With the old 816 Riverside Park gone, for better and worse, a new house rises.
New 816 Riverside Park
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Category Archives: construction
Phone Tower Proposed and Opposed
T-Mobile
c/o Adrian Berezowsky
BirchCo, Inc.
38 Heritage Lane
Lagrangeville NY 12540Dear Mr Berezowsky,
The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, inc met on Tuesday, August 27, 2019 and discussed the proposal to place a cell phone tower within the Oregon Hill Historic District at 805 W Cary Street, Richmond Va 23220. The group unanimously voted to oppose any Cell Phone tower or any additional height being added to the building at 805 w Cary Street. Oregon Hill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and we find that adding a cell phone tower or any additional height to this building, which is located in a gateway to the neighborhood, would significantly degrade the integrity of the historic fabric of our historic neighborhood. It would be visible from many buildings listed as contributing structures to the National Register and would serve as an eyesore upon entering the neighborhood through this corridor. It would set a terrible precedent for blighting the visual and aesthetic appeal of historic resources located in the historic Richmond, Virginia area.
Please know that we will take all legal measures in our power to defeat such an ill conceived proposal should you intend to pursue it.
Sincerely,
Charles T. Woodson, president
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, inc.
Sunflower and Sidewalk
Pita Pit Chain Coming To Oregon Hill
Pita Pit signed a lease in recent weeks to take about 900 square feet in the 805W project – a four-story, 100-unit apartment development with about 8,000 square feet of ground floor space – that’s under construction at 805 W. Cary St.
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Exciting news today as bees arrived. Pine Street neighbor Stephenie Harrington had this to say,
Thanks to the dedicated teachers and volunteers who assisted with beekeeping instruction since last fall. Today we watched a wonderful group of confident students handle bees! #OpenHighSchool
We established one hive today and will receive the second hive in a few weeks.
I will be documenting activities and later this year we will offer some public workshops with Parks and Rec Dept so folks can learn more about this urban pollinator project and more things coming this fall.
Thanks to OHHIC (Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council), OHNA (Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association) and neighbors for your support.
More details and publicity soon…
ONE VCU Master Plan Includes New ‘Capsule Dorm’ On West Cary
Further examination of the new ONE VCU Master Plan reveals an ambitious experiment for the Monroe campus- a new ‘capsule dorm’ for West Cary Street.
The document details, recently approved by the VCU Board Of Visitors, include the design, construction, and operation of a new type of temporary dormitory for a small subset of the university’s students. The building will be part of a new complex built on the current location of the Thalhimer Tennis Center on the north side of the 900 block of West Cary Street.
This concept is modeled on a known phenomenon in downtown Tokyo, Japan- ‘kapuseru hoteru‘ or ‘pod hotels’. These structures typically feature a large number of small bed-sized rooms known as capsules that are available for short term rental. The VCU capsule dorm, informally called “The W.Cary Street Pods”, will provide basic overnight accommodation for VCU undergraduate students who voluntarily aspire to minimalist lifestyles. Special VCU student backpacks and digital access rights will be part of the program.
A VCU dean who did not wish to be identified by name had this to say:
This idea comes to fruition at a time when the university is innovating new ways to make campus residential life more affordable. It is also noteworthy that the City of Richmond is now codifying STR’s (short term rentals) and that our own Sustainability Department is tackling traditional dorm outputs.
There will be a full briefing on ‘pod life’ at VCU for the public at a later date at the VCU ICA.
East Coast Greenway and ‘ATP Trail Study’
I am not exactly sure why local planners and media do not bring it up (are they worried about it taking attention away from the ‘Cap-To-Cap’ Trail?, does it go against corporate rulers’ schemes?, are they worried about provoking Agenda 21 conspiracy theorists?) but the Times Dispatch has an article on the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) preparing to build a 40-mile bike trail from Ashland to Petersburg, one that still does not even mention the East Coast Greenway (www.greenway.org) effort.
Of course, this ‘ATP Trail Study’ fits in with the East Coast Greenway planning. Why not report on it in those terms?
This community news site has been bringing it up for over a decade now. Originally, neighborhood leaders were interested in having the East Coast Greenway connect with the Belvidere greenway, which connects the Parsons Linear Park with the Riverside Park and the James River Park. That fits in with the Belle Island trail already being designated part of the East Coast Greenway.
From Belle Island, today:
Unfortunately, VCU and other bad development have stymied those thoughts, even though it would have been really cool to have a trail connect Monroe Park and Carver via a trail along Belvidere. Since then, many citizens hope that the East Coast Greenway will utilize the Cannon Creek Greenway, and then have the trail go west to connect with Belle Island. This could really be a boon for Barton Heights and other Northside neighborhoods that need more economic development.
It’s important that everyone understands how important this is for Richmond’s future. Having the East Coast Greenway intersect with the Virginia Capital Trail will be amazing. Imagine bicycle tourists traveling down from DC, coming into Richmond, staying and enjoying the area before making to the choice to fork or not. Pretending this is just a regional thing is just ridiculous.
VDOT will hold a public information meeting on Tuesday, March 26, from 5-7 p.m. at the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, 1000 North Lombardy Street, Richmond, VA 23220.
Lots Of Construction
While a new apartment building goes up on the north end of the neighborhood on W.Cary, the south end of the neighborhood is also picking up in bustle as new homes are constructed.
New Benches For Our Parks
OHNA President Todd Woodson shared the good news:
The Tool Bank’s Toby Vernon, the City’s Vicki Campbell and I unloaded 6 beautiful new picnic tables built by volunteers with materials paid for by the Tool Bank into Oregon Hill Parks this morning. 2 in Pleasants Park, 2 in Holly St Playground and 2 in Samuel Parsons Linear Park.
