STRONG OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED BOW TIE CASINO FROM JONATHAN MARCUS TO MAYOR LEVAR STONEY
May 17, 2021
The Honorable Levar Stoney
900 E. Broad Street, Suite 201
Richmond, VA 23219
Dear Mr. Stoney,
As the Evaluation Panel completes its discussions on the final selection of a casino resort site in Richmond, and before it delivers its recommendation to City Council, answers to the questions below would render the process transparent to the community. We ask for release of this information prior to any action taken by the Evaluation Panel and City Council. These same questions have been shared with the media.
Q: The City agreed to an $18 million stake in partnership with the Cordish Company to renovate the abandoned power plant on Brown's Island in 2003.* The proposed $82 million complex was to include 230,000 square feet of office space, 122 luxury apartments, an 800-space parking garage, over 70,000 square feet of retail space, a national restaurant chain and promises of employment for Richmond citizens.** Why did the Cordish project fail?
Q: The abandoned power plant remains exactly as it was. How much did this partnership with Cordish cost Richmond taxpayers? Is the city still paying for this failed project with Cordish?
Q: Opposition to the Movieland site is high; fourteen neighborhood associations formally oppose it, and no neighborhood associations support it. The City will face years of litigation and protests to stop a casino at the site. Is the City prepared for and can it justify spending citizen tax dollars in this way?
Q: The Richmond 300 Master Plan did not consider potential casino sites as part of its mission. Why not, since Cordish investors say they knew of the possibility two years ago, before the Master Plan was finalized?
Q: The Richmond 300 Plan prioritizes public transportation, biking, and walking as primary modes of transportation critical to the future of Richmond. Why is this administration blatantly supporting a casino project that is so heavily “auto dependent” and in violation of the master plan?
Q: No comprehensive traffic study has been conducted for the entire greater Scott’s Addition area, including the casino, the VCU athletic complex, the new baseball stadium, the City-owned properties, and the new densities allowed under Richmond 300. This speaks glaringly of poor planning; why was a study not done before development was considered?
Q: The advisory group has not made public its reasons for eliminating four of the six casino proposals, which were to be based on specific evaluation criteria listed on the City website. In the interests of transparency and accountability, when will this information be released to the community?
Q: Why are all but two members of the advisory group city employees?
Q: Will the evaluation and scoring of each criterion be made public in the final selection? Will the need for transparency be honored, so that citizens will know how the final recommendation was made and how the two compared?
Q: Will alcohol consumption be permitted through the night at the Cordish site? During the licensing process, adjacent neighborhoods will vehemently protest all-night drinking as a matter of public safety. Citizens will protect local breweries and restaurants from competitive disadvantages if the casino and its 18 restaurants become a magnet for all-night alcohol consumption.
Q: Many School Board members, representing thousands of school children, oppose a casino in Richmond. Will their opposition be considered a substantive factor?
Q: In keeping with the “green” emphasis of the Richmond 300 plan, how will the City ensure residents and businesses that the Cordish casino contributes ZERO sanitary and stormwater to combined sewer overflows in the James River?
Q: How will the City administration enforce the lavish verbal commitments made by Cordish to various neighborhood and community groups in recent months—including $100,000 annually to Scott’s Addition, $200 million to selected charities, and millions in transportation improvements?
Q: What measures will be taken—in the form of a performance bond or other surety—to secure these promises, particularly if Cordish revenues fail to meet projections, or if Cordish sells some or all of its interests to third parties, or for any other reason fails to deliver the funds?
On behalf of the fourteen neighborhood associations that formally oppose the Cordish proposal, representing tens of thousands of Richmond taxpayers, we request that these questions be answered prior to the Evaluation Panel’s final selection and any vote taken by City Council.
Respectfully Yours,
Jonathan Marcus, Chair, RVA Coalition of Civic Associations
Cc:
Evaluation Panel
Andreas Addison
Ellen Robertson
Lincoln Saunders
Chief Melvin Carter
Sharon Ebert
Robert Steidel
Leonard Sledge
Valaryee Mitchell
Maritza Pechin
City Council
Andreas Addison
Katherine Jordan
Ann-Frances Lambert
Kristen Larson
Stephanie Lynch
Ellen Robertson, Vice President
Cynthia Newbille, President
Reva Trammel
Michael Jones
Neighborhood Associations Opposing Live! at the BowTie Site:
Bellevue Civic Association
Chamberlayne Court Civic Association
Fan Area Business Alliance
Fan District Association
Ginter Park Residents Association
Hartshorn Community Association
Hermitage Road Historic District Association
Historic West Grace Street Association
Monument Avenue Preservation Society
Newtowne West Civic Association
Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association
Rosedale Civic Association
Sherwood Park Civic Association
West Avenue Improvement Association
* https://richmond.com/a-little-more-time/article_f530f718-51ea-56e0-87ff-54064482d3c6.html
** (End of article: More is More: The Cordish Company and the Power Plant Project) https://richmondmagazine.com/news/louis-salomonsky-history/