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18-06-2025
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Petersburg's Sycamore Grove project is still a go. Question is what to do with a water line?
Whoever is chosen to restart the Sycamore Grove multi-use development project will have to satisfactorily answer a major infrastructure question before Petersburg will sign a contract with them, and that is what to do about a main water line running below the selected site. Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham told The Progress-Index that the price tag to relocate that water line is around $25 million, and the previous developer, Virginia Development Consortium, was not willing to help foot the bill. Because of that, the city yanked its agreement with VDC, meaning Sycamore Grove is temporarily shelved but will go on as planned. 'The developer will have to work with us to figure out how to navigate that surprise expense,' Parham said following a June 3 bill-signing ceremony at Bon Secours Center for Healthy Living. That, coupled with the city's claim that VDC had dragged its feet on getting other associated paperwork done by the deadline, led to City Council's May 20 decision to rescind the Sycamore Grove contracts. The line was a main water supplier to Southside Regional Medical Center that once occupied the site off South Sycamore Street where Sycamore Grove would go. The hospital, now known as Bon Secours Southside Medical Center, relocated to the southern part of town, and the previous building was demolished almost two decades ago. Right now, Parham said, the city and the potential developer would have to agree if the line should be relocated or possibly built around. More: Veg in the 'Burg is a free plant-based cookout: See the schedule and more Petersburg has an aging water infrastructure, with some parts more than 100 years old, so any major renovations must be weighed carefully. Parham also said he does not want to see a repeat in Petersburg of the water-supply problems that have plagued Richmond since the beginning of 2025. Whatever happens, both Parham and Gov. Glenn Youngkin – whose 'Partnership for Petersburg' initiative had made Sycamore Grove a cornerstone – say the project is not dead, only napping. 'Negotiations will continue, and the negotiations are not finished,' Youngkin said. 'But I am confident that Sycamore Grove housing and grocery store will move ahead.' In addition to bringing more housing and retail options, Sycamore Grove is expected to bring a long-awaited grocery store to supermarket-strapped Petersburg. A lack of major grocery stores has contributed to Petersburg being declared a 'food desert' -- with only Food Lion and Walmart in southern Petersburg as the only grocery chains within the city limits. Grants Supermarket, a West Virginia-based grocer with locations primarily in southwest Virginia, has agreed to anchor Sycamore Grove. Ron Martin, a Grants co-owner who is also mayor of Bluefield, West Virginia, told The Progress-Index he was still interested in coming to central Virginia but had not heard anything about progress on Sycamore Grove since last October's groundbreaking. More: Hotel Petersburg: Creators of The Boiler Room logo win marketing award Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Mayor, governor say Sycamore Grove is still set to be built
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18-06-2025
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Mum's the word: Petersburg officials silent on why plug was pulled on Sycamore Grove
The future of a multi-use development that was supposed to make a dent in Petersburg's 'food desert' is uncertain after City Council voted last month to rescind agreements with the consortium developing it, citing unfulfilled deadlines and other 'infrastructure issues.' The question of Sycamore Grove's viability could be answered when City Council convenes for its first meeting of the month June 3. In the meantime, Petersburg refuses to say for the record if the project that was a cornerstone of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's 'Partnership for Petersburg' initiative is just delayed or done for good. Petersburg spokesperson Joanne Williams says the city will not comment beyond the May 20 resolution that junked the agreements. A spokesperson for Youngkin said his office will continue to monitor the project but hopes council will have something to announce Tuesday afternoon. The Virginia Development Consortium, which was spearheading Sycamore Grove and its affiliated Adams North development in Old Towne Petersburg, told The Progress-Index the deal was 'abruptly' pulled, and it lamented the decision 'It is deeply unfortunate that Virginia Development Consortium is no longer being allowed to stand with the Petersburg community and Governor's office as a committed partner in delivering a quality grocer, attainable housing, well-paying employment opportunities, and economic development investments that would have directly addressed multiple real and urgent needs of residents,' Marvin Lyman, development director for the consortium, said in an email. Sycamore Grove was set to occupy the former Southside Regional Medical Center's vacant site with a combination of retail and residential spaces. It was to be anchored by Grants Supermarket, a Bluefield, West Virginia-based grocery chain with a handful of stores in southwestern Virginia. Adams North was going to be a development around Bank, Adams and Sycamore streets in Old Towne. While ground was broken last October on the Sycamore Grove development, nothing has occurred since then. That is, until City Council met on May 20. Councilors emerged from a closed session to pass a resolution terminating the agreements with the Virginia Development Consortium. The measure passed with little discussion about the resolution's content. The Progress-Index requested a copy of the resolution. It was sent by Williams with the remark, 'Council rescinded this ordinance. No other comment on the action at this time.' Feds claim Dinwiddie County is a 'sanctuary' for illegal immigrants. County says, 'What?' The resolution itself was long on details about the creation of a 'Master Development Agreement' between City Council and the Virginia Development Consortium to develop both the old SRMC and the Bank-Adams-Sycamore site. In addition, Petersburg submitted an application for state Industrial Revitalization Fund grants to help finance Sycamore Grove. However, the resolution, while long on development details, was short on why Petersburg wanted to pull the plug. First, Petersburg said the VDC had 'failed to secure a satisfactory grocer' even though Grants was on hand for the groundbreaking to offer details about the Petersburg store. It also claimed VDC 'did not engage in successful negotiations' to add any more retail clients to the development. Second, Petersburg reportedly 'discovered significant infrastructure issues which contributed to the decision of Council not to proceed further with these projects.' Those issues were never spelled out in the resolution – and no one has come forward to answer The Progress-Index's questions about what those issues were. But the resolution added that the infrastructure issues 'may render the projects cost prohibitive.' Third, most agreements between the city and VDC had expired 'with no development having been performed on the sites.' The timeline to receive IRL grants is conditional to Petersburg transferring possession of the sites to VDC ... which now will apparently not happen. In Hopewell, Youngkin signs bill banning cellphone use in schools With the agreements now rescinded, the focus now turns to the future of Sycamore Grove and Adams North, and whether either will become a reality. The short answer as of now is, if anyone knows, they have not said anything yet. The Progress-Index sent several requests for comment to city spokesperson Joanne Williams and Petersburg Mayor Sam Parham. In a text on May 27, we point-blank asked Williams, the Petersburg spokesperson who said the city was not going to comment beyond the resolution, whether Sycamore Grove was simply delayed or permanently off the table. That message remains unanswered. Youngkin spokesperson Peter Finocchio sent the following: 'The Administration and City of Petersburg continue to work in partnership on the housing and commercial development projects moving through the process with the City. We continue to support the City through the numerous growth opportunities before them which will be part of the agenda at their June council meeting.' The governor gets regular updates on progress in the Partnership for Petersburg initiative, but it was not immediately clear if he had been briefed on the latest developments. Grant's Supermarket was set to become the anchor of Sycamore Grove and make a dent in Petersburg's status as a 'food desert,' meaning it does not have significant access to major supermarkets. Only Food Lion and Walmart have stores within the city limits, and both are in southern Petersburg and not considered centrally located. Ron Martin, co-owner of the Grants chain, told The Progress-Index that he was 'unaware' that there were any issues with the contracts for Sycamore Grove. Emails between advisor, council leadership show process for firing Hopewell city manager Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Future of Sycamore Grove unclear after agreements were rescinded
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18-06-2025
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Former Sycamore Grove developer reacts to Petersburg pulling contract: 'City simply walked away'
The group contracted to develop the Sycamore Grove mixed-use community in Petersburg has pushed back against the city's claims that it was they who forced the contracts to be rescinded. In a lengthy statement June 10 to The Progress-Index, the Virginia Development Consortium said it was Petersburg who dropped the ball on Sycamore Grove and its affiliated Adams North project in Old Towne. The group said it repeatedly nudged the city administration to move the process forward, but those nudges were not successful. 'These were shovel-ready projects,' Harold Johnson, VDC's managing partner, said in the statement. 'We had agreements in place, a grocery partner secured, and the Governor and Mayor publicly celebrating the groundbreaking. Then, after months of shifting excuses, the city simply walked away.' VDC and the city were going to turn the now-vacant former Southside Regional Medical Center site off South Sycamore Street into a mix of retail, office and residential space. The project, a cog of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's 'Partnership for Petersburg' initiative, was supposed to bring a long-awaited grocery store to central Petersburg and ease the 'food desert' status of the city. On May 20, City Council voted to rescind its agreement with VDC, saying that the developer had not met deadlines or responded to any inquiries about development. At a ceremony with Youngkin in Petersburg June 3, Mayor Sam Parham said the project was still a go as Petersburg was looking for a new contractor, and blamed the contract revocation on a main water line beneath the property that he said VDC was unwilling to either work around or work with Petersburg on the $25 million cost to move it. In its statement, VDC said the delay was all on Petersburg. The group said Sycamore Grove and Adams North were structured 'under signed agreements' where Petersburg would transfer the property to VDC, negotiate contracts to sub-developers and issue a Virginia Industrial Revitalization Fund-backed loan of $3.5 million. It also noted that Petersburg City Council had passed binding resolutions acknowledging the project and the city's obligations. 'Despite repeated efforts by VDC to move the projects forward, the city took none of these actions,' the VDC statement read. Instead, VDC said it was forced to pay $2 million out of its own pocket relying on Petersburg's good faith. 'Every time our legal counsel pressed the City for action or clarity on why the projects weren't moving, the reason changed,' Johnson said in the statement. 'First it was a lack of legislative authority, then dissatisfaction with the grocery partner, then cost, and finally vague infrastructure concerns. None of it lined up with the agreements or the city's own public statements. 'The justifications were never consistent and did not withstand scrutiny.' Of umbrage to VDC, the group said, were Petersburg's concerns over infrastructure, which came to the group as a surprise. VDC said Petersburg never mentioned the water-line issue to the group in any of its conversations until Petersburg invited VDC to take part in a May 20 council closed-session via telephone to discuss progress – a move VDC said it now sees as 'bait-and-switch.' 'It was during this meeting that [City Attorney Tony Williams], for the first time, conveyed a $20 million price tag for the infrastructure challenge,' VDC claimed in the statement. 'The figure came as a surprise. Up to that point, infrastructure concerns had only been raised in vague and general terms.' Despite promises on the phone call to send the materials, VDC said it received nothing and later learned that council voted during the open session of that May 20 meeting to rescind the contracts. 'Ironically, that vote stripped the very legislative authority the city had previously claimed it didn't have,' VDC said. VDC also took issue with what it said were optics in Petersburg's satisfaction with the selection of West Virginia-based Grant's Supermarket as the grocery store to anchor Sycamore Grove. 'At the October 2024 groundbreaking ceremony, Mayor Sam Parham stood alongside the governor and proudly unveiled Grant's Supermarket as the anchor retail partner, touting its arrival as a major step toward addressing food insecurity in the area,' the statement read. 'The grocer was publicly celebrated as a solution to long standing access challenges and a key piece of the redevelopment vision. Yet that same partner later became one of the primary reasons the city cited for halting the projects. The contrast between the public celebration and the private blame is stark and difficult to reconcile.' Ron Martin, co-owner of the Grant's chain, told The Progress-Index earlier that he was 'unaware' there were any issues with the contracts for Sycamore Grove. Since the grand opening, Martin said he had not heard from anyone associated with the city about the chain's presence. VDC said the statement was not issued in order to regain the contract. Instead, it wanted to show commitment 'to public transparency' and to share its side of the story. The group accused Petersburg of grandstanding on the projects just to curry favor. In the process of doing so, VDC said Petersburg's assessment of the fallout is 'grossly misleading. 'Despite the public ceremonies and political fanfare, the city never followed through. It signed agreements, held a closed-door meeting under the guise of cooperation, and then quietly killed the projects,' it read. 'While the city may have scored political points with a groundbreaking and a podium, there was little substance behind the show.' It concluded with, 'What could have been a transformative investment for Petersburg is now a missed opportunity, and it is VDC and the city's residents who will unfortunately pay the price.' Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Former developers react to end of Sycamore Grove contract
