Third Riverfront Forum Brings Surprising Proposals

It may take decades to see results of a grand vision for Richmond’s riverfront to completion, but it has certainly been made clear to us that what we have with the James River as a centerpiece is a valuable natural resource that must remain the focus of our future. 

Richmonders have clamored both for the James River to be protected and be allowed to play in it as much as they can and at the third public forum on the downtown riverfront we learned "its really about access and ways to get to the river," said Mary Margaret Jones of Hargreaves Associates, the architecture firm hired to carry out the riverfront plans. Areas to remain wild and areas that were suggested to be more urban were highlighted in the presentation.

There were about 150 people packed in at the Virginia War Memorial Tuesday night for the third of three public forums on the Richmond Riverfront concept plan -- definitely the largest crowd to date. This meeting also included many more stakeholders and Richmond’s movers and shakers than the previous two meetings.

I have attended all three public forums and was also invited to participate as an individual to give input in the early planning stages. The concept plan – considered a continuation of the 2009 Downtown Master Plan – has focused on both sides of the river from Belle Isle down to the Intermediate Terminal, an area of about 830 acres. These are just plans at this time and will have to go before the planning commission sometime in the first quarter of 2012.

For this meeting, the focus was more about identifying specific projects to begin implementing and their projected costs. A big factor in Richmond's favor is that the city already owns much of the targeted development sites, considered a rarity in most urban riverfront planning.

The priorities were laid out in phases, with first priority being given to projects like finishing the Virginia Capital Trail, purchasing and developing Mayo Island, and implementing several landmark projects at Brown’s Island -- at a projected cost of $35.4 million. The second phase focused more on Chapel Island, Pipeline Rapids, Belle Isle and the Manchester area at a projected price of $16.5 million. 

“All of these improvements are going to last and influence neighborhoods beyond downtown,” said Lionel Lynch of Hargreaves, suggesting that attractive developments will bring more investment. “Suddenly, it becomes a lot more valuable to be downtown and along the riverfront.

“Great ideas for development can attract capital,“ he said, repeating his line from the previous forum. The firm has successfully designed and implemented waterfront plans for cities like Louisville, San Francisco, Chattanooga and Houston.

The presentation began with proposals for the popular 65-acre wild island that is Belle Isle and progressed eastward as the James flows. Maybe the most surprising proposals of the forum came from Belle Isle, including creating a competitive whitewater kayaking run on the Southside rocks that could be managed by a “control bladder” on the existing ruins of the VEPCO dam at the western end of the island. Extreme sports at an estimated $4.1 million in improvments were the focus, with a mountain biking skills course, kayaking, hiking, climbing and rappelling all included.

Connecting Belle Isle to the area near the Manchester Bridge and the Floodwall Walk could be made by proposed improvements to the rudimentary Missing Link Trail, and Jones pointed out that legislation in Virginia has removed liability for railroad companies that allow development of rails-to-trails projects, and the trail connection between Belle Isle and the Floodwall would be about 1,700 linear feet.

Creating a park on the Norfolk Southern property east of the Manchester Bridge and raising it to the level of the Floodwall -- proposed at the second forum -- was estimated to cost $4.5 million, but would be a tremendous asset to impending developments at Reynolds South, Jones said.

The VEPCO levee dam that connects Manchester to Brown’s Island had been a feature of the first two presentations was only briefly mentioned this time around. It was estimated to cost $1.8 million to restore. The greater portion of the Brown’s Island discussion centered on creating an entertainment and greenway connection hub, and some very interesting ideas.

“Why not make the canal part of the recreation for the city?,” Jones said, referring to the Haxall Canal, which winds around Brown’s Island and the Canal Walk, part of more than $10 million in proposed plans for the entertainment park.  Hargreaves proposed a terraced fountain be created on Brown’s Island near the landing of the new pedestrian bridge that would cascade down into the canal -- a plan similar to a fountain that the architecture firm built in Chattanooga. They also proposed another series of terraced vantage points and pedestrian decks on the south bank of the island that would stretch the island out beyond the CSX Viaduct and into the James, allowing visitors more recreational and viewing access points.  “Give us many different experiences on the river,” she said.

The catwalk the runs under the CSX Viaduct along the Pipeline Rapids could be raised or widened to create a boardwalk, Jones proposed, which could open the area for many more visitors and recreational uses. Cost: $2.2 million. This idea had been rejected in the previous meetings by some public speakers whose intent was to protect the great blue heron rookery located on the islands just south of Pipeline. Hargreaves also proposed to create a better connection to the nearby Canal Walk and the undeveloped Reynolds North property by way of a new tunnel at 13th Street that would go under the Downtown Expressway.

The privately-owned Mayo Island was again a large focus, although this time Hargreaves had many more creative ideas, including building a suspended pedestrian bridge -- similar to the one on Belle Isle -- under the Interstate 95 bridge that would connect Mayo Island from its easternmost tip to Chapel Island, which is poised to become part of the James River Park System and could include a multitude of recreational uses atop the storm water retention basins located on the island, including athletic fields and courts.

The eastern-most tip of Chapel Island is already part of the JRPS -- Great Shiplock Park. The City of Richmond has been planning to expand the amenities of the park by improving the trails and clearing the area around the boat slip at the old Trigg Shipyard to allow for trails to connect to points west through Chapel Island. Hargreaves is backing the repair to the 1929 Norfolk Southern 28th Street railroad drawbridge, restoring the canal locks for use by motor and sail boats and to “use the canal as a place to learn to kayak before you get on the river,” Jones said. Cost was estimated at $3.6 million for Chapel Island.

The construction of the Virginia Capital Trail along the Dock Street corridor was termed the “most important thing that can happen…improve the water’s edge, improve the street’s edge,” Jones said. Not all the land in that stretch between Great Shiplock Park and Rocketts Landing is owned by the city, but the acquisition of the Lehigh Cement property and including the Intermediate Terminal as an asset were considered keys to an important area up for redevelopment, although Jones pointed out the need to respect the nearby treasured viewshed from atop Libby Hill.

The public comments again addressed concerns with fears of Dominion encroaching on Oregon Hill and the restoration of the Kanawha Canal, which were not addressed in this presentation.

Jack Berry of Venture Richmond suggested that property acquisition should be highest on the priority list. "Without property, you can't do any of this," he said.

The proposed amphitheater and green space considered on the existing New Market property northwest of Tredegar Iron Works was questioned by one man, and Jim Hill of the city's Department of Planning and Development Review said it was still being discussed with Venture Richmond as an open space and performance venue for events like the Richmond Folk Festival.

One man expressed that although he liked the plan, the proposed fountains on Brown's Island "looked like Las Vegas."

A lack of parking and/or affordable parking areas were also again concerns from the public, though Hargreaves folks don't seem to be able to control that planning.

The presentations from the first two forums are available on the Department of Planning and Development Review's webpage. Officials said the third will be posted there soon.