Category Archives: schools

Deed Restrictions On Grace Arents School (Open High Building)

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After recruiting the help of several people, including a former City employee, Councilperson Parker Agelasto was able to find legal documents pertaining to deed restrictions on the Grace Arents school building that currently houses Open High School.

Links to large pdf:
Grace Arents School Deed Documents
Arents Grace School Deed actual

Neighbors are grateful as this will hopefully prevent the City from unwisely ceasing to use the building for the function for which the land was given to the city. Oregon Hill neighbors have largely been very supportive of keeping the successful Open High program in the neighborhood. Longtime residents also recall a somewhat similar situation some time ago where the City tried to sell off Pleasants Park, the ‘pocket park’ at Laurel and Albemarle (site of Laurel Street Methodist Church that burned down) to a developer, but re-located deed restrictions prevented it from happening.

In addition here is a photo of the deed whereby the St. Andrews Association conveyed the Grace Arents School property at Pine and China Streets to the City of Richmond in 1911 (DB 210c, Page 497; March 14, 1911). The deed specifies that the land will be used for a free school for city children.

Grace Arents School deed, DB 210c P 497 March 14, 1911 copy

School Board to Vote On Open/Binford Proposal Dec. 15

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From Richmond Public Schools press release:

The Richmond City School Board is slated to take action on recommendations proposed for Binford Middle School during a special meeting scheduled Monday, December 15. The deferred action is based on feedback received from the public requesting additional information and discussion on the options presented.

At its December 8 meeting, the Board will receive a report and discuss findings from the district’s three community engagement sessions and
corresponding survey.

The news leaves many neighbors and Open High students, parents,and faculty concerned about the future of their program.

Open High Threatened By Binford Middle School Proposal

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The Richmond School Board is considering Binford Middle School’s future. One of the four proposals that have been presented to the public is to move Open High School into the Binford building in the Fan and add three middle school grades to the program.

The district will host three community engagement meetings to allow the public to share their views regarding the proposed options for the future of Binford Middle School.

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VCU “Lobs & Lights” On Saturday

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lobsLights800

From press release:

Virginia Commonwealth University’s Lobs & Lessons program is holding a nighttime glow-in-the-dark tennis event as part of its 10th anniversary celebration.

“Lobs & Lights” will take place on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 8 p.m. until midnight at VCU’s Mary and Frances Youth Center, 120 S. Linden St., Richmond. The cost is $18 for adults, $14 for college students and $8 for those 17 and younger, who must be accompanied by an adult. The cost for adults and college students increases by $5 if tickets are purchased at the door. In the event of rain, the event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 1.

“Lobs & Lights” will begin with a “Youth Glow Zone” from 8 p.m. until 9:30 p.m., with fluorescent face painting and glow chalk, QuickStart Tennis, table tennis and carnival games.

“Adult Neon Tennis” will be held from 9:30 p.m. until midnight and features cardio tennis, group tennis games, a one-point singles tournament and a serve and target contest.

Glow bowling, corn hole, arts and crafts and music with DJ Rodney S will take place during the event, which is sponsored by the USTA/Mid-Atlantic, Perkins Law, Center of the Universe Brewing Company, Sports Vision, Alpha Graphics, Richmond Raiders, Courtside West, Volley Futbol and Escape Creative.

Visit https://www.support.vcu.edu/event/lobsandlights to register for the event or contact Rachel Rhoney at rhoneyrb@vcu.edu or (804) 828-9276 for more information.

Noise Issues Continue To Be A Problem

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In less pleasant news, noise issues continue to be a problem.

Neighbors complained of multiple fireworks going off at different intervals last night.

While this morning, neighbors were woken up by loud Top 40 music from a sound system at the VCU athletic fields over on Linden and W. Cary that could be heard as far south as the 600 blocks of S.Cherry and Laurel.

From one neighbor:

Sunday morning at 8:15 am, I was awakened by loud music blaring through my closed window. I finally went to the vcu athletic field at 9 and they were blaring loud as crap hip hop music. A Sunday morning! This has to stop.
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The music is still blaring. It’s two hours straight now. Called vcu twice, met with vcu police once and an officer called me back and apologized for the noise. He said they brought their own sound system and that he has had multiple complaints every time this lacrosse group uses the field.

Environmental Events At VCU This Week

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The Partnership For Smarter Growth is sponsoring an author talk on Monday, October 6:

Please join PSG and the VCU Urban and Regional Planning Student Association (URPSA) as we welcome Benjamin Ross, author of

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Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism

Monday, October 6
7:00 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
VCU Student Commons, Commonwealth Ballroom A

Benjamin headed Maryland’s Action Committee for Transit during much of its long fight to build a light rail line outside Washington, D.C. After a 25-year battle, the Purple Line will begin construction next year.
In Dead End he traces how the ideal of a safe, green, orderly retreat where hardworking members of the middle class could raise their children away from the city mutated into the McMansion- and strip mall-ridden suburbs of today. He finds that sprawl is much more than bad architecture and sloppy planning. Its roots are historical, sociological and economic.

It is free, but please register by clicking here and signing up for a ticket.

Then, on Friday, James River Association & Green Unity VCU are co-hosting the award-winning film Damnation at 8 pm, also at the VCU Student Commons.

Some call it a movement, others call it a generational shift in values. DamNation documents both – and the undeniable momentum behind river restoration that has begun to take hold in our country.

VCU, You did not build the city of Richmond

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I was glad to see this editorial in VCU’s student newspaper, the Commonwealth Times, in response to some t-shirt sloganeering.

Excerpt:

Although it might be frustrating and difficult to accept, you didn’t build that. Aside from the inhuman toil that created this country’s structural foundation, a myriad of factors built this city, including but not limited to taxpayer money, honest labor, legislation, committees, grassroots organizations and petitions.

It would behoove certain members of our community to educate themselves on the history of Richmond before asserting VCU’s dominance in the role of the construction of the city, whether the comment is meant metaphorically or otherwise. The city is a separate entity from VCU, and without Richmond, there would be no VCU. The fraudulent claim that “we built this city” downplays the city as a municipality and implies that Richmond is lucky to have us, when, indeed, it is we who are fortunate to have Richmond, a city underpinned by a shameful history, but working toward righting past wrongs and progressing itself into a thriving, truly diverse community.

VCU Students Arrive (Note Traffic Restrictions)

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From VCU press release:

RICHMOND, Va. (Aug. 13, 2014) – Virginia Commonwealth University’s incoming freshman class will begin to arrive on campus this weekend and move into student residence halls as the university launches its annual Welcome Week schedule of activities.

Reuban Rodriguez, Ed.D., associate vice provost and dean of student affairs at VCU, will be available for media interviews about move-in days and the opening of the academic year from 10 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, in front of Brandt Hall, at the corner of Laurel and Franklin streets.

VCU will enroll an estimated 31,000 students this fall. This year’s freshman class is expected to be approximately 3,600 students.

About 88 percent of VCU’s freshman class is from Virginia, including 23 percent from Northern Virginia, 20 percent from the Richmond Metro area, 20 percent from north central Virginia and 20 percent from the Tidewater area.

Minority students represent 47 percent of the freshman class, with another 2 percent of the class being international students.

VCU will enroll about 2,200 transfer students, which includes about 1,400 students from the Virginia Community College System.

Freshmen will move in on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. Traffic congestion is expected in the areas near VCU’s student residence halls on both Saturday and Sunday and nearby street parking will be blocked.

In order to ensure safety and order as students move into residence halls, the following streets will have travel restrictions or will be closed:

· Franklin Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Harrison and Belvidere streets
· Main Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Belvidere and Laurel streets
· Laurel Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Franklin and W. Grace streets
· Pine Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Cary and W. Main streets

Traffic restrictions and closures will be in effect on Friday, Aug. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 16 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 17 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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