GRTC Transit System sold its coveted, century-old headquarters near Richmond’s Fan District today for more than $5 million.
By MICHAEL MARTZ
Published: December 15, 2009 in Richmond Times Dispatch
nowBuzz up!GRTC Transit System sold its coveted, century-old headquarters near Richmond’s Fan District today for more than $5 million.
The transit system’s board of directors voted 3-0 to approve the sale to Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority, despite the absence of two board members from Chesterfield County. The third Chesterfield representative, David Mathews, abstained from the vote, taken publicly after an hour-long executive session.
“One-third of the board was not here to take a vote,” Mathews said after the meeting to explain his abstention.
GRTC officials were pleased with the deal, which gives the transit system $5.4 million and an equal share of any additional profits reaped when the housing authority sells the 6.8 acres for development. The sales price represents the appraised value of the property, which the housing authority originally offered to buy for $5 million.
“We think it’s the full value,” said John M. Lewis Jr., GRTC president and chief executive officer.
The property, at 101 S. Davis Ave. along West Cary Street, is considered prime real estate for development because of its proximity to the Fan District. The transit system will begin moving its administrative offices out of the building next week as the transition begins to the new headquarters and operations center on Belt Boulevard in South Richmond.
The sale was approved by Chairwoman Linda Broady-Myers, James Johnson, and Sheila Hill-Christian, all representatives of Richmond, which shares ownership of the transit system with Chesterfield.
GRTC will be responsible for environmental cleanup of the bus depot and an estimated six underground fuel storage tanks. Lewis estimates the cleanup cost at $1 million to $2 million.
The sale is subject to approval by the Federal Transportation Administration because of the federal share of money used to buy the property in 1973 from the Virginia Transit Co.
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RePHRAME, Residents of Public Housing in Richmond Against Mass Evictions, is an alliance of public housing residents, advocates, and allies committed to housing justice for all in Richmond.
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The RePHRAME Concerns & Demands:
1. There should be 1-for-1 replacement of any public housing units lost through public housing redevelopment. In other words, there should be no net loss of public housing units. In addition, location of newly created public housing units, and other aspects of the redevelopment process, should increase the employment, education, and other opportunities of public housing residents.
2. Current residents should have the right to return to newly developed public housing without any additional screening or requalification process. In the past, additional credit checks and other screenings (above and beyond those to which public housing residents are routinely subjected) have been used to effectively prevent previous residents from coming back to the newly developed housing. We believe redevelopment should not be used to get rid of residents who have done nothing to warrant eviction.
3. Public housing residents should have a meaningful voice in decisions regarding their housing and communities. Currently only 1 out of 7 RRHA commissioners is a public housing resident. RePHRAME proposes adding 2 additional seats to the RRHA Board of Commissioners which would be filled with RRHA residents.
4. RRHA currently requires that residents mail their rent payment to a SunTrust bank address in Baltimore, MD. Residents must often pay late fees through no fault of their own due to delays in the mail system or processing delays in Baltimore. In February, hundreds of residents paid late fees when a blizzard caused the mail system to shut down. According to RePHRAME's research of dozens of housing authorities in Virginia and nationally, RRHA alone requires residents to mail rent out of state. RePHRAME surveyed hundreds of public housing residents in Richmond, and the overwhelming consensus is for a local rent payment option, at either the RRHA rent office in their neighborhood or at a local bank.
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