RichmondBizsense and the Times Dispatch are reporting on plans for a new amphitheater adjacent to the Tredegar Iron Works complex on the downtown riverfront.
While some Oregon Hill residents are excited, other residents are very concerned about its impact on the neighborhood and the riverfront’s wildlife.
Unlike the previous amphitheater proposal, this one is on private land with no special use permit required. The riverfront rezoning over a year ago removes any parking requirement. When City officials presented the rezoning to Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association in Pleasants Park, residents asked to see their master plan, and they replied that they had no plans for the site (which was apparently untrue). They previously removed the trees and the canal raceways and stone sculpture from the site.
With this and Oregon Hill’s Richmond300 amendment going the Planning Commission next week, the neighborhood is on edge and can barely keep up with the pace of change, and that’s probably purposeful under RIchmond’s neoliberal regime.