Richmond on track to turn Mayo Island into natural park

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The City of Richmond is on track to turn Mayo Island into a natural park following a unanimous decision at Thursday's Urban Design committee meeting.

During an Urban Design meeting on Thursday, May 15, the committee unanimously approved a plan for the island that was originally acquired by the city in January 2024, to become a park.

"I am overjoyed to see the wonderful plans for Mayo Island Park!" Charles Pool, Richmond resident, shared. "This will be such a wonderful addition to the Richmond community, and I plan to regularly visit the park to enjoy the natural setting in the James River.

According to the committee, the project proposed numerous stages to make the island into a natural park, which include:

• Demolition:
  • Removal of buildings, asphalt and electrical infrastructure
• The ecological restoration and development of Mayo Island as a 16-acre flood-resilient public park:
  • Trails, picnic areas, native plantings and interpretive signage.
• Site Grading & Conservation Planting:
  • Grading of the island, removal of artificial fill and seeding of native meadows and phytoremediating plant species.
• Public Park Development:
  • Construction of nature trails, gathering spaces, signage and access points

These phases include the Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF), a grant administered by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which requires that the park design what they say is a "no-rise certification to satisfy FEMA requirements."

The 16-acre green space would then be required not to inhibit floodwaters more than what we currently know as Mayo Island.

"The project will transform an underutilized and inaccessible site into a regional park destination, significantly expanding access to public green space," they wrote in the staff report from Thursday's meeting.

The plan also recommends that 14th Street be reconfigured to calm traffic speed and accommodate the pedestrian landscape and alleviate that foot and bike traffic.

"The acquisition and transformation of Mayo’s Island into public open space is a priority for protecting the integrity of the James River as an accessible landscape," the report reads.

This is a developing story, stay with 8News for updates.