Richmond 300 Plan Update Includes New Cap Park, Form-Based Code

"With development activity picking up on both sides of the freeway that 80 years ago cut the Jackson Ward area in half, Richmond planners are floating an idea to reconnect the historically Black neighborhood as part of the city’s proposed master plan," report Jonathan Spiers. 

"Richmond 300, the draft update to the city’s master land-use plan that city planners and consultants have been rolling out in recent weeks, includes several strategies for improving road and pedestrian connections throughout town. Among them is a proposal to cap Interstate 64-95 with a bridge deck spanning the width of First and St. James streets, creating a platform the size of a city block that could be filled with a park, buildings, and new roads and walkways."

"The occasion marking Richmond’s 300th year also would mark 80 years since the completion, in 1957, of what is now I-64-95 through Jackson Ward. It cut a swath through the heart of the neighborhood, dividing Jackson Ward physically and destroying parts of what had become an epicenter of Black culture and commerce in Richmond, known along the East Coast as 'Black Wall Street,'" adds Spiers.

More details on the six big moves included in the Richmond 300 plan are included in the source article. The Executive Summary of the draft Richmond 300 plan also lists a zoning code update, including a move from a Euclidean zoning code to a form-based code are among the six big moves.