in-the-rough.

From the sounds of it, Black is preparing to skip the inclusive step altogether:

Richmond plans to hire a consultant next month to run a nationwide search for developers to transform the park and surrounding area along the Boulevard, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Harry E. Black said yesterday.

The city hopes a developer will be in place by January, with plans on what to build and how to pay for it, Black said. That, however, would be an aggressive timeline, he added.

"It wouldn't really make sense," he said, for the Braves to go ahead separately with plans for a new facility until a Boulevard developer is in place.

"I feel good that we're approaching it the right way."

[snip]

Mayor L. Douglas Wilder is seeking a large development for the Boulevard, anchored by sports and entertainment facilities, Black said. That could include a hotel, shopping and other sports facilities, as well as parking for large numbers of cars.

Black said the city hopes to pick from one of six consultants to start the process by the end of next month. That consultant would prepare formal requests for developers to come in with detailed plans for the Boulevard, the 6th Street Marketplace and likely one other part of the city.

Maybe they can build a Wal-Mart. That would do wonders as a symbolic message for Richmonders -- who are apparently represented by a government more interested in dollar signs than quality.