The funding from Local Initiatives Support Corp. would be used to establish a new small building loan program and a developer training program that the nonprofit has introduced in other cities.
Residential parking in Church Hill. (Photo: Crixell Matthews/VPM News)
New businesses and other developments in Richmond are required to provide a certain number of parking spaces on-site. City Councilmember Andreas Addison wants to eliminate those requirements, known as ‘parking minimums.’
Many of the parking requirements in Richmond’s city code seem arcane or arbitrary. For example, a public or private kindergarten is required to have “one [parking space] per 10 seats in [the] main auditorium or one per classroom, whichever is greater.” Addison said parking minimums for new residential or apartment developments can also drive up costs, making housing less affordable. It can also be a burden on businesses locating in a densely populated part of town, he said.
Shockoe Hill Apartments for low-income seniors to get $15M renovation
Jonathan Spiers photos)
A senior apartment community in one of Richmond’s more imposing 19th-century structures is set to get a multimillion-dollar upgrade.
Shockoe Hill Apartments, a subsidized housing complex for low-income seniors in the 1860s-era Almshouse on Hospital Street, is slated for $15 million worth of renovations following a recent City Council approval allowing the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to fund the project.
The multifamily housing revenue bonds, to be issued by the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority, will fund renovations to the complex’s 125 apartments and a conversion of one of the buildings into a community center and leasing office.