Friend,

2021 was a year of recovery, resilience and investment in the future for our city, our communities and our families. We planted seeds for growth and took hold of our future because your city didn’t stop working.

I’m very optimistic for 2022, when these investments translate into real change that lifts up our residents and enhances the quality of life for all who live, work, and play in the City of Richmond.

As such, I wanted to remind you of some of our amazing accomplishments during the past year together:

• As of December 20, approximately 67% of all Richmond residents have received at least one Covid-19 vaccination shot
• Using our American Rescue Plan Act dollars, we are:
• Establishing the first ever Health Equity Trust Fund ($5M)
• Making an historic investment in community centers and parks across the city ($78M) 
• Investing $10M each year into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund
• Investing in gun violence prevention and intervention ($1.5M)
• Providing childcare and parental support ($2M)
• Supporting efforts to build back greener and more resilient, such as through stormwater improvements, urban forestry improvements, and a climate risk assessment ($19M)
• We created over 1,000 jobs and attracted international companies such as Safelite, Carmax, HalioDC, and Swedish Match and over $490 million in new capital investment 
• Announced the CoStar expansion – over 1,900 new jobs and a $460M investment for the City
• Council approval and disposition of the City’s old Public Safety Building to create a $350 million mixed-use development for VCU Health, Doorways, Ronald McDonald House as well as commercial retail and office spaces
• Issued a Request for Interest (RFI) for the Diamond District, located within the Greater Scott's Addition Area, to seek proposals for the redevelopment of the City’s 60+acre under-utilized site into a mixed-income, mixed-use urban village anchored by a new baseball stadium for use by VCU and the MiLB team the Flying Squirrels
• Awarded $450,000 through HUD’s competitive Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant application process in partnership with RRHA and the Richmond City Health District to help start the community engagement and planning of a high quality place to live, work, play and thrive for Gilpin Court and Jackson Ward residents
• Disposed of 15 city-owned surplus parcels to the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust for the development of 40+ affordable homeownership units
• Through the CVTA we are investing $113M in the completion of the Fall Line Trail, which is a 43-mile regional walking and biking trail
• We will invest $100M in the Combined Sewer Overflow to help protect the health of the James River 
• Paved: 230 lane miles and 1,435 alleys
• Completed a successful first year of the Richmond Resilience Initiative, where a group of Richmonders receive $500 per month for 24 months to help with rent and other essential living costs
• Won $500K DCJS grant to prevent gun violence in the city
• Won $400K US HHS grant to improve health literacy in our Black and Brown communities 
• Scored a 100 for the second year in a row on the Municipal Equality Index Scorecard
• RPS graduation rate = up 7.3% to 78.8%

To put it another way, despite being in the throes of a seemingly endless pandemic, I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve accomplished in our city this past year. If you agree and want to support these continued efforts, please consider clicking here and making a donation.

Thank you,

Levar Stoney

Mayor of Richmond