A commission appointed by Richmond City Council to investigate the Coliseum redevelopment plan held it’s first meeting Friday. Board chair Pierce Homer and vice-chair John Gerner nominated seven other members who will fill out the Navy Hill Development Advisory Commission:
- Richard Crom, an IRS analyst
- Mark Gordon, a former executive with Bon Secours Mercy Health
- Grindly Johnson, Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Administration
- Suzanne Long, a real estate attorney and the former Executive Director of the Virginia Resource Authority
- Mimi Sadler, principal at Sadler & Whitehead Architects, PLC
- Michael Schewel, a former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade
- Corey Walker, a visiting professor at the University of Richmond
The nine-member commission will have only a $5,000 budget to analyze more than 900 pages of documents outlining the $1.5 billion redevelopment deal. The ordinance passed by Richmond City Council requires them to vet the assumptions and projections given by the developer and the city administration.
Advisory Commission Vice-Chair John Gerner said Friday the commission will hold at least four public forums.
“We are going from the start with the approach of being responsive to city council and doing what we can to bring in the public,” he said.
The seven nominees will have to be confirmed by Richmond City Council. They will discuss the nominees at a meeting of the Organizational Development Standing Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m.