Richmond Prepares Housing Solicitations for Former Precinct and School Sites

Richmond's Department of Housing and Community Development is preparing solicitations to redevelop surplus city property at 2503 Q Street, the former First Precinct police site, and 4929 Chamberlayne Avenue, once eyed for a clinic on the former Brook Hill School grounds.

An RFQ for the East End Q Street acre is targeted by the end of September, with an RFP in October alongside a separate Chamberlayne solicitation. Both sites are envisioned for mixed-use projects with lower-income housing replacing vacant public buildings.

Housing director Merrick Malone said the goal is mixed-income housing that returns underused land to the tax rolls and helps seed a revolving loan fund for more affordable units. The city declared a housing crisis for lower-income households in 2023.

Conceptual renderings shown to a City Council committee depicted a three-story Q Street building and a five-story Chamberlayne building with ground-floor commercial space. Community outreach meetings are underway, including a public session at the VCU Health Hub for the East End site.

Malone said interest in Q Street is strong and growing for Chamberlayne. A separate Shockoe Bottom RFP at 212 N. 18th Street is nearing a developer recommendation for council approval.

Email the Richmond City Council:
Andrew Breton, andrew.breton@rva.gov,
Katherine Jordan, katherine.jordan@rva.gov,
Kenya Gibson, kenya.gibson@rva.gov,
Sarah Abubaker, sarah.abubaker@rva.gov,
Stephanie Lynch, stephanie.lynch@rva.gov,
Ellen Robertson, ellen.robertson@rva.gov,
Cynthia Newbille, cynthia.newbille@rva.gov,
Reva Trammell, reva.trammell@rva.gov,
Nicole Jones, nicole.jones@rva.gov,

Email the Richmond School Board:
Matthew Percival, mpercival@rvaschools.net,
Kathryn Ricard, kricard@rvaschools.net,
Ali Faruk, afaruk@rvaschools.net,
Wesley Hedgepeth, whedgepeth@rvaschools.net,
Stephanie Rizzi, srizzi@rvaschools.net,
Anne Holton, aholton@rvaschools.net,
Cheryl Burke, cburke2@rvaschools.net,
Emmett Jafari, ejafari@rvaschools.net,
Shavonda Fernandez, sdixon@rvaschools.net,