RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After weeks of controversy surrounding the future of the historic Richmond Community Hospital, Virginia Union University (VUU) issued its first statement in front of neighbors and city officials at a meeting earlier this week. However, many were left with more questions and less clarity from the university.
A spokesperson from the university sent the following statement to 8News:
“The university is committed to incorporating the Richmond Community Hospital’s rich history and legacy into our project to expand housing options in Richmond’s Northside. Virginia Union has a rich and extensive experience in historic preservation, and we will do what we have always done: include the best and brightest minds to determine the building’s best use. This project is at the early stage, and the university will continue reaching out to community partners and others for collaborative thoughts and ideas.”
Virginia Union University Spokesperson
While many people would like to see the building restored, VUU alum Pamela Crews Parker said the legacy of the hospital can still be remembered without its physical presence.
“For decades, nothing has been done with it. It has been an eyesore, technically, to the community for a number of years,” Parker said. “And I just feel like this is not the right time for us to try to preserve it. I think it’s the right time for the community and the school to collaborate, to figure out how we preserve their legacy, but not stand in the way of progress for the university to expand in a way that it desperately needs to expand.”
Parker said the housing project gives the university a greater opportunity to expand its legacy.
“We have a Black History museum,” Parker said. “I think that a collaboration with the museum would be the perfect place to start in terms of how we create a story that would be forever told about the history of that hospital.”
Richmond City councilwoman Ann-Frances Lambert hosted the meeting on Wednesday, March 20. She’s aware of the growing frustration from neighbors and hopes people can take these small steps of collaboration as a sign of progress, instead of a lack of transparency.
“At one point, there was no conversation. Now we had a conversation. Now the community is involved, and they have a better feeling, for instance, of let’s keep the communication going. So that’s what I’m here for, is to make sure that the community and the university are keeping those lines of communication open.”
VUU also said the project is in the early stage and will continue to reach out to community partners for collaborative thoughts and ideas.
Councilwoman Lambert said there will be another meeting where people can express their opinions and those who are looking to get involved in the restoration process can contact her directly by email at anne-frances.lambert@rva.gov.
