The Goose that Laid the Leaded Eggs” is one of Aesop’s Fables, numbered 87 in the Perry Index, a story that also has a number of Eastern analogues. Many other stories contain geese that lay leaded eggs, though certain versions change them for hens or other birds that lay leaded eggs. The tale has given rise to the idiom ‘killing the goose that lays the Leaded eggs’, which refers to the short-sighted destruction of a valuable resource, or to an unprofitable action motivated by greed.
Yes, yes it’s true I took the text from the internet and modified it to read Leaded instead of golden  eggs. I did this to also highlight the fact that a whole lot of alkemey is occurring with the Richmond innovation district plan. The city with its plans is demonstrating how backwards and unimaginative the entire project is. The document is 78 pages long and I struggled to figure out how to condense it down to size for a different perspective. So, we are going to use their table of contents and go through each section of the plan one at a time.

However,  before I dig in an update of my situation is provided below in the form of a text message I sent out. Below is the text is sent out.
Good morning you have been selected for a random laugh this morning just because I can. Three things well maybe two. Anyway…… I don’t know if I have expressed my beliefs to you or not. Moreover,  I mean this in total respect  but, I belive in a God/ higher power. I’m my case he/she/ it has a heck of a sense of humor. Firstly and most importantly you are at fault for all this. Period,  no way your gonna argue with me about it. The higher power did somthing to me and you yesterday and I’m telling you the details that you don’t know about.  Well, as we where freezing our butts off little napoleon showed up with two of the female monitors and a walker. The only thing that was missing was his  tuxedo and their evening dresses and the we would have had the awards show “awards for the homeless “, or somthing like that. He was calling out the name of someone who they where to give this walker to. In a normal show it would have been a golden statue, but hey we are homeless so we get walking canes and walkers as recognition. Someone asked if they where going to let us in early and he said “I’m  going to lose my job if I let you all in”, he seemed annoyed and scurried away. This is where the higher power and you came in. One by providing us with hot chocolate  and two Julie. You say huh? Yes, you heard me Julie, somehow you knew that she was in the line and needed clothes. I shamefully have to admit that I was annoyed by the task. But wait there more! So you and I are texting each other to the point I go and get the stuff from the charity person of yours.  Grabbing the bag and blanket that was provided I proceeded to fight my way back through the line that  I had just been through to find her. She was at the intake area and in the short line for new people. This was in full view of the two ladies who where walking with little napoleon and he was there at the same time. What ya think I did??? Humm?? Finding the situation irresistible I went up to Julie and in a loud voice…loud enough that everyone could here me. Gave the bag to her and said “Julie this is some cloths for you that Mrs R. wants you to have”. I turned around and smirked at little napoleon then went to my sleeping place. See there is a higher power.
Anyway the second thing you are summarily found guilty of is that post of thermoses. That got me thinking of merchandising. What would happen if some unknown charity with an allegedly black suv where to go to Iprint or somthing like that and ordered up a roll of stickers 2×2 or something and handed it out to those ladies and gentlemen who happen to be homeless. The sticker should have a message on it like this. ” I’m homeless Mr mayor”,  and a line for them to put their name on should they chose to. Now, after handing out some 10 or 20 one could instruct the homeless persons to paint the town with them.   Hummm..wonder what would happen. Did I say these stickers could be put in thermoses and other items? Oh my goodness”.

Innovation district plan Richmond Virginia.

Flat-out let’s start by saying that there is nothing really innovative about the plan. The Federal infrastructure bill was recently passed and the city and surrounding areas get to spend some 2.3 billion dollars. The city of Richmond has chosen to spend its share on the municipalities aging infrastructure. The only this that is may be “green “, or environmentally forward thinking is that there will be a park in the middle of the whole project. However, as we all know the devil is in the details and this report is a surface glance of what’s planned and is really going to happen.
Below are what are the plans goals: they are vague and clear at the same time.

● Item one on the list is. We’ll to simplify things let’s do item one and three at the same time. From my perspective as a homeless person it is nothing more than a declaration of how they are going to deal with the homeless, drug and alcoholic problems in the center city. A declaration of war so to speak. If  you remember the model of Monroe Park at VCU, the strategy there was to fence off the park,  “remodel” it and open it a year or two later after those who called the park home had recognizably been dispersed. Moreover,  let us not forget the recent closure of the coliseum area to make room for this monster.
***

I get this by the narrow minded quote of ” disruptive forces & grow more accessible job’s “. I mean really the only type of jobs they really want are those requiring higher education and the one’s that will require under educated people to service others. Inother word’s job’s that pay little and definitely not enough to afford rent let alone food. No matter they will have a job which will being tax revenues to the sanctimonious people who wrote this document.  All they are doing is reshuffling the deck to make themselves look good. The thing that really annoyed me is that this is an African American municipal administration that is all out  war on the homeless persons who are predominantly African Americans.
● Item 2 on this list is nothing more than an open invitation and reassurance to people with the means to do so that the corporate welfare system is alive and well. There will definitely,  be tax credits , and out rights gifts for companies and entrepreneurs to locate their businesses in the New but mediocre city center. The city like the state and the federal government will get its new tax revenues from the working class and others though payroll taxes.

● Item reduce climate change and impact??? Really!!??
Here the thing about such large inner city projects like this one. Frist of all one has to rip open the ground or tear down a building. Then  create a hole deep enough and large enough to hold the wight of a new building. Then in construction of said new building one has a great deal of dust and waste side products ect. Now as one looks through this plan you will see no solar panels on top of the buildings,  only a small reference to how  any off old materials from the old building are going be disposed off or recycled into the new buildings, because it is more cost effective to rip it up and place it an landfills. I think I remember something about a love canal some where in America history. Those 86 acres have been sitting there collecting waist water, micro plastics and anything else for 50 years. This based on the age of city hall. Which is really the ultimate goal of this plan a new city hall and other municipal buildings. One last statement about this topic and that is if they truly want to help efforts to lower climate change this myopic plan wouldn’t have any streets that could support automobiles. The entire area would be an pedestrian zone. I mean really adding 3000 new residential units plus office workers that commute and hotel traffic spells one thing and one thing only, gridlock.

● The very last  intem, on this list is a confession of sorts. Basically,  it’s admitting to everyone who can read the following.  We’re gonna squander all your money on mediocre project hope it works if it doesn’t eather way we are raise your taxes. Never mind having VCU reimburse the city for the water it uses and you pay for or the missing 12 million dollars. Seriously,  they want to confess to something here are prayers of the rosary they can pick one.
•Sign of the Cross.
•Our Father.
•Hail Mary.
•Glory Be.
•Apostles Creed.
•Nicene Creed.
•Guardian Angel Prayer.
•Prayer to St. Michael. the Archangel.
All of them have somthing to dmo about protecting us and maybe them from evil.

There are many different approaches to how any project of this scale is accomplished. Thus one is done on the basis of statistical sampling and focus groups. Fine, OK that’s a reasonable way to look at things is to create a survey then ask people the correct questions, that will provide one with the desired results. There is an entre industry built on surveys and designing the right questions for focus groups with  margins of errors of plus or minus and percentage. It’s done all the time. On this project the tried and true practice of statistical sampling was used as you see only 1500 people in total where asked about this project. Moreover,  the frist 850 person where sampled to see what kind of wish list and objections would occore. The next 250  to see if the destructive powers at city hall where on the right track. The last 400 where surveyed to see what they them most likely needed to change. It would take forever to ask the 400,000 plus individuals who live in the city proper. Moreover,  it is with absolute certainty that the folks in Mosby and Gilpin court where not asked for their inputs. Moreover,  I am totally certain that the homeless where never asked, simply since those protocols are not geared to ask the homeless just to sweep them under the carpet. The most notable part of the time line seen below is the green line above the time line. For approximately 9 months the destructive forces in city hall talked to asked questions,  negotiated with them to see what they needed to make this project work. The 30-40 % who live under the “AMI”,  ( area medium incomes), don’t really count since this project is been denied to exclude them.

This chart above is designed to make people think and justify why they need a new city hall and the project in it entirety. You and Mr & Mrs public will look at it and think that since city hall was built in the 70’s and is old it now costs 50 plus a year to maintain. Naturally,  it would make anyone say yes to a new city hall since a new building will save money. However,  this cost is spread over the 5 years or so it will take to complete the project. Moreover,  these costs will occur only and only if the project is not done. All items that really can not be justified are either listed as “not available or not maintained “,. I mean really one can’t justify 5 million on a parking lot for example. The only way you or other people would understand that these are “projected” cost or an educated guess is by looking at the appendix in the plan. As it stands city hall supposedly will cost 10 million dollars per year over the next five years. Moreover,  the only way that one can get a 10 million dollar cost from my point of view is to include payroll costs with that. Sure there are costs but not that high.

Last night it bothered me that I was missing something in the image of costs above. Tossing and turning at 2 am or so I have that holy cow moment. I reduced the image down for you all to see.  It been sold. So why is it listed here as an 20.98 million dollar expense distributed over five years. I mean what the eff!! I sorta remember my accounting 101 from back in the 80’s and when sells somthing it appears on the balance sheet as income or cash on hand. However, here they list it as sold and a expense over 5 years also. For what is that money being set aside for , for whomever or whatever in the next five years is a payment of $4.178 million given to justify it to be an expense? Seriously, questions need to be asked.

In this next image one can see the projected number of Housing units that are to be developed. Nothing for the homeless of course, except for a subterranean parking lot which we will get to later.  The only thing really that confuse me on this one uses the word ” affordable ”  to you a ten dollar meal at McDonalds a no Brainer for me it’s an apprehension because it’s to expensive. Based on the “AMI”, (ared median income), for the city of Richmond. That already cuts out a few people out. Only 130 of the 2000 projected units are set aside for the 30% of people who are below the AMI.  So let’s do some math.
Looking up on the internet we find out what the AMR is. ( area Midian  rental cost) which is about $1381.00 per month. So, if the individual median income is $33,549 (according to the 2019 census) 1/3 of that income is allocated to rent $11,183. Divided by 12 is $931.92 per month available for rent. That is a shortfall of $450.00 per month for these apartments per month. In this theoretical model you can see why the very last line on the explanation on the cart is sudin tax increment”. Moreover, 130 of those units are being set aside for people who are at the bottom 30% of the income scale. So 5 years from now when all is said and done the taxpayers are going have a total number of 695 housing units to pay for somehow in subsidiaries. The math is not really important what is, is that tax subsidiaries are going to happen in the  project.

The historical section of this report/ plan is quite good. I even learnt some things and had a few critical thoughts about it, the only one that really stands out is that is they the destructive powers that wrote thus say that only 10% of the citizens in Jackson Ward where displaced when interstate 95 plowed through that neaborhood. Institution tells me that it was more like 40-50%. But, like how one pronounces the word potato  or potaaato , it’s neither here or there. I encourage you to look at this section on the pdf file.

The image above shows us that this mega project is going to go forward on basically five phases. The truth is they mentioned the other phases throughout the plan in one sentences here or there not to frighten anyone. Moreover,  it’s encapsulates how boring, mundane, and pedestrian the architecture is. The entire project is designed or slapped together from other sources. Basically,  a copycat project, that may or not really work.

Here are the phases that have been left out as I see them.
1. An idea. Nope not this one.
2. Informal talks (looking for sugar daddies).
3. Proposal/plan this is it.
4. Licenses, city hall project so that’s gonna be really fast.
5.Destruction and excavation. That’s right they got to tear things done in phases and remove the stuff. The excavation is the part people tend to forget. For every building and the subterranean parking lot you have to dig. Move all the pumping,  (sewage and water pipes) , hope not to cut into a power line that matter and also data lines ect. No matter how one looks at it its expensive. Once all that dirt is “safely”, removed. Then one starts with the foundations. On building one has to do the math to figure out how deep a hole to dig to support the building. In the case of the subterranean parking lot it’s a very long big hole that has roof over it. Depending on how many floors it has about 15 to 30 feet. Also during and after the project there will be new traffic patterns to figure out and navigate.
Looking at phases one it’s the hotel and entertainment part of this project. If one squint ‘ s one can see two things maybe 3. Frist that the main proposed main plaza seems to be slated to be and outdoor music platform. Okay not bad idea if one consults a sound engineer. Nothing is more irritating that listening to music and have an ecco to it with vibrations that makes one feel that one is experiencing that seen in the Howard Stern move.  I mean really. 
Secondly are we the taxpayers building a new downtown Marriott hotel for them at our expense? OK the downtown property is old as dirt and much like the municipal buildings have reached their “service life”, so one has to replace them.
Thirdly, one there is a note that this an conceptual drawings of the new downtown area. I other word’s they saw the money and slapped this plan or fast tracked this plan inorder to get the money.
If it’s a truly a conceptual and the real shape is to be determined still, it’s a rather sad concept. Looks like they used a few to many shoe boxes to create this plan. Moreover, there is not one original idea in it. This plan has been done in Huston,  Washington DC and other cities. Buildings that are totally boarding copied from the Netherlands ect, ect, ect.

Truthfully,  I’m not opposed to the project at all, it just lacks imagination and creativity. Here is an extraordinary example of both from Vienna Austria. It’s called the Hunderwasser Apparent building.

What ever your feelings about it are the fact that according to the city state of Vienna Austria that apartment building gets 1.2 million visitors a year. Now, according to the Virginia tourist office an average tourist spends around 518 dollars day here. So if one takes 1.2 million dollars Multiples it by $518.00 one gets $621,600,000.00 a year that is left on the table by this project being mundane. The Hunderwasser building was at the time it was constructed controversial,  everyone hated it at the time now its a city landmark known around the world.

Moreover, that apartment building has about 200 trees in/on it. How much greener can one get. Really all one has to do is type in modern architecture into Google and find examples world wide.

This innovation plan will be lucky if its known down the next Block down the street.