Economic Development
Encourages a vibrant economy and includes such topics as: green and local jobs, sustainable
businesses and urban agriculture.
Food Policy Task Force
The city created a Food Policy Task Force to further its urban agriculture efforts. The Task
Force is a broad based group of professionals and community members. Among other initiatives, it will
conduct a food assessment of the community and develop a more robust support system for urban agriculture
based economic development initiatives.
Community Gardens
The city created Richmond Grows Gardens, its Community Garden Program, to enable
the public to use vacant city-owned parcels for the development of community gardens throughout the city of
Richmond. Community gardens are also an economic driver. Blighted property can be turned into urban gardens
to provide a local source of healthy food for a community.
School and Children's Gardens
A number of city public schools have gardens, including Linwood Holton Elementary School, which
also has a Farm to School program, Mary Scott Elementary School, Southampton Elementary School, and G.H. Reid
Elementary School. The 17th Street Farmer's Market sponsors the Little Sprouts Garden which works with volunteers
and children from several Richmond Redevelopment Housing Authority communities to educate the children about
local food and work ethics.
Farmers Markets
The city supports farmers markets including the 17th Street Farmers Market and the South of the James
Market. Farmers markets enable citizens to purchase fresh, local, healthy food and assist local farmers.
City Incentive Programs
The city of Richmond offers a series of financial tools and incentives for businesses relocating and
expanding within the city. Incentives are subject to availability of funds.
CARE is
designed to revitalize and return economic viability to mature neighborhood districts. The city's
Enterprise Zone Program
offers financial incentives to qualified commercial and industrial users in specific Enterprise Zone areas of the city.
The city offers
partial exemption from real estate taxes for qualifying rehabilitated and replaced structures.
The
Contractor Assistance Loan Program provides capital to contractors that are located within the city
of Richmond that lack access to traditional financing.
City-wide Revolving Loan Fund
The city established a loan fund of $2 million which is available to stimulate the revitalization of
Richmond's neighborhoods and promote job creation for low and moderate income residents by helping to bridge the credit
gap for independent real estate developers and smaller employers. Affordable live-work spaces and a new restaurant
in the Broad Street corridor and Arts District are among the first projects that received gap funding from the loan fund.
