Hull Street Road Revitalization Plan - College of Humanities and ...

Hull Street Road Revitalization Plan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Hull Street Road commercial corridor is situated on both sides of Chippenham Parkway, from Warwick Road in the City of Richmond to the
Route 360 West Shopping Center in Chesterfield County. The unprecendented collaboration between the City of Richmond and Chesterfield
County in this planning process provides an opportunity for revitalization on both sides of Chippenham Parkway. Hull Street Road is centrally
located among major transporation routes, including Jefferson Davis Highway, Midlothian Turnpike, Chippenham Parkway, and Interstate 95,
providing easy access to and from the corridor, but also leading many to focus on the corridor solely as a major arterial route for commuters. The
corridor is also home to many commercial businesses who serve nearby residential neighborhoods with needed convenience goods. In addition, a
thriving Hispanic business cluster that provides speciality goods to the growing Hispanic population is located here.
Despite these assets, Hull Street Road faces numerous challenges. The corridor is surrounded by many shopping centers that provide goods and
attractions that Hull Street Road does not offer. Shoppers and business owners perceive the area to be unsafe. The corridor also does not provide
easy or safe access to shopping from nearby neighborhoods because of its lack of sidewalks and crosswalks. The most challenging aspect,
however, is the lack of design unity between the city and county portions of the corridor. The corridor lacks landscaping, building design guidelines,
and pedestrian-scale amenities that could create a sense of comfort and enclosure for shoppers and drivers alike.
Despite these weaknesses, Hull Street Road has many opportunities for revitalization. The area already serves as a central location for Hispanic
goods and services for the Richmond area. Encouraging growth of this market will increase its ability to attract shoppers from surrounding areas
and the region. Past development patterns in the corridor have also left many undeveloped and underutilized parcels that can be used to attract
new businesses to the area.
A market analyis conducted for this plan revealed unmet demand for several businesses, including fast food restaurants, laundry businesses,
tobacco products, household furnishings, entertainment goods and services, and specialty apparel, such as watches and shoes. These findings,
conditions currently found in the area, and survey responses are the basis for the following recommendations.
I. Development
• Develop a Hispanic Business Cluster providing Hispanic goods, food, and entertainment, for both the local Hispanic Ccommunity and the
surrounding Metropolitan Richmond community.
• Develop an open-air shopping mall, surrounding a central courtyard containing design elements from Spanish Revival style.
• Attract and foster the development of new Hispanic-run businesses.
• Develop a public open space within the courtyard of the open-air shopping mall.
• Develop an open-air Farmers Market that includes Hispanic food and goods among produce from local farmers.
• Create a Hispanic Community Center.
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