The Salvation Army bought the former Eternity Church property at 1900 Chamberlayne Ave. for its regional headquarters in 2019. (BizSense file photo)
A plan to increase emergency shelter capacity at locations in Northside and downtown passed Richmond City Council this week, over the objections of Chamberlayne Avenue-area businesses that are looking to file an injunction to stop it.
Council unanimously approved several items Monday that establish this year’s inclement weather shelter (IWS) at the Salvation Army headquarters at 1900 Chamberlayne Avenue, and year-round beds at that location and at the former HI Richmond Hostel building at 7 N. Second St.
The approvals are first steps in what councilmembers have described as a larger, long-term plan to increase capacity across the city with potentially a shelter in each of its nine magisterial districts. A third location is in the works at 10 E. Belt Blvd in the Southside.
The plan includes establishing a housing crisis center at the Chamberlayne facility, which will be operated by Salvation Army and serve as a point of entry for people to seek homelessness services through the regional Greater Richmond Continuum of Care services network. The location served as the city’s IWS last year, but under a different operator.
The arrangement adds 100 beds to the roughly 50 that Salvation Army already offers there. It also will see the city provide $7 million toward the nonprofit’s planned $15 million rehab to turn the building into its planned Center of Hope.
Funding assistance would also be provided to homeless services group HomeAgain, which would operate the 50-bed shelter planned at the Second Street hostel building.
The former HI Richmond Hostel building at 7 N. Second St. (BizSense file photo)
Businesses and property owners around the Salvation Army site have maintained that the plan to increase capacity there was not shared with them before they learned about it from a report in BizSense in October. At Monday’s meeting, many reiterated their frustrations.
“We have unfortunately just learned of this ordinance a couple of weeks ago, so the process here is new and there’s not one single member in our association who agrees with this ordinance,” said Dave Kohler, president of the Chamberlayne Industrial Center Association, which he said represents 100 businesses in the area that employ 1,000 people.
In his remarks to council, Kohler noted the city’s investment nearly a decade ago to develop the VUU/Chamberlayne Neighborhood Plan, which envisioned the area within and around the Chamberlayne, Lombardy Street and Brook Road crossroads as a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use community.
Dave Kohler addresses council during Monday’s hearing. (Screenshot)
“There were high hopes. We started seeing a lot of people coming over from the outpriced Scott’s Addition, so we had positive development,” he said.
“It’s not that we’re against homeless; all we want is to have the community involved in this,” Kohler said. “Unfortunately, it was kind of hidden, covert, so where is our voice? We feel slighted. Half of our constituents have basically given up because of a lack of trust.”
At a committee meeting last week, Kohler told councilmembers that if the plan went forward, the association would file an injunction to stop it, having retained Kutak Rock attorney Jeremy Williams. On Wednesday, a representative confirmed to BizSense that the association is pursuing legal action.
Business owners have maintained that they weren’t properly notified of the plan, adding that the increase in capacity is twice the amount of beds that they had pushed back against when Salvation Army sought a special-use permit for more beds when it moved its HQ from downtown in 2020. City leaders have said the plan has been presented at public meetings and that time is of the essence to establish the ICW by Dec. 1, with colder temperatures arriving.
Council approved the plan as part of the meeting’s consent agenda, typically reserved for routine and non-controversial business that is voted on as a block. Ann-Frances Lambert, whose Third District includes the Chamberlayne site, said she’d asked that the shelter items be moved to the regular agenda in light of the opposition, but was voted down in council’s informal meeting earlier that day.
When she asked again to move the items, Council President Michael Jones called for order and told Lambert that her colleagues had agreed to keep the matter on the consent agenda.
“I need to know some of these answers so, that way, our businesses can feel at ease,” Lambert said. “These questions have not been answered. I said to administration that a lot of these questions need to be addressed before Monday, and they still haven’t been.
Ann-Frances Lambert during Monday’s meeting. (Screenshot)
“We have to make this work. We have to work together on this,” she said. “If this is going to come, we want this to be the model for other districts. But at the end of the day, we need to make sure we have a lot of the parameters in place.”
Traci Deshazor, a deputy chief administrative officer over the human services department, told council that the city was addressing stated concerns with standard operating procedures for the Chamberlayne shelter, working with the public works and police departments to address litter and security, and establishing a liaison for the city and Salvation Army to communicate with businesses.
Police Chief Rick Edwards added that his department would make regular visits to the facility, receive weekly updates from the nearby Fourth Precinct and place cameras and mobile light trailers as needed.
“It’s been made abundantly clear to me that this is a priority for the city, therefore it’s a priority for the Richmond Police Department,” Edwards said. “The Chamberlayne Industrial Center has several challenges with property crime at this time. That is something that we will be focusing on.
Adding that the department can improve documentation of trespassers on private properties, Edwards added, “It’s just a matter of our focus to understand that this is a priority, and we intend to assist to make it successful.”
Following the presentations, Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, who works for the Virginia Department of Social Services, stressed the amount of time and energy put into the plan and took issue with arguments that it was being forced on constituents.
Stating that the city had been working for years on a long-term shelter solution, since the closure of the Commonwealth Catholic Charities location in 2020 that served as the previous point of entry, Lynch said, “This was not a fly-by-night plan. This was two years in the making of playing human Tetris with human lives trying to find a location that would take these individuals in their backyard.”
Fifth District Councilmember Stephanie Lynch remarks on the shelter plan at Monday’s council meeting. (Screenshot)
Noting that she offered two locations in her district that ended up not working out long-term, Lynch continued, “We are here today, thankfully, because the administration kept on going back to the drawing board, not doing back-door deals but being very open about who wanted to participate, who is a high-quality provider that wanted to offer these wraparound services and this inclement weather shelter to our unhoused individuals. They did not give up, and we thank you for that.
“In this journey, we have been put under scrutiny not only from our other members of the community, the business community, but even our own nonprofit partners who called our plan wildly inadequate and misinformed. But we have stuck by that plan and we continue to stick by that plan,” she said.
“This is about building capacity, it’s about sending a very clear message to our people of Richmond that you have not been forgotten, that even just because you don’t have a district or you’ve been evicted, we still represent you,” Lynch said.
The Salvation Army bought the former Eternity Church property at 1900 Chamberlayne Ave. for its regional headquarters in 2019. (BizSense file photo)
A plan to increase emergency shelter capacity at locations in Northside and downtown passed Richmond City Council this week, over the objections of Chamberlayne Avenue-area businesses that are looking to file an injunction to stop it.
Council unanimously approved several items Monday that establish this year’s inclement weather shelter (IWS) at the Salvation Army headquarters at 1900 Chamberlayne Avenue, and year-round beds at that location and at the former HI Richmond Hostel building at 7 N. Second St.
The approvals are first steps in what councilmembers have described as a larger, long-term plan to increase capacity across the city with potentially a shelter in each of its nine magisterial districts. A third location is in the works at 10 E. Belt Blvd in the Southside.
The plan includes establishing a housing crisis center at the Chamberlayne facility, which will be operated by Salvation Army and serve as a point of entry for people to seek homelessness services through the regional Greater Richmond Continuum of Care services network. The location served as the city’s IWS last year, but under a different operator.
The arrangement adds 100 beds to the roughly 50 that Salvation Army already offers there. It also will see the city provide $7 million toward the nonprofit’s planned $15 million rehab to turn the building into its planned Center of Hope.
Funding assistance would also be provided to homeless services group HomeAgain, which would operate the 50-bed shelter planned at the Second Street hostel building.
The former HI Richmond Hostel building at 7 N. Second St. (BizSense file photo)
Businesses and property owners around the Salvation Army site have maintained that the plan to increase capacity there was not shared with them before they learned about it from a report in BizSense in October. At Monday’s meeting, many reiterated their frustrations.
“We have unfortunately just learned of this ordinance a couple of weeks ago, so the process here is new and there’s not one single member in our association who agrees with this ordinance,” said Dave Kohler, president of the Chamberlayne Industrial Center Association, which he said represents 100 businesses in the area that employ 1,000 people.
In his remarks to council, Kohler noted the city’s investment nearly a decade ago to develop the VUU/Chamberlayne Neighborhood Plan, which envisioned the area within and around the Chamberlayne, Lombardy Street and Brook Road crossroads as a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use community.
Dave Kohler addresses council during Monday’s hearing. (Screenshot)
“There were high hopes. We started seeing a lot of people coming over from the outpriced Scott’s Addition, so we had positive development,” he said.
“It’s not that we’re against homeless; all we want is to have the community involved in this,” Kohler said. “Unfortunately, it was kind of hidden, covert, so where is our voice? We feel slighted. Half of our constituents have basically given up because of a lack of trust.”
At a committee meeting last week, Kohler told councilmembers that if the plan went forward, the association would file an injunction to stop it, having retained Kutak Rock attorney Jeremy Williams. On Wednesday, a representative confirmed to BizSense that the association is pursuing legal action.
Business owners have maintained that they weren’t properly notified of the plan, adding that the increase in capacity is twice the amount of beds that they had pushed back against when Salvation Army sought a special-use permit for more beds when it moved its HQ from downtown in 2020. City leaders have said the plan has been presented at public meetings and that time is of the essence to establish the ICW by Dec. 1, with colder temperatures arriving.
Council approved the plan as part of the meeting’s consent agenda, typically reserved for routine and non-controversial business that is voted on as a block. Ann-Frances Lambert, whose Third District includes the Chamberlayne site, said she’d asked that the shelter items be moved to the regular agenda in light of the opposition, but was voted down in council’s informal meeting earlier that day.
When she asked again to move the items, Council President Michael Jones called for order and told Lambert that her colleagues had agreed to keep the matter on the consent agenda.
“I need to know some of these answers so, that way, our businesses can feel at ease,” Lambert said. “These questions have not been answered. I said to administration that a lot of these questions need to be addressed before Monday, and they still haven’t been.
Ann-Frances Lambert during Monday’s meeting. (Screenshot)
“We have to make this work. We have to work together on this,” she said. “If this is going to come, we want this to be the model for other districts. But at the end of the day, we need to make sure we have a lot of the parameters in place.”
Traci Deshazor, a deputy chief administrative officer over the human services department, told council that the city was addressing stated concerns with standard operating procedures for the Chamberlayne shelter, working with the public works and police departments to address litter and security, and establishing a liaison for the city and Salvation Army to communicate with businesses.
Police Chief Rick Edwards added that his department would make regular visits to the facility, receive weekly updates from the nearby Fourth Precinct and place cameras and mobile light trailers as needed.
“It’s been made abundantly clear to me that this is a priority for the city, therefore it’s a priority for the Richmond Police Department,” Edwards said. “The Chamberlayne Industrial Center has several challenges with property crime at this time. That is something that we will be focusing on.
Adding that the department can improve documentation of trespassers on private properties, Edwards added, “It’s just a matter of our focus to understand that this is a priority, and we intend to assist to make it successful.”
Following the presentations, Councilmember Stephanie Lynch, who works for the Virginia Department of Social Services, stressed the amount of time and energy put into the plan and took issue with arguments that it was being forced on constituents.
Stating that the city had been working for years on a long-term shelter solution, since the closure of the Commonwealth Catholic Charities location in 2020 that served as the previous point of entry, Lynch said, “This was not a fly-by-night plan. This was two years in the making of playing human Tetris with human lives trying to find a location that would take these individuals in their backyard.”
Fifth District Councilmember Stephanie Lynch remarks on the shelter plan at Monday’s council meeting. (Screenshot)
Noting that she offered two locations in her district that ended up not working out long-term, Lynch continued, “We are here today, thankfully, because the administration kept on going back to the drawing board, not doing back-door deals but being very open about who wanted to participate, who is a high-quality provider that wanted to offer these wraparound services and this inclement weather shelter to our unhoused individuals. They did not give up, and we thank you for that.
“In this journey, we have been put under scrutiny not only from our other members of the community, the business community, but even our own nonprofit partners who called our plan wildly inadequate and misinformed. But we have stuck by that plan and we continue to stick by that plan,” she said.
“This is about building capacity, it’s about sending a very clear message to our people of Richmond that you have not been forgotten, that even just because you don’t have a district or you’ve been evicted, we still represent you,” Lynch said.
‘We’re led by very stupid, stupid people….’
I’m not clear on what the Chamberlayne Industrial Center wants to accomplish aside from delaying the shelter to the point that it doesn’t happen. They also seem to believe people who will use the shelter are inherently problematic, whereas it’s just as likely they’re a recently evicted family with kids. The city clearly has a great need for shelter space and I like the idea of each district having a shelter.
I think the issue is not so much whether they are ALL problematic…. I mean, there’s a reason that cities don’t tend to put these things in the best parts of town, right? I remember when I was in Philadelphia and there were a bunch of rich people from the suburbs coming down to feed homeless in Love Park and it drove the local business people NUTS, and they were even threatening to Feed the Homeless in, idk, Bryn Mahr and bus them there. The truth is, the business owners are correct from their point of view — lots of… Read more »
“It’s not that we’re against homeless”. Sure you are…otherwise you wouldn’t have had to state such a disclaimer. Kudos for Richmond City. It has been needlessly delayed for decades, but they are finally coming up with a plan that will work and are no longer cowed by NIMBYism.
There’s currently 50 beds in the facility on Chamberlayne, Northside is already doing its part to shelter homeless individuals. City council claims this is a well thought out plan (to add another 100 beds to the site) that’s been several years in the making… but where are the shelters that were recommended for other districts? Richmond you’ve had years to implement your plan to have a shelter in each district, but instead you’ve decided to concentrate your capacity in Northside. Chamberlayne and BPB revitalization has underperform based on municipal neglect. What are the city’s plans to provide activities and support… Read more »
Morgan, have you read the articles on this topic and are you familiar with the GRTC routes in Northside? The City has plans to support those at this facility and The Salvation Army is a big part of it, which is why they’re expanding at this specific location. Chamberlayne Ave is well connected via existing mass transit and there are plans to create a North/South Pulse route that would likely go through here. I’d also note that a good share of our homeless population likely lives close to here as people are pushed out of homes in Northside given all… Read more »
Just FYI the hostel is in the 6th District is for 50 beds but just across from the 2nd (the line is 2nd Street itself) and the southside shelter location will be around 50 beds in the 9th just down from its border with the 5th District. And Councilmember Lynch is still working to get one into the 5th (north of the river) and talks are for another one in Southside. I know some don’t believe it but Stephanie will KEEP pushing for more space. And the increase of person at Chamberlayne is for the inclement weather shelter not a… Read more »
I’m with city council on this. You either want it or don’t. Going through attorneys is clear sign you are against it. Shame on them.
Jonathan quoted Andreas Addison and Ann-Frances Lambert correctly on their goal of having shelters in every district, but they were simplyl painting the lily for those who oppose 1900 Chamberlayne Ave. It will never happen. It would cost more money than the city and most of council are ready to invest in homeless services. That the two council members even voiced such a goal speaks more to their being defensive about the use of 1900 Chamberlayne than in actually finding a solution. The city has plans to lease space in South Side to expand to increase capacity if needed, but… Read more »
People need to look at the long-term. When you say that you want these shelters in every district in the city you are advertising to people outside the city to come in and that you will take care of them. This takes resources away from the city and it’s tax payers.
Richmond is a metro area with 1MM people, and the city itself is over 225,000. Even if we put 50 permanent beds in every district, you would have 450 beds. That is less than the number of homeless people currently living in Richmond. We don’t need “free” housing to attract unhoused individuals. They are already here. They are living in parks, in the woods, in abandoned buildings, on city benches, in doorways and alleys. The goal of these shelters is to keep them safe. Keep them from freezing. Or being assaulted. Or having the few possessions they have stolen. And… Read more »
I know a bit about homeless shelters, and I will say I am generally for them. Japan goes to some length to provide a LOT to the homeless, but the social contract is that you stay FAR AWAY from the places where people want to live, work and visit. As it stands, in the USA, many homeless don’t want to go to the shelters because they don’t think their few belongings will be safe THERE — and often they, surprise, don’t enjoy the company of other homeless people — some are even afraid of going to the shelters. This is… Read more »
I am curious that Stepanie Lynch states “Noting that she offered two locations in her district that ended up not working out long-term”
What two locations were those? She is my councilperson and I have not heard anything about them.
I think the point of this article is TRANSPARENCY. The need, want and lack thereof. You should not have to dig and dig to find this information. As a fourth generation family business owner, I believe Mr. Kohler is not against the homeless population as a whole; he is representing all the business owners and employees in the area. He is not against the homeless, per se, but he does not like the bait and switch. The City had a different plan all together for that area! Thank goodness, Chief Edwards seems to want to help the businesses, the City… Read more »
Martha, that’s the sole purpose of the police chief, is it not? It’s pretty clear Mr Kohler and the CIC didn’t pay attention when the zoning was changed and they are only aiming to delay this much needed capacity increase for the cold weather shelter. Ultimately the CIC should focus on seeking improvements for pedestrians and traffic safety. The streets are still too wide and people drive too fast, which makes the area less inviting much more so than this shelter ever will impact things.
The Chamberlayne Industrial Center Association may be better off looking for a PR firm than a lawyer. The shelter is allowed there by right, so the chances of them stopping this are beyond low. And their stance is a bad look. If I was doing business with their members right now, I’d be rethinking that decision.
That is right John, the ageless Richmond remedy, “shut up and take it”.
Other things are a “bad look” as well, hence the controversy.
With the number of public school enrollments going down in the City of Richmond, why not consolidate these shelters in excess schools. Sure, it would cause some hardship for some families to consolidate various half empty schools but a school or two converted to homeless shelters sure could handle a large group of folks. This is not a new idea. In the part of Fairfax County I grew up in, there were 8 elementary schools. Due to demographics and housing costs pricing young families out of the market, they are down to 1 elementary school. The remaining 7 elementary schools… Read more »
These bureaucrats are useless. Only in gov’ment does it take years and years to not come up with a permanent solution.
I disagree. If it was not for politics and citizen input they could do things much quicker. The job of a government worker is extremely hard because, in addition to people insulting them simply because of where they work, they have to balance many different factors to get the a result that can work.