City Council strikes fatal blow to Navy Hill plans with vote Monday evening

The plans to redevelop Navy Hill are no more. Richmond City Council voted to strike the redevelopment proposal. Andreas Addison of the 1st District, Kim Gray in the 2nd, Chris Hilbert in the 3rd, Kristen Larson from the 4th, Stephanie Lynch from the 5th, Ellen Robertson from the 6th, and Reva Trammell of the 8th all voted against moving the project forward. 9th District Councilman Michael Jones voted in favor, while Cynthia Newbille of the 9th abstained.

Navy Hill’s redevelopment plan called for a 17,500-square-foot arena, 2,000 apartments and condos, upwards of 1 million square feet of office and retail space including a proposed building for CoStar Group, hotels, and more.

Both supporters and opponents of the project lined up to speak in advance of the meeting hours before it began.

Ultimately, Council struck the proposal from the docket, claiming the deal was not transparent enough and posed too much risk to the city should it fail.

NH District Corp., the entity set up to support the project, called the outcome “regrettable.”

“We were actively working on amendments to incorporate the suggestions we heard, but unfortunately, those who opposed the project voted to end it before learning more — which is regrettable,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Mayor Levar Stoney, who championed the project, echoed that sentiment. “It saddens me that Richmonders won’t benefit from the housing, jobs and economic empowerment this project would bring — and I’m disappointed that council did not follow through on the process they laid out to review and evaluate this transformative project for our city — but I’m resolved to wake up tomorrow and keep working to move our city forward,” Stoney said.

Councilmembers are asking, through a resolution, for a small area plan to be conducted in the neighborhood that would amount to taking the plans back to the drawing board. They say with “robust” public input, an appraisal of city-owned land, and a new request for proposals, a new, more citizen-focused plan for the area can emerge.