Speaking up about Richmond Highway revitalization and offering a public thank you to Supervisor Storck and Commissioner Flanagan:
We, the undersigned, want to publically thank Mount Vernon District Planning Commissioner Earl Flanagan and Mount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck for their leadership and consensus building abilities. These gentlemen worked with the adjacent community groups, the county staff, the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors to obtain unanimous approval of NOVUS Holdings’ proposed redevelopment and enhancement of five acres along Richmond Highway. The NOVUS project, which is to be located on the east side of Richmond Highway, between the King’s Crossing Shopping Center and Fairview Drive, represents a dramatic enhancement of this important stretch of Richmond Highway and will provide a jumpstart the revitalization of the Richmond Highway corridor. This project embodies the principles of Embark and sets a high bar for future re-development along the corridor.
As many of our fellow Mount Vernon District citizens know, Richmond Highway’s revitalization and redevelopment has been agonizingly slow and difficult to achieve. Supervisor Hyland laid the groundwork for this project. Supervisor Storck and Commissioner Flanagan are demonstrating the leadership and vision needed to revitalize the Richmond Highway corridor and make the Mount Vernon District an even better place to live, work and play. We are finally on a roll and our current leaders are getting the job done.
At the Planning Commission’s public hearing in mid-July, numerous citizens spoke in support of this project as a way to kick start the long sought after revitalization of Richmond Highway corridor. At the Board of Supervisors July 25 public hearing, all public testimony presented was supportive of this project. Supervisor Storck’s pre-motion comments set the tone for future opportunities along the corridor and the need for staff and citizens alike to support these endeavors. At the close of these comments, Supervisor Storck again took the lead with a motion to approve this exciting new project, which was seconded by Board Chairman Sharon Bulova and unanimously adopted by the board. The board’s action speaks volumes about this project and the need to support our area’s revitalization.
During the almost four year process, NOVUS Holdings worked very closely with staff, the Spring Bank community and the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens’ Associations (MVCCA) to shape this development and ensure our vision for Richmond Highway would be represented by this project. The BOS vote on July 25 finally brought about the approval we all were hoping for.
We offer a big and sincere thank you to Commissioner Flanagan and Supervisor Storck and we appreciate the developer NOVUS for hanging in there with the community to see this through.
We look forward to seeing this project built and continuing the partnership with Commissioner Flanagan and Supervisor Storck to re-vitalize and re-develop additional properties in the Mt. Vernon District in line with our vision for Embark and the Richmond Highway corridor.
Josh Delmonico, Paul Johnson, Pete Sitnik, Mark Viani, Bill Brinley, Martin Tillett and Katherine Ward