Richmond Business & Commercial News

Henrico is giving away money!

Henrico County is giving away money for new businesses, and for redevelopment projects!

...and so is Richmond City, and Chesterfield County, and Hanover County. 

Per Henrico County's website regarding the Enterprise Zone program in Virginia:

What is an Enterprise Zone?

The governing body of any county, city or town may make written application to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to have an area or areas declared to be an Enterprise Zone. The purpose of the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program is to stimulate business and industrial growth in such areas, which would result in neighborhood, commercial and economic revitalization. Upon the recommendation of the Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development the Governor may designate the proposed areas as Enterprise Zones. Upon designation of an area as an Enterprise Zone state and local incentives become available to qualified business firms that participate in the Program.

The trick is learning the details of the different programs that are available.  Given that we are talking about free money (grants) and cheap money (loans), and that these are government programs, there is quite a bit of red tape and a complex set of regulations regarding how to qualify for the programs.

I'm no expert on the intricate regulations involved, which is why I am attending the Henrico County Enterprise Zone Spring Workshop at Belmont Recreation Center on May 7th.  It is FREE to attend, but you have to register beforehand (and space may be limited).

If you're interested in the program, you may have to pull some strings since the registration deadline was April 3rd (SORRY -- it's been very busy here, despite all the dark clouds cast by the media).  You could still call 804-501-7615 or email to arz@co.henrico.va.us and see if they have any open spots.

Otherwise, if I can find a good way to summarize what will be an enormous amount of useful information, I will post a follow up on here after the workshop!

Comments on The Crupi Report

I just finished reading The Crupi Report, and there is quite a bit that I agree with...and some that I don't.  Instead of taking this post to get into the individual points that I am for or against, I wanted to share my most immediate gut criticisms of the report:

1. What was up with the misspellings?  I noticed a handful sprinkled throughout the report (and I wasn't looking for them) --- "lose" was mispelled a couple of times, i.e.
2. What is the "medium of house prices"?  I assume Dr. Crupi meant "median", but I can't be sure.  Maybe he meant average?  Who knows...
3. There was a quote from "A black leader" that said "I drank from the back of the bus, but it doesn't define my life."  I get the meaning and appreciate it.  But, am I missing some piece of historical reference here or is that a mixed reference -- i.e., sitting at the back of the bus and having to drink at a different water fountain?  Given the other mistakes in the report, I don't know whether that is a misquote or the actual words he/she used.  Either way, it's  wouldn't have used it in the report as-is.

My point is not to be nit-picky, but come on, these are pretty simple mistakes to catch and correct.  Why undermine your credibility by letting them slip through?  I certainly don't think that my writing is perfect, but I'm not getting paid to produce reports that are going to be read by an entire region.

Getting past the simple mistakes, I enjoyed the overall theme of urging cooperation and overarching vision as necessary for the strategic growth of the entire region.

One of my favorite quotes from the report was:  "It is ironic that while people in the counties recognize that the city can influence it with negative pollitical and economic images, they under-appreciate the benefits of what would happen if those same images were positive."

I am anticipating a great future for the Richmond-metro area, and I think that this report was a great way to generate interest and involvement by the general populace.

How to influence the future of Richmond

There aren't many times in a region's development where the leaders sincerely ask for guidance and input from the general populace.  Granted, this has been an initiative organized by a group of local business leaders and headed up by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, but it is getting a lot of attention from the general population and recognition by the local governments.

If you are watching for the report delivered last Monday to be mentioned in the local news or blogs, it has been referred to as "The Crupi Report".  Dr. James Crupi was brought in "to re-examine the greater Richmond area and make recommendations that would enhance its future development and competitive position." -- (see the article about the report on Richmond.com, or another article here from RTD)

I still need to sit down and read the report for the details, and I am hoping that the majority of people in the region do the same thing.  For your own You can find the report over at the GRCC's website by clicking here.  Over the next several months, those same business leaders who commissioned the report are looking for reactions from all of us.

An open forum on the subject is scheduled for Tuesday night at 7pm at the Richmond Times Dispatch's Public Square, which will be held at their Hanover production facility.  (Click here for the announcement of the Public Square)  The address is         8460 Times-Dispatch Blvd. Mechanicsville, VA 23116.  See you there!

Is Growth in Hanover a Good Thing?

It would seem that the majority (or a vocal minority?) would say NO!!!  Of course, I'm more of a city boy, so I like the development, as long as it is done well and doesn't turn the landscape into NoVA.

The RTD ran an article yesterday about how Hanover has reached 100,000 residents.  The irony, as most people have pointed out, is that the area is so popular because of the slower pace, the good school system, the larger building lots, and sparser population.  Of course, more people in the area detract from these benefits that are so popular.

I have always had a negative impression of Hanover's ability to work with businesses.  Maybe my impression is founded on their working with small businesspeople, not the big box retailers that seem to be taking  over Mechanicsville so easily.

Even more interesting than the article itself was the reaction in the online comments section.  The commenters remind us that Hanover is not just the 360/Mechanicsville corridor, but also Doswell, Ashland, and many other sections that each have a distinctive identity from one another.

So mark me down on the side of development, but with the caveat of recognizing that the planners seem to be doing a fairly decent job of controlled growth, which is important.