Vacant Properties Deter Richmond Redevelopment

Church Hill resident John Murden occasionally peeks into his neighbor’s backyard to monitor suspicious happenings.

by Maureen Linke

Like many residents in Church Hill, Murden lives next to a vacant property which often attracts illegal activity.

“When vacancy is not a problem it’s quiet, but when it’s bad it opens up the area to criminal activity, squatters or bad renters,” Murden said. “If you have four vacant properties in a row, and the next is rental property who’s going to rent that?”

There are over 1400 vacant properties in the Richmond area according to the most recent Richmond Vacant Property Registry. These are properties, owned by individuals and management groups, have remained unoccupied for 12 months and are not on the market. These properties must comply with city regulations or individuals face fines and even jail time.

Stacy Martin and her management companies Premier Investment, Clayton Investment, and Tower Building Properties LLC account for 94 of the city’s vacant properties. Her presence is apparent in Church Hill and the surrounding community. Over 15 properties affiliated with Martin are within four blocks of Murden’s residence. Martin could not be reached for comment.

“Why not sell half of them, and use that money to fix up the other half?” Murden said. “The value of these houses would be raised if these two were fixed up. She owns enough that she could change the course of a block.”

The Department of Community Development regulates the proper care and upkeep of properties in the City of Richmond’s Property Maintenance Guidelines. According to the guidelines, vacant properties must be secured from public entry and the entry of the elements at all openings while being maintained in a clean, safe and sanitary condition with no exterior violations. Rachel Flynn, the Director of Community Development for the City of Richmond, said owners of vacant properties are closely watched.

“We keep a Vacant Building Registry to have accurate data which allows us to focus our efforts on certain neighborhoods with high vacancies.” Flynn said. “Vacant properties can attract criminal activity and are a drain to healthy neighborhoods.”

Owners of vacant properties must register each year and pay a $25 fee. City inspectors perform quality assurance inspections to ensure the properties are adhering to city regulations.

“Our Inspectors check the properties every 60 days to make sure that the grass is cut, debris is picked up and that doors and windows are boarded up to prevent entry,” Flynn said. “If an owner does not keep the property code compliant, then the City can take them to court where the judge can impose fines or jail time.”

The City of Richmond is cracking down on slumlords. Most recently, according to a Richmond Times- Dispatch article, convicted slumlord Oliver Lawrence was given a 70-day sentence for his more than 170 property violations. Lawrence will serve the first of his 30 days in jail, and the remaining 40 in one of the vacant properties owned by his company Bayou Properties. At the time of his sentencing, it was estimated Lawrence owned between 150-300 properties in the Richmond area. He was also ordered to pay more than $170,000 in fines to the city.

Since his sentencing Lawrence owns over 50 properties alone through his management companies Bayou and Rain Day Properties LLC. Many banks and financial institutions have foreclosed these vacant properties due to excessive fines and back taxes.

While the City of Richmond enforces vacant property regulations, justice for even the most notorious slumlords can be a slow process.

“They do their part, but the problem is that it’s really slow moving through the courts,” Murden said. “They’ve been on Oliver Lawrence for years.”

However, it is not only real estate management companies that hold onto vacant properties and lots, but also local churches. Because they are exempt from property tax, there are no deterrents from retaining vacant properties. In Churchill, Bethelem Baptist Church, Mount Tabor, Westwood Baptist, and others own over 30 vacant properties.

The City of Richmond is making efforts towards revitalizing neighborhoods like Church Hill. The Neighborhoods in Bloom (NIB) program focuses on restoring vacant properties in Church Hill, Carver, Blackwell, Highland Park, Swansboro, and Bellemeade. In addition to a reasonable price, buyers who purchase homes renovated by NIB are locked in at the original property tax rate, prior to the restoration process.

“Organizations like Neighborhoods in Bloom and the Better Housing Coalition have improved the neighborhood, block by block,” Murden said. “But when management companies and churches sit on these properties, they can’t be fixed up.”

For residents like Murden, the impact of vacant properties is felt by the entire community that is struggling to redevelop.

“It’s not the urban issues that keep people away so much as the fabric is really destroyed in a lot of ways,” said Murden. “Sure people have the right to own property as a profit making venture but this is a community where people live. We’d have more kids in schools, more people buying stuff from our stores, restaurants… it would be better in every way if not for all these vacant properties.”

Additional Links:

Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods (A.C.O.R.N)

Better Housing Coalition

Church Hill Association