Here’s a recap of the top stories for the week of January 9, 2025:
RRHA Grace Street redevelopment face two-years of delays
Reported by BizSense’s Jonathan Spiers
Two years after the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) announced plans to rehabilitate the aging Grace Place Apartments building as affordable housing, the project remains largely unchanged and still in the “preliminary” stage.
RRHA acquired the site at 400 E Grace St. with the intention of transforming it into low-income housing for seniors and others needing affordable units. Although the authority announced plans two years ago, residents and nearby property owners say they’ve seen no significant construction activity, and the building’s condition appears to be worsening.
Officials involved with the project have described the work done so far as preliminary planning and assessments, rather than full-scale rehabilitation. Steps such as securing financing, finalizing architectural plans, and obtaining necessary approvals have reportedly taken longer than anticipated.
Richmond leaders tout utility improvements one year after local water outage
Reported by BizSense’s Jonathan Spiers
Richmond City leaders marked the one-year anniversary of the January 2025 water outage by highlighting substantial improvements made at the Douglasdale Road Water Treatment Plant.
Officials, including Mayor Danny Avula, recently held a media tour of the facility after the city invested millions of dollars in upgrades to strengthen the plant’s operations and prevent future failures.
The enhancements include replacing critical equipment that failed during last year’s outage, adding new power sources and backup systems, and improving overall infrastructure conditions that had previously been neglected.
Leaders also emphasized organizational changes and cultural shifts at the Department of Public Utilities aimed at boosting proactive maintenance, operational reliability and emergency readiness.
Officials expressed confidence that the plant is now more resilient, though state health regulators have noted there’s still work to be done. Discussions are underway about securing additional funding — potentially more than $80 million — to fully realize long-term improvements.
Local GameStop storefronts shutdown
Reported by BizSense’s Jackie DiBartolomeo
At least four of the retailer’s stores in Greater Richmond are saying “game over,” as the company shutters several storefronts nationwide.
The retail company was founded in Dallas in 1984 as Babbage’s, later taking on the GameStop name in 1999. It sells a mix of new and pre-owned video games, as well as gaming consoles, accessories and other novelties.
At one point the company had more than 6,000 storefronts, but as of early 2025, stores hovered at around 3,200 locations worldwide. The four Richmond-area locations that have been or will be shuttered this month are located at: 7017 Forest Hill Ave., 1500 W. Broad St., 8131 Brook Road and 9085 Staples Mill Road.
Eight other locations in the area will seemingly remain open, including in Richmond, Chester, Mechanicsville, Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, Fort Lee and Glen Allen.
The company notified customers earlier this week informing them of their area locations’ intent to close. A growing list made by GameStop fans around the country has alleged at least 200 closures this month, while customers continue to add locations.
It is unclear whether further Richmond-area GameStop locations may shut down in the near future.
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