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RICHMOND City's for-sale list includes old post office, former school and Jackson Ward armory
BY WILL JONES
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Private developers are sought
The city of Richmond is looking for private developers to breathe life into several city properties, including the old armory for black troops in Jackson Ward.
The armory, at 122 W. Leigh St., was close to being sold more than five years ago as a residence until the City Council rejected the deal in favor of another that did not materialize.
The properties being offered for sale also include the old post office at 1019 Hull St., later used as the police department's 2nd Precinct, and the former Leigh Street School, at 21 E. Leigh St.
A committee will have 60 days to review the proposals before making a recommendation to the city administration.
Officials are expecting a number of proposals to be submitted by today's deadline.
"These surplus properties offer tremendous potential in terms of rehabilitation and influence on neighborhood revitalization," city spokesman Linwood Norman said. "In view of the economic-development renaissance currently under way throughout the city, it's very opportune that these properties can return to productive uses."
The armory was built for the 1st Battalion, Virginia Volunteers Infantry in 1895 and was used by black troops during the Spanish-American War. Since then, the property has had other uses, including a school for blacks. The armory was vacated in 1991 and fell into disrepair. The city is now stabilizing the structure, adding a new roof and shoring up the masonry walls.
The armory, assessed at $120,000, has 3,900 square feet of space, but it could be expanded to 7,800 square feet if the second floor is rebuilt, according to the city.
Developer Robin Miller said he is not pursuing any of the properties but hopes they'll get serious attention. "They desperately need to be sold to a competent private developer so the buildings can be saved."
Jennie Dotts, executive director of the Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, agreed. "The most dangerous thing for any building is to be unoccupied for any period of time," she said.
The City Council was considering selling the armory to a North Carolina couple in 2000 before then-Councilman Sa'ad El-Amin asked for time to allow a group to arrange its financing to convert the building into a training center.
That proposal, by the Virginia Innovative Training and Leadership Foundation, never won the support of then-City Manager Calvin D. Jamison, and the group is now defunct, said E. Martin "Marty" Jewell, chairman of the foundation's board.
"It's another example, in my estimation, of the ineptitude of the city to be its own developer and the unevenness of who gets to develop with the city's support," said Jewell, now a member of the City Council.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or wjones@timesdispatch.com