Government

The proposals add to what’s become a more-heated debate than usual over whether to reduce Richmond’s real estate tax rate in response to rising property assessments.

City Council is introducing legislation today to authorize the purchase and position the 96-acre site for uses including a city park and economic development site.

“Beaverdam is just a different place. It’s rural. It’s got a character to it that people are very proud of,” Hanover Supervisor Jeff Stoneman said in voting down the project.

In the report that was due to legislators Tuesday, interim CEO Marlon Levy says the health system’s mission is “not to subsidize government revenue because of (the developer’s) failure to create a revenue-generating project.”

The city plans to purchase the vacant building for a new pet adoption center that would supplement Richmond Animal Care & Control’s current facility on Chamberlayne Avenue.

The bonds would provide a form of bridge financing for the projects, the costs of which are expected to exceed the roughly $10 million in forecasted revenues from so-called passenger facility charges.

The transit authority will redevelop a former church property for additional parking as eyes the rollout of new 60-foot articulated buses to operate on the rapid-transit Pulse line next year.

The county expects to have four more athletic fields operational at River City Sportsplex this fall. The expansion will bring the 115-acre youth tournament complex to a total of 16 fields.

The county EDA announced the launch of the Henrico Global Business Gateway, an initiative to attract foreign-based companies that will operate out of the planned Gather West End in Innsbrook.

The planned 96-unit development from local firm The Real McCoy Companies earned special-use permit approval, as did Space Mountain Hi-Fi, an audio-focused bar from the owners of Cobra Cabana and Hot For Pizza.