A crane constructing new housing in Manchester. (Chris Anton / AiRVA Photography) Used with permission

Last September, a resolution to rezone Richmond’s three major corridors south of the James River achieved a rare feat: unanimous approval by city council. If fully implemented by the Department of Planning & Development Review, all properties along Richmond Highway, Midlothian Turnpike, and Hull Street would be upzoned to the TOD-1 Transit-Oriented Nodal District classification. That means walkable streetscapes and buildings up to 12 stories could become the norm in currently car-centric parts of town, but can the City ensure the growth includes all?

Zoning for growth

For First District Councilmember Andreas Addison who sponsored the resolution alongside councilmembers Jones, Lambert, Lynch, and Nye, nothing short of the future of Richmond hangs in the balance.

“When we look at the opportunities we have to grow as a city, the future is going to lie in how we develop Southside,” he said. “Historically, north of the river has been more developed, so as we look to the implementation of the Richmond 300 master plan, we need to be intentional about how good zoning, housing, and higher frequency transit can support growth south of the river.”

While it may seem odd for the councilmember representing the West End to sponsor a resolution focused on Southside, Addison has direct experience with how upzoning key corridors can improve the area one represents. In 2021, he led a push to rezone West Broad Street from Scott’s Addition to the Henrico County line to TOD-1. Since then, a new hotel and hundreds of apartments have been built. The Pulse’s first infill station is also in the works for Malvern Avenue to support the increasing density.

Richmond 300 Master Plan walkability map. Map by the City of Richmond Planning and Development Review

With some population projections for Virginia’s capital anticipating up to as many as 114,000 new Richmonders (a roughly 50% increase in residents of the River City) over the next 15 years, Addison believes the time to plan for new people is now.

“This could be a catalyst to expand the number of people who live on Southside and boost the incomes of those who already live there, but a request for rezoning takes time,” he said. “The request to rezone the rest of Broad Street to TOD-1 took almost a year, and that was just one little stretch. This vision for Southside with affordable housing, walkability, and grocery stores is going to take time, so we’ve got to start now.”

Southside renaissance

The promise of new apartments, improved public transit, and better access to amenities sounds appealing to Barry Greene, a Southside resident and board member of both the Partnership for Smarter Growth and RVA Rapid Transit. All too many Richmonders rarely venture south of the James to explore local eateries or support small businesses, but he believes it doesn’t have to be that way.

“We have to make Southside a place people want to come, spend their money, and stay a while,” he said. “What would make a coffee shop or a record store want to open south of the river?”

One key component of the transformation of Scott’s Addition from a forgotten industrial area into a thriving neighborhood was the launch of the Greater Richmond Transit Company’s Pulse bus rapid transit. With planning for a second Pulse route to run North-South across the city already underway, Greene hopes the new service will not only make his Midlothian Turnpike commute faster and more affordable but also spark new development as well.

“If I’m leaving the house and taking the bus into town, nine times out of ten I’m taking an Uber home because my bus only comes once an hour to get back to Southside,” he said. “This rezoning will ignite housing growth, and hopefully this would increase bus frequencies and allow the region to extend transit all the way out to Chesterfield Towne Center.”

New apartments under construction on Hull Street in Manchester. (Wyatt Gordon)

Amenities for all

The biggest blemish on Scott’s Addition as a model for Richmond’s future is the lack of a single affordable housing unit being added to the area since its revitalization began. With the average Richmond home price hitting a record high of $375,000 this year and the dearth of affordable rental homes expected to grow from 20,000 to at least 40,000 by 2040, the demand for an inclusive growth model for Virginia’s capital has never been greater.

Even though only 8% of the funds from the city’s property tax rebate program went to the city’s top ten corporations, that’s too much for residents who think it’s inappropriate for any of the funds to go to corporations. Every penny counts.

“There is a bit of a concern that folks may get priced out as we rezone,” Addison said. “We have to take those objections and look at what tools we have to prevent displacement. We don’t have too many in Virginia because of the Dillon Rule, so we have to leverage all that we have. There are opportunities to offer density bonuses and affordable unit incentives for people to build affordably along transit corridors.”

With Richmond’s average rent now over $1,400 per month (24% higher than before the pandemic), Greene is calling for a combination of market-rate construction and permanently affordable housing to fill the gap. With such little supply on the market, he sees “older apartments built in the 1980s that are taking advantage of folks because they don’t have much competition.”

Increased funding for Richmond’s affordable housing trust fund as well as dedicating more city-owned parcels to permanently affordable homes could also be tools in the toolbox to lower housing costs in the capital, according to Greene.

“We need to be proactive with our community land trust,” he said. “We’ve seen what hasn’t worked in the city to combat rapid gentrification, but if we begin planning now we can put some anti-displacement tools in place to soften the increased land values that typically follow new development. It’s been long overdue to make sure we take care of the lowest income people.”

The biggest hindrance to the rezoning resolution becoming a reality may come from the planning department’s limited capacity. Although the number of staff in the Office of Equitable Development went from two to seven last year, the team led by power player Maritza Mercado Pechin has to prioritize among many competing proposals to boost the city’s growth.

“This will probably get folded into other work we’re doing,” Pechin said. “It doesn’t make sense for us to do our own Southside study when GRTC is looking at the land use impacts of a new BRT and we can just participate in that.”

With most of the heavy lifting on the new Diamond District done, Richmond’s planners are turning their attention to a citywide rewrite of the zoning code that would include allowing new growth on Southside. With funding secured, Pechin’s team plans to hire a consultant by summer to establish an advisory council that will oversee the crafting of a new zoning ordinance. What that process will produce for communities south of the river will depend on the active engagement of local leaders and Richmond residents.

Wyatt Gordon is the senior policy manager for land use and transportation at the Virginia Conservation Network, and an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Urban Planning. He's a born-and-raised Richmonder with a master's in Urban Planning from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a bachelor's in International Political Economy from American University.