Note: This story has been updated with comments from Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders received after publication.
Leonard Sledge
Richmond’s economic development director for the past five years is on his way out, multiple sources tell BizSense.
Leonard Sledge, who has led the economic development department since 2019, has informed the city he will be leaving in the coming months for a job with another locality.
Sledge did not respond to requests for comment, but multiple sources with knowledge of his plans confirmed that Sledge had let it be known that he would be stepping down in June.
Lincoln Saunders, Richmond’s chief administrative officer, said Wednesday that Sledge had informed him of his decision and described his departure as a loss for the city.
“We appreciate Leonard and he’s done incredible work. He has truly been a right-hand person for the mayor, myself, for council, supporting a lot of important projects for the city,” Saunders said.
“I think his record of delivering on some major economic successes, like the CoStar headquarters, and the amount of growth in the city, his leadership of the EDA and the city moving to a place where the EDA is a trusted partner, he’s just done so much and we are truly going to miss him.”
Since his hire in June 2019, Sledge has led Richmond’s department in several high-profile development efforts, from the Diamond District project that’s currently in the works to the post-Navy Hill positioning of surplus properties and subsequent City Center solicitation.
He also managed the solicitation for the twice-attempted casino project in South Richmond, played a central role in negotiations on the under-construction Riverfront Amphitheater and with VCU Health and other parties involved in the planned Public Safety Building redevelopment that was ultimately aborted.
Sledge at a Diamond District event in 2022. (BizSense file photo)
Sledge was noticeably absent in recent meetings about the Diamond District, a project he typically has been the speaker on in presentations to City Council. Monday’s update to council about a change in approach to the project’s financing was handled by Sledge’s boss, Sharon Ebert, deputy chief administrative officer for economic and community development.
It’s unclear what impact Sledge’s departure will have on the Diamond District or on City Center, the latter of which has been in apparent limbo since developers vying for the Coliseum-area redevelopment were asked last year to amp up their proposals.
Saunders said Sledge’s departure will be felt on those projects but described them as team efforts that would continue with other senior-level staff. He said Sledge providing the city with advance notice of his move will help in lining up an interim replacement and ensuring a smooth transition.
Sledge’s pending exit follows the recent departure of Maritza Pechin, a deputy planning director who worked with Sledge as Diamond District’s project manager and also advised on City Center.
Taking credit for the Co-Star building is a nonsense. Richmond got Co-Star by default. They were headed to Charlotte until Charlotte had their bathroom fiasco. Co-Star’s expansion is home grown. It really has nothing to do with the city. It has to do with their growth.
Thank you for pointing this out. I was almost nervous about pointing this out. Yes, I remember when I lived in the North a MAJOR pet peeve of my father’s was how all the local politicians and bureaucrats would show up with the big golden sissors to cut ribbons on PRIVATE projects they had zero-to-negative influence on bringing or facilitating — other than making the location a “Cheap” one by scaring away other businesses. I think essentially Richmond was seen as a more undervalued market with a bigger arbitrage than many ones that had already soared. I looks like they… Read more »
City government doesn’t deserve credit for CoStar. But the other side of the coin is anybody who claimed we had to greenlight the Navy Hill arena to get CoStar and other companies like it deserves ridicule and has to admit they are way too eager to cheerlead crony capitalism in commercial real estate… this goes for many individuals who comment on BizSense articles…
Thank you —– it is dangerous to NOT ridicule such people — they may attain higher office if it is not made clear who causes problems and who solves them.
Also, all this talk about it being a Binary decision, as if Charlotte?NC and RIchmond/Virginia were the only two possible choices for an outfit like Costar. Now, I don’t know who runs it — it’s a DC founded thing, so I guess they may be rather partisan in their politics — so, why not expand to, IDK …. Philly? Similar politics there. Maybe a degree of closeness was desired — if so, Richmond would make more sense than Charlotte, which is far enough away to be inconvenient. Personally, if it were me — I would’ve picked Richmond and somewhere much… Read more »
Hmmmmmm……
I read this as a long list of failed projects. Maybe the reason for his stepping away?
How DARE you!!! 🙂