Latest news with #Richmonders
Axios
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Low water pressure hits Richmond after plant filters clog
Richmonders in multiple parts of the city are experiencing low water pressure Tuesday morning after the water treatment plant had yet another issue. Why it matters: While the city says the water is safe to drink, some residents reported being unable to shower before work the day after a long weekend. The big picture: The plant's filters clogged because the water was unusually dirty or cloudy, leading to a temporary reduction in how much clean water the plant could produce, the city said in a release Tuesday morning. Richmond officials say the plant was still able to make enough to keep the water pressure safe and not require a boil water advisory. And they were in touch with the counties and state agencies shortly after midnight, per the release. The issue has since been resolved, according to the city. Yes, but: People reported on social media low water pressure in parts of Scott's Addition, The Fan, Museum District, Jackson Ward, Church Hill and Northside around 10am, an hour after the city said the issue was fixed.
Axios
22-05-2025
- Axios
Richmond is officially removing the infamous Gun Hole
Say goodbye to the Richmond gun hole — for now. The big picture: The sidewalk that it's on is going to be ripped up starting Friday, workers at the site told Axios. Driving the news: Crews are already digging up the nearby sidewalks on Addison Street between West Main and West Cary. That means if you want to share some final words with the revolver-shaped impression, now's the time. What the city's saying: Nothing just yet. Richmond officials didn't tell Axios by time of publication why the sidewalks are being removed or whether they, too, have any final words for the hole that united Richmonders last year. Catch up quick: When the gun hole went viral in January 2024, residents turned it into a shrine that came to include acid reflux pills, a chopped-off Barbie doll head, a joint and a Magnum condom. It had apparently been there for at least 20 years, per Style Weekly. The bottom line: Based on Richmond's love of oddly shaped objects, the gun hole won't go gently into that good night.
Axios
21-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Million-dollar home sales heat up in Richmond
Competition and out-of-town buyers with bigger budgets are pushing more parts of the Richmond metro into the millionaire home club, agents tell Axios. Why it matters: The majority of Richmonders don't make million-dollar house money, at least if U.S. Census Bureau data is any indication. The big picture: Before the pandemic, million-dollar home deals were a rarity in Richmond, Dawson Boyer with Providence Hill Real Estate tells Axios. And the region's occasional million-dollar home sales were concentrated in a few parts of town, like the Fan and Windsor Farms, or on specific streets, like Hanover, Grove and Monument avenues. That changed with Covid and the influx into metro Richmond of more than 50,000 newcomers in four years. Between the lines: Many of those transplants came here from bigger cities — often armed with equity from home sales in pricier markets or remote jobs paying bigger-city salaries. At the same time, locals were looking to level up their homes in search of more space for their remote jobs. Plus, the Richmond region, like most of the country, hasn't been building quickly enough to meet demand. All of this helped drive up Richmond's home prices and created the "kind of crazy" home sale market we see today, Boyer says. Case in point: $1 million-plus listings are cropping up everywhere, in Westover Hills, Forest Hill, parts of Stratford Hills, Northside, and the Near West End. They're also in James River and Midlothian high school districts in Chesterfield County, as well as in Freeman and Godwin high school districts in Henrico County. By the numbers: 114 homes in metro Richmond sold for $1 million or more in 2019, according to an Axios review of data from the Richmond Association of Realtors. Last year, 496 homes in metro Richmond sold for $1 million or more. As of Tuesday, 170 homes had sold for at least $1 million this year, putting RVA on track to surpass all of 2020's million-dollar-plus home sales by the end of this month. Reality check: The median home sale price in metro Richmond is $410,000, per Richmond real estate data from April. That's up nearly 4% year over year. The intrigue: Bidding wars are driving up prices, creating a $1 million home where one wasn't before. Of the 170 homes that have sold for $1 million or more this year, just 148 had been listed for seven figures. Boyer said that over the weekend, his $950,000 listing sold for $1.1 million, and a couple of weeks ago, his colleague had a $1.6 million listing go for $2.3 million. What's surprising in the market now, though, Boyer says, is the number of cash offers coming in, especially in the Near West End, Fan and Museum District. "I bet if you pulled 20 houses" from those neighborhoods, "14 of them were cash deals," he says. In some cases, Boyer has seen transplants flush with recent home-sale money driving the cash sales, but increasingly, "it's early transfer of wealth" — that is, parents gifting their children their inheritance early so their kids can finally get into the housing market. Zoom out: Richmond isn't the only city seeing a million-dollar home boom. There are now 233 U.S. cities where a typical starter home costs at least $1 million — up from 85 cities in March 2020, according to a Zillow report.
Axios
20-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Richmond homeowners face tax chaos after 33,000 billing errors
It's a confusing time to be a Richmond homeowner. Why it matters: The past few months have been full of city flubs, which include thousands of property owners receiving the wrong tax rebate checks and getting real estate tax bills meant for their mortgage lenders. The latest: Those real estate tax bills were sent over the weekend after a system error messed up at least 33,000 taxpayer records, per a city release. The mistake left multiple residents — including Mayor Danny Avula — stressed and confused over whether the bill was real, and they owed money, or whether they should ignore it. One bill obtained by Axios said to pay by June 14 to avoid late fees and interest. Zoom in: Now, officials are telling taxpayers whose mortgage lenders typically handle these bills to do nothing. To make sure the payment is covered, you can call your lender. Taxpayers who've accidentally paid twice can request a refund by calling 311 or logging into their online account. If you don't have a mortgage lender and typically pay your real estate tax bills yourself, do so before June 14, the city says. Meanwhile, thousands of Richmond homeowners are still awaiting the tax rebate checks initially promised early this year (now arriving by June 30) after: The city sent checks last year to the wrong people and properties that didn't exist. Some of the correctly issued checks bounced. What's next: The Department of Finance, which many Richmonders have lost trust in after years of failures, and the real estate tax billing vendor are investigating what happened with the system error and are working to fix the issue. Avula, in a statement Tuesday, said he's "personally spending time" with finance department staff to "understand the breakdowns that occurred." He also said he plans to bring in an expert on improving communication and processes "to prevent this type of issue from happening again." The department just finished fixing more than 200 Richmonders' incorrect personal property tax bills, which are due June 5.
Axios
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Angela Rye brings tour to Richmond to re-energize Black voters
Angela Rye isn't waiting on Washington. She's betting on the people — and her eyes are on Richmond. Why it matters: Through her 10-city State of the People Power Tour, which stops here this weekend, Rye is working to re-energize communities where she says Black voters face rising political pressure and financial hardship. State of play: The former Congressional Black Caucus adviser and CNN commentator kicked off the tour late last month in Atlanta with the goal of aiding local Black communities through direct relief and political training. That means more than just speeches, Rye tells Axios. It's helping with voter registration, utility bills, feeding families and expunging records. It also includes banned book giveaways and talking to people about how policy changes are affecting them. The big picture: The tour emerges as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs are dismantled, book bans spread, and federal funding is thrown into uncertainty — particularly in Southern states, where most Black Americans live. Yes, but: This isn't D.C. encroaching on our city, though. The Richmond stop is hosted by Richmonders for Virginians. What they're saying: "There's no way we were going to do this and not come to Virginia," Wes Bellamy, political science chair at Virginia State University, tells Axios. Zoom in: Friday kicks off with a reception and call to action at The Len in Shockoe Bottom.
