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STADIUM, SHOCKOE VISIONS DEVELOP ; GROUP OPPOSES A DOWNTOWN BALLPARK BUT OFFERS BRIGHTER PROSPECTS FOR THE DIAMOND
Juan Antonio Lizama, Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 524-9724 or jlizama@timesdispatch.com. Richmond Times - Dispatch. Richmond, Va.: Jun 20, 2004.
A new task force met for the first time yesterday to brainstorm ideas to improve The Diamond and keep a new baseball stadium out of Shockoe Bottom.
"A group of us realized that we can't just say, `No, you can't put a stadium here,' " said Kim Chen, a volunteer with the event organizer, Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (ACORN).
The idea of building a baseball stadium in the night-life-rich Shockoe Bottom area east of downtown was the brainchild of a group of local business leaders and the Richmond Braves.
Two months ago, they proposed the Richmond Ballpark Initiative, which calls for building a $58 million ballpark between Main Street Station and Franklin, Broad and 18th streets. The proposed stadium, just north of the 17th Street Farmers' Market, would feature 7,500 seats and 20 skyboxes.
Since it was announced, the plan has encountered opposition from ACORN and a number of other groups.
Yesterday a couple of dozen people, including architects, engineers, planners, historians and concerned city residents, showed up for three hours of brainstorming at the Virginia Holocaust Museum on East Cary Street.
Chen said ACORN wants to create a shared vision of what Shockoe Bottom and The Diamond could be.
"This is the first step," she said. "We're not looking at walking out of here with a finished product."
"Today it's not intended to be a debate about the pros and cons."
The goal was to come up with ideas to preserve historic sites and structures while creating a retail, commercial and residential mix and a hub for historic tourism.
Shockoe Bottom, which was laid out in 1737 by Col. William Byrd, has a lot of Jewish and African-American history that needs to be preserved, Chen said.
"That is where the city where we all live now began," she said. "Every first that you can think of is within that area."
Yesterday, members of the task force divided into groups focusing on Shockoe Bottom or The Diamond.
The Shockoe Bottom group discussed the area's character, assets, transportation, uses and possible future uses.
Jennie Dotts, executive director of ACORN, said future possibilities include reconstructing historic sites such as the slave auction block and Lumpkins Jail.
Kim Sharp, who lives in Fulton Hill, said the group hopes to lure visitors to Shockoe Bottom but wants to keep the area pedestrian- friendly. Providing public transportation could be the answer, she said.
"It's about connecting the city of Richmond to this area," she said.
The Diamond group suggested that the area around the present baseball stadium could be developed into an athletic village.
Chen said the group is up against a deadline and expects to have a plan finished in about a month.
"We would like to have an opportunity to present it to City Council and representatives from this neighborhood," she said.
"We are not developers. We have no financial stake in whatever happens with this plan."
Chen thanked those present and reminded them that there will be more meetings.
"This is not the end of the process," she said. "We want to keep expanding."
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