Urban One’s proposed casino and resort just off Interstate 95. (BizSense file)
Casino-related tax items, Richmond 300 amendments on City Council agenda
The Richmond City Council meets Monday starting with a budget workshop at 1 p.m. and an informal session at 4 p.m.
Business on the 6 p.m. regular meeting agenda includes a resolution supporting a 2-cent reduction of the city’s real estate tax rate should a second voter referendum on the One Casino + Resort project pass, and designating funds for public schools and infrastructure projects.
A separate resolution would appropriate one-third of revenues from the casino project to a reserve fund for schools, to supplant an anticipated $7.2 million decrease in state funding.
Other business includes a request by a majority of councilmembers to make amendments to the Richmond 300 master plan. The changes would identify the city’s subsidized housing communities – Creighton Court, Fairfield Court, Gilpin Court, Hillside Court, Mosby Court North and South, and Whitcomb Court – as priority growth nodes in the plan.
Items on the consent agenda include requests from Canterbury Enterprises to adjust the number of homes it’s planning for two developments in the Southside. It’s now proposing 73 townhomes, up from 65, on 7 acres at 5315 and 5323 Warwick Road and 5300 Rear Hull Street Road. And it’s now planning 34 townhomes, instead of 36, on 6 acres at 2525, 2613 and 2701 Belt Blvd.
Also on the consent agenda is Urban Generation Living’s request for a special-use permit for the 26-unit condo development it’s planning at 417-419 Libbie Ave.
VUU tower signage vote deferred another three months
At its meeting last week, the Richmond Planning Commission once again deferred a special-use request from Virginia Union University to allow its “VUU” signage to remain on its campus belltower. The illuminated signs were placed without required city and state approvals, and an agreement between the university and the state was in the works when the request was initially deferred last fall.
The case was deferred to the June 6 meeting, by which time Chairman Rodney Poole said he expects an agreement to be finalized between VUU, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the state attorney general’s office. Poole said this deferral would be the last on the matter and that the commission would hold a vote at that meeting either way.
RRHA board names Fahrenheit Advisors director as new interim CEO
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners appointed Sheila Hill-Christian as the agency’s interim CEO effective April 1. She replaces Stacey Daniels-Fayson, who has served in the role since June 2020 and will return to the agency’s finance division as vice president of finance. The board also said it will carry out the search for RRHA’s next CEO over the next several months.
Hill-Christian is a former executive director of RRHA. She led the agency through a strategic planning process while working toward completion of development projects. She is currently managing director of Fahrenheit Advisors, a local consulting and advisory firm.
Raceway exec to lead new Henrico sports and entertainment authority
Dennis Bickmeier
Henrico County appointed Dennis Bickmeier to lead a new authority that will oversee the county’s sports tourism program and manage its private-public facilities, including an indoor events center under construction at Virginia Center Commons.
Bickmeier has served as president of Richmond Raceway since 2011, overseeing the 1,100-acre motorsports and entertainment complex that hosts two NASCAR race weekends and more than 200 concerts and other events per year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in sports administration and facility management from Ohio University.
Bickmeier also serves on the boards of directors for Richmond Region Tourism, Henrico Education Foundation and Henrico Police Athletic League. He is active with the Retail Merchants Association, ChamberRVA and the Henrico Career & Technical Center.
Powhatan supervisors to consider new inn, restaurant
The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet Monday. Full agenda here.
For the board’s consideration is a request by Roberta Hudson for a conditional-use permit that, if approved, would allow for a “country inn,” a use designation in Powhatan’s zoning ordinance for a small-scale hospitality business.
Hudson would like to turn the four-bedroom farmhouse on a 132-acre property at 2521 Huguenot Springs Road, which is near the intersection of Huguenot Springs and Manakin roads, into a small inn. The applicant also wants to turn an existing structure on the property into a tea house.
A country inn, as defined in the county’s zoning ordinance, offers overnight accommodations in one or more buildings with up to 20 rooms and may include a full-service restaurant and several accessory uses. The owner may or may not live on the property.
Also on the board’s docket is a rezoning application that if approved would allow for the opening of a restaurant.
DJM Ventures Inc., an entity tied to Mark and Susan Ferreri, wants to operate a restaurant in an existing building at 2125 Anderson Highway, a 1.3-acre property across the street from South Creek shopping center.
Urban One’s proposed casino and resort just off Interstate 95. (BizSense file)
Casino-related tax items, Richmond 300 amendments on City Council agenda
The Richmond City Council meets Monday starting with a budget workshop at 1 p.m. and an informal session at 4 p.m.
Business on the 6 p.m. regular meeting agenda includes a resolution supporting a 2-cent reduction of the city’s real estate tax rate should a second voter referendum on the One Casino + Resort project pass, and designating funds for public schools and infrastructure projects.
A separate resolution would appropriate one-third of revenues from the casino project to a reserve fund for schools, to supplant an anticipated $7.2 million decrease in state funding.
Other business includes a request by a majority of councilmembers to make amendments to the Richmond 300 master plan. The changes would identify the city’s subsidized housing communities – Creighton Court, Fairfield Court, Gilpin Court, Hillside Court, Mosby Court North and South, and Whitcomb Court – as priority growth nodes in the plan.
Items on the consent agenda include requests from Canterbury Enterprises to adjust the number of homes it’s planning for two developments in the Southside. It’s now proposing 73 townhomes, up from 65, on 7 acres at 5315 and 5323 Warwick Road and 5300 Rear Hull Street Road. And it’s now planning 34 townhomes, instead of 36, on 6 acres at 2525, 2613 and 2701 Belt Blvd.
Also on the consent agenda is Urban Generation Living’s request for a special-use permit for the 26-unit condo development it’s planning at 417-419 Libbie Ave.
VUU tower signage vote deferred another three months
At its meeting last week, the Richmond Planning Commission once again deferred a special-use request from Virginia Union University to allow its “VUU” signage to remain on its campus belltower. The illuminated signs were placed without required city and state approvals, and an agreement between the university and the state was in the works when the request was initially deferred last fall.
The case was deferred to the June 6 meeting, by which time Chairman Rodney Poole said he expects an agreement to be finalized between VUU, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the state attorney general’s office. Poole said this deferral would be the last on the matter and that the commission would hold a vote at that meeting either way.
RRHA board names Fahrenheit Advisors director as new interim CEO
The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners appointed Sheila Hill-Christian as the agency’s interim CEO effective April 1. She replaces Stacey Daniels-Fayson, who has served in the role since June 2020 and will return to the agency’s finance division as vice president of finance. The board also said it will carry out the search for RRHA’s next CEO over the next several months.
Hill-Christian is a former executive director of RRHA. She led the agency through a strategic planning process while working toward completion of development projects. She is currently managing director of Fahrenheit Advisors, a local consulting and advisory firm.
Raceway exec to lead new Henrico sports and entertainment authority
Dennis Bickmeier
Henrico County appointed Dennis Bickmeier to lead a new authority that will oversee the county’s sports tourism program and manage its private-public facilities, including an indoor events center under construction at Virginia Center Commons.
Bickmeier has served as president of Richmond Raceway since 2011, overseeing the 1,100-acre motorsports and entertainment complex that hosts two NASCAR race weekends and more than 200 concerts and other events per year. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in sports administration and facility management from Ohio University.
Bickmeier also serves on the boards of directors for Richmond Region Tourism, Henrico Education Foundation and Henrico Police Athletic League. He is active with the Retail Merchants Association, ChamberRVA and the Henrico Career & Technical Center.
Powhatan supervisors to consider new inn, restaurant
The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet Monday. Full agenda here.
For the board’s consideration is a request by Roberta Hudson for a conditional-use permit that, if approved, would allow for a “country inn,” a use designation in Powhatan’s zoning ordinance for a small-scale hospitality business.
Hudson would like to turn the four-bedroom farmhouse on a 132-acre property at 2521 Huguenot Springs Road, which is near the intersection of Huguenot Springs and Manakin roads, into a small inn. The applicant also wants to turn an existing structure on the property into a tea house.
A country inn, as defined in the county’s zoning ordinance, offers overnight accommodations in one or more buildings with up to 20 rooms and may include a full-service restaurant and several accessory uses. The owner may or may not live on the property.
Also on the board’s docket is a rezoning application that if approved would allow for the opening of a restaurant.
DJM Ventures Inc., an entity tied to Mark and Susan Ferreri, wants to operate a restaurant in an existing building at 2125 Anderson Highway, a 1.3-acre property across the street from South Creek shopping center.