'Best Place:' Region's Assets Continue to Draw Interest

Starting over. It has become the national pastime.

With the economy mired in a severe recession and some of the nation’s core businesses forced to reshape and reinvent themselves, many Americans face challenges that the populace has not faced in generations. And, as is often the case, the challenges bring opportunity and the chance to embark on a new path.

Not a bad time for a region to show up on a prestigious list of best places to begin anew.

BusinessWeek.com recently ranked the Richmond region sixth on its list of the 20 best places to start over. The ranking came as a reminder the Richmond region still has what it takes to thrive. The region includes the city of Richmond and the surrounding counties of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover, stretching out to the counties of New Kent, Goochland and Powhatan. These areas have a combined population of approximately 971,000.

New hires still in plans
The BusinessWeek.com report noted that even in this tough economic environment, 22 percent of the area’s companies anticipate hiring new employees during the next quarter. The report offered a list of business sectors with encouraging job prospects; included were construction, transportation, wholesale and retail trade, education and health services and leisure and hospitality services.

And though the Richmond region’s unemployment rate had risen sharply, it remained below the national average. The latest figures have the region’s unemployment rate at 8.1 percent, below the national rate of 9.5 percent.

If you think BusinessWeek.com’s ranking is the only positive list on which the Richmond region ranks, you would be mistaken. Take a look at this lineup of honors passed out in 2008 and 2009.

* A study by Ajilon Professional Staffing, published by Forbes.com, puts Richmond in the Top 10 places to find a job.

* Forbes magazine put the metro area in its Top 40 places for business and careers.

* Next Generation Consulting ranked the area among the 20 best cities of its size for young professionals to live and work.

* Forbes evaluated the nation’s 75 largest metro areas and ranked the region as one of the 10 best for commuters.

* Dow Jones MarketWatch rated Richmond the fifth best metro center for business.

There have been other honors, but you get the point. The Richmond region stacks up pretty well as a place to make a life and a living.

The Region’s Virtues
Gregory H. Wingfield, president of the Greater Richmond Partnership Inc., extols the virtues of the region in his Web site. He points to Richmond’s economic diversity as one of its positive elements.

When a recession hits, even one as deep and persistent as the current one, Wingfield says, “we’re not really affected so much because not all the eggs are in one basket.”

Wingfield also extols “[t]he outstanding quality of place that we have here.” He points to the region’s historic significance and says companies that have special interest in education or art or culture find ample opportunities for involvement here.

Still Like a Small Town
He says that even with about 1.2 million residents in the Richmond region, “we’re still a small town in a way, where people know each other, people are welcoming.

The BusinessWeek.com starting-over study refers to the region’s art scene as a source of jobs. Alexander Lee Nyerges, director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, agrees that the vibrant arts culture offers career opportunities and points out that there is much more to consider. Besides economic impact, he says, art provides “a hugely important factor in terms of the identity of the region and in terms of activity.”

Even the VMFA is starting over. Its galleries and shops are closed while a major expansion project moves toward completion. A multilevel, glass-and-stone structure will add more than 165,000 square feet to the VMFA’s current 380,000 square feet. Ongoing activities include educational programs, the popular Third Thursday events, special events and traveling exhibitions across the commonwealth.

The grand opening of the expanded museum, with its new space and renovated older galleries, is set for May 1.

Expansive Art Scene
Nyerges is quick to point out that the Richmond region’s art scene is wide and deep, far beyond the museum he directs. He cites the Richmond Symphony, the Virginia Opera, Richmond Ballet, the jazz scene, area theater companies and the First Fridays Artwalk events that have spurred interest in galleries in the area.

Nyerges is optimistic about the timing of his museum’s grand opening. “Quite honestly,” he says, “I see light at the end of the tunnel. ... If the recession hasn’t bottomed out, I think it is in the process. By May of 2010, if not a robust economy, I think we will see an economy that’s well on the way to recovery.”

Just as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has been able to carry through with its expansion, businesses and public officials around the region are going ahead with projects that were under way before the recession took hold. But they exercise caution as they plan ahead.

Will Stimulus Funds Help?
Neal Menkes, director of fiscal policy at the Virginia Municipal League, told a Times-Dispatch reporter earlier this year that the reluctance to embark on new projects “could be subject to change, depending on what happens with the stimulus money.”

So far, the state expects to receive about $4.8 billion in federal stimulus funds, but localities are waiting to find out what their share will be and the rules governing how they must be spent.

Henrico County, for example, took a wait-and-see stance on more than $163 million for capital projects. And, as Henrico General Services Director Paul N. Proto pointed out, even when the money to build becomes available, localities will have to look at the long-range consequences of spending to build new schools, libraries or fire stations. “If we have a capital project that can be funded with stimulus money,” Proto told a reporter, “then we have to carefully consider how that project will affect operational budgets.”

Private developers, too, are being careful about pulling the trigger on projects. Plans for developments at Tree Hill Farm and Wilton on the James in the county’s eastern end appear to be on hold.

Development Still Moves
Still, development hasn’t ground to a halt in Henrico. For example, West Broad Village, a 115-acre, mixed-use project, continues to take shape, pushing further into the past the memories of Short Pump as a rural outpost. And a postal distribution center is scheduled to open in March and will provide 950 jobs. The postal center is a 713-foot facility on a 61-acre campus in the White Oak Technology Park in eastern Henrico.

At Henrico County’s center, just north of the Richmond city line, Richmond International Raceway – which hosts NASCAR and IndyCar events – continues as an economic force. The track’s most recent expansion included a high-rise grandstand and deluxe dine-and-observe suite that put the track’s capacity at more than 112,000 fans. A recent study put RIR’s annual economic impact on the region at $467 million.

Henrico, with about 293,000 residents according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures, is the area’s second largest locality. Chesterfield County ranks at the top with more than 303,000. Richmond has about 202,000 residents; Hanover County, just under 100,000; Powhatan County, 28,000; Goochland County, 21,000; and New Kent County, 18,000.

Chesterfield County, like Henrico, has seen the impact of the economy on some planned projects.

Developer HHHunt has left the proposed Branner Station project, which would have put nearly 5,000 homes near Chester. New York-based lender iStar Financial foreclosed on the developer of Magnolia Green and, according to the county planning office, has picked up the project with plans to move ahead on the 3,350-home development. Roseland, with 5,540 planned homes, has more of the approval process to navigate and might catch an economic rebound.

Plans for SportsQuest, a 50-acre sports complex and training facility near state Route 288 at the Powhite Parkway, are moving ahead and now include a professional indoor football team. Hancock Village on Hull Street Road will bring a new Wal-Mart to the western part of the county. Westchester Commons, located at state Route 288 and U.S. 60, is up and running.

In Richmond, although the long-discussed plan for a baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom apparently has been shelved, another southside location is being floated and renovations to The Diamond are still being considered.

James River draws residents
Shockoe may not become home to baseball, but the area along the James River remains an attraction for developers.

Among the most significant riverfront projects is the Village of Rocketts Landing, being developed by WVS Companies just east of Richmond Intermediate Terminal. The community’s first phase is to include 250 condominiums and 41 town homes. The pace of occupation hasn’t been as fast as developers had hoped, but the project is moving forward.

Recently, WVS began installing floating boat slips. Eventually, the developer envisions a marina with 133 slips, although the economy has made it harder to find clients. Richard D. Souter, vice president at WVS, told a Times-Dispatch reporter how things have changed. “If this would have been two years ago,” he said, “I think it would have leased up entirely. I think people are looking to save anything possible.”

Outdoor stores move to area
In Hanover County, outdoors enthusiasts are beneficiaries of recent development that has resulted in direct competition between major retailers Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops, the latter of which opened late last year. The two stores are near each other just off Interstate 95, and not far from the venerable Green Top Sporting Goods store, which has plans to expand.

Kings Dominion theme park, which opened in 1975, remains a big part of the Hanover economy. In 2008, the park welcomed more than 2 million paying guests.

Ashland, an incorporated town within the county, maintains its small-town charm. Residents insist that it’s the “Center of the Universe,” complete with Randolph-Macon College and an Amtrak stop.

In short, Ashland has charm, sense of place, opportunity for education and an advantageous location – all the key elements that Wingfield says make the Richmond region appealing.

This article originally published in Discover Richmond. Click here to view more Discover articles, or send us an e-mail to request a copy of the magazine.