The Richmond Coliseum is one of the city-owned properties that the Planning Commission recommended City Council deem as surplus land. (Photo by Rodrigo Arriaza)
The Navy Hill project took a step forward Wednesday when Richmond Planning Commission unanimously signed off on six ordinances related to handing off city-owned properties across 10 downtown blocks to NH District Corp., the project’s developer.
The commission recommended that Richmond City Council deem the properties as surplus land to either be transferred to the city’s Economic Development Authority, or to be sold to NH District Corp. (NHDC). Commission members called the recommendations a preliminary step in the approval process for the $1.5 billion redevelopment proposal. The commission's recommendations will be passed on to City Council for final consideration.
Properties on the list include the Richmond Coliseum, which would be given to the city’s Economic Development Authority and then leased to NHDC, as well as the city’s Public Safety Building at 500 N. 10th St., parking lots and garages on East Clay, East Grace, East Broad and North Seventh streets.
"It's not just about selling and surplus-ing the properties; it's about the use," said Jennifer Mullen, a commercial real estate attorney who spoke at the meeting on behalf of NHDC. "It's about what we are doing and how that benefits the city."
The developer also would purchase property around city-owned garages on North Seventh and East Marshall streets, but the facilities would stay under the city’s purview, according to a report prepared for the commission by city staff. The purchase price for the city-owned parcels identified as part of the Navy Hill project was set at $15.8 million through negotiations between the city and the developer.
"Without the actual surplus-ing and conveying of properties that are identified in the ordinance, we do not have the foundation to even consider the rest of this bill," Ellen Robertson, the Planning Commission's City Council representative, said before the commission unanimously approved the changes. “This is a critical step, and I strongly strongly support us moving forward in making an affirmative recommendation to council to support the ordinances.”
Other ordinances OK’d by the Planning Commission would allow NHDC to reconfigure the street grid and public right-of-ways around the planned development area, as well as zoning changes to expand the city's Coliseum Mall district to encompass the entire Navy Hill redevelopment area.
