Richmond City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the use of a surplus, city-owned building for a Planned Parenthood center, despite divided resident comments.
The proposed ordinance asked council to direct a former Richmond school building and roughly an acre of land off of Chamberlayne Avenue, in Northside, to The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. It will house a new 10,000-square-foot health center.
The project, which would become the third Planned Parenthood location in Richmond and the sixth abortion clinic in the area, is expected to cost $6 million. Councilors unanimously voted to transfer the site to VLPP for a “nominal consideration” of $10.
VLPP communications director RaeAnn Pickett said there was not yet a planned development timeline for the clinic.
Several residents attended the meeting to voice their opinions on the ordinance, even though it was not originally scheduled for public comment.
Some spoke in support of the care that Planned Parenthood provides outside of abortions, while others argued that the center would and turn the city into “a destination for abortion.” The sale price was also a frequent topic among commenters, with one saying that the city should sell the land for a higher price and give the money to Richmond Public Schools.
A pregnant woman who lives near the clinic site accused councilors of voting without thought or input from the community.
“While I may not convince you that abortion is wrong, I find it jarring that a clinic such as this is being opened in such close proximity to not only my home, but where some of Northside’s children go to school,” she said.
Craig Rew, leader of the Virginia chapter of Democrats for Life of America, said that the project would be met by anti–abortion rights protests.
“Mark my words: If you build this clinic ... we will be on that sidewalk because we do not stand for this,” Rew said.
Sharon Ebert, the city’s deputy chief administrative officer, addressed the meeting to explain that the city received an unsolicited offer from VLPP, which is allowed by city code.
After the Roe v. Wade decision was overturned in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court, council approved a resolution to protect and expand access to safe and legal reproductive health care in Richmond.
Mayor Levar Stoney and all councilmembers except Reva Trammell sponsored the ordinance in commitment to that resolution, Ebert said.
Responding to comments from residents that the Planned Parenthood move would “blight” Northside, Ebert said the current building is a “blighted building.” She pointed out that the existing infrastructure has mold, lead paint, mildew and a leaking roof.
Pickett, of VLPP, told VPM News the vote signaled that the council stands with abortion providers and patients.
“Virginia is going to be able to continue to be a place where folks can access the full range of reproductive health care,” she said.
Pickett said Richmond and the state are in need of increased abortion care access, with would-be patients facing challenges like poor access to transportation or financing, domestic violence or housing insecurity.
Stoney, who did not attend the meeting, said in a statement Monday night that “Richmond is leading the way in the South for protecting reproductive rights and increasing access to health care.”
Council Vice President Ann-Frances Lambert told VPM News she is excited that affordable health care is coming to her district: “This is a $6 million investment that is desperately needed for that end of Chamberlayne.”
