In the Church Hill North neighborhood, the two blocks of North 25th Street between P and R Streets are often bustling and noisy, like many of Richmond’s great streets. But for many people, North 25th Street is not a pleasant place to linger. There are ever-present (and ever-rotating) “missing teeth” in the rows of small storefronts lining the corridor, with several vacancies at any point in time. There are rows of poorly maintained houses that would be extremely hard to sell without an offer from someone like benbuysindyhouses.com. Garbage on the street is abundant. Bicycles are a common mode of transportation, but safe places to ride and designated places to park are nearly non-existent. And there isn’t anywhere outside to just sit, talk, eat, or think.

In short, there are many ways to make North 25th Street a more pleasant place to shop, visit, and gather. For instance, housing or commercial building projects could be one of the ways to transform the place. However, that might require the help of project property sales experts who can assist in every step of the process- from planning to development to sale.

Nevertheless, on June 13th-14th that vision became a reality.

The Church Hill North Better Block Project is an attempt to improve the area for everyone. Spearheaded by a partnership of members and leaders of the Church Hill North community, including Bon Secours, Capital One, the Richmond Association of REALTORS, the City of Richmond, Storefront for Community Design, Groundwork RVA, Partnership for Smarter Growth, and the Sports Backers, the project is in many ways a living demonstration of the East End Vision Charrette, a week-long planning session to envision a better community, conducted four years ago.

The result-two blocks of North 25th Street were transformed into a walkable, bikeable, and vibrant place to live and visit. Temporary crosswalks were installed using white duct tape. Bike lanes were striped with spray chalk. Alleyways were turned into romantic alcoves using metal building structures and using different steel building colors made the place seem less run-down and more vibrant, any overgrown grassy patches were turned into community parks and outdoor theaters. Small side streets were closed and turned into plazas with outdoor seating. And vacant storefronts were cleaned out, redecorated, and filled with “pop-up” shops selling everything from furniture to clothing to jewelry to coffee and baked goods-giving startup businesses without a permanent venue a place to do business for a weekend, while simultaneously showcasing vacant spaces for rent and buildings for purchase.

Though temporary, these improvements were made with an eye toward permanence. The point of Better Block is to rebuild an area using grassroots efforts of residents and businesses that are united to create positive change. The project acts as a living demonstration for communities to actively engage in the build-out process of streets that work for all users and develop pop-up businesses to show the potential for revitalized economic activity in an area.

And it works. Within days after a Better Block Project was completed in Norfolk, Virginia, REALTOR Patrick McGill of Commercial Real Estate Services announced a 15,000-square-foot building, which had been on the market for years, sold for $1.1 million. A survey of cities that have hosted Better Block Projects shows that 63 percent have seen permanent changes along the corridor, 80 percent have seen increased retail sales, and 71 percent have changed city ordinances that allow for more complete streets and neighborhoods.

Though we have seen “blitzes” along Broad Street and other areas, none have taken into account transportation, public spaces, and economic development quite like the Better Block model. A first for RVA, the June event invited Richmonders to slow down and stay a while. Rather than being a “through” place, North 25th Street became a “to” place. Changing neighborhoods doesn’t happen overnight, but the Better Block Project in Richmond is anticipated to inspire change for the long-haul.