Richmond is in the spotlight this week, hosting the world championships for road biking. As out-of-towners flock to the city, and spectators stroll the streets -- community developers have seized the unique opportunity to do something new with old spaces.
Josh Son bikes through downtown Richmond to get to his office. He works for the city, helping attract businesses. And every day, he’d bike past the same row of abandoned storefronts.
“Since they’re uninhabited they’re not being taken cared for. Some of them are falling apart, they’re dirty.”
They’ve been that way for decades, relics of a time before people and businesses shifted west to the suburbs.
But today, as Son pushes his bike along that section of street he points out how the storefronts have changed.
“So we’re standing in front of… I want to say...210 Broad Street.”
The ‘FOR LEASE’ sign in the window has been ripped down. Instead, a hip window display of jewelry and t-shirts is framed by the building’s old exposed brick.
Son says, “You’re standing in front of something awesome. It’s beautiful though, this is so authentic. You can’t get this in the suburbs.”
But these changes, they’re not permanent. Son has worked with Storefront Community Design to rent the spaces for just a couple days during the cycling world championships -- temporary retail. “POP-UPS.”
“Pop up shops. It’s a way to paint a picture. To attract businesses downtown to see that they can actually have a brick and mortar space.”
“Love This” is one of those businesses. The local boutique normally travels in a trailer. But owner Amber Lantz says this has given them the opportunity to imagine something different.
“There have been times when I’ve just been sitting here and just looking outside the space, just looking around the space thinking this is exactly the type of space we see ourselves in, in the future.”
And as Lantz gets the benefit of testing out that future, Richmond locals, like Katie Sciff, get to see the neighborhood in a different light.
“It’s kind of fun to walk around and say ‘Oh wow, that’s a new restaurant, that’s a new shop.’ It’s cool to see some life being blown into this area, for sure.”
The hope is that by giving an example of what Broad Street could be, ‘POP-UP’s can help make change permanent.
