The Atlantic Showcases Richmond as a Start-Up Hotspot

In The Atlantic's new special report, "Start-Up Nation: The Search for the next Silicon Valley," Richmond is the first city on the tour. Noted as "blossoming into a tech hub thanks to a great research university, a big creative agency, and cheap, beautiful real estate," the feature showcases Richmond's start-up potential. Click here to read the full article.

Richmond Ranked 7th Best City for Working Mothers

Forbes Magazine announced its list of the 50 best cities for working mothers and Richmond was ranked as one of the top ten. Cities were ranked using metrics including women's earnings, cost of childcare, cost of living and per student public education expenditure. To learn more, please click here.

Putting RVA to Work: Using Section 3 to Create More Businesses and Jobs

A community workshop to discuss Section 3 and its economic
opportunities it provides.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Richmond Public Library, Auditorium, 101 E. Franklin St.,
Richmond, VA 23219

Come learn about the job and business creation tools available through
Section 3 legislation. J. Keith Swiney, CEO of Motivation Inc., will
illustrate nation-wide business models that used Section 3 to spur
entrepreneurship and employment within federally funded projects. Mr.
Swiney will be joined by a team of presenters from Richmond’s
Department of Economic and Community Development, the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and Richmond
Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

What is Section 3?

Section 3 is a provision of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968,
which recognizes that HUD funds are typically one of the largest sources of
federal funding expended in communities through the form of grants, loans,
entitlement allocations and other forms of financial assistance. Section 3 is
intended to ensure that employment or contracting opportunities are
generated because a covered project or activity necessities the employment
of additional persons or awarding of contracts for work, preference must be
given to low-and very low –income persons or business concerns residing in
the community where the project is located.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Light refreshments will be available. Click here to view the brochure.

For more information, call:
John Logan at (804) 646-6428 or James Muhammad at (804) 717-5755
Sponsored by:
City of Richmond ● RRHA ● HUD Richmond Office ● Section 3 National Consulting Group LLC

Project Rebuild: HUD Tours Richmond's Church Hill Neighborhood

Last week, Secretary Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, visited Richmond to see firsthand how previous neighborhood stabilization efforts have helped revitalize neighborhoods, create jobs, stabilize home prices, and stimulate local economies. Click here to view the full blog entry by HUD on their trip to Richmond.

City hosts Entrepreneur Express Seminar

On Wednesday, October 12th, the City of Richmond's Department of Economic & Community Development hosted the Entrepreneur Express seminar at the Police Training Academy sponsored by the Virginia Department of Business Assistance. To learn more, please click here. The City plans to offer this seminar again in the spring of 2012.

Richmond's Tourism Coordinator Talks Slogans, Signs and the Sesquicentennial

Click here to read Style Weekly's feature interview with Anedra Bourne, the City of Richmond's new Tourism Coordinator within the Department of Economic & Community Development.

HUD Secretary Tours Richmond's Neighborhood Stabilization Program Successes

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, visited Richmond on Wednesday, October 5, 2011 to promote Project Rebuild. Project Rebuild is a continuation of a neighborhood stabilization program that would expand to include commercial projects and would allow private developers to participate in the program.

Mayor Dwight C. Jones, along with Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille, toured the 800 block of North 27th Street in Church Hill, which has three houses on the block that were renovated using federal funds managed by ECD's Neighborhood Revitalization. To learn more, please click here.

City Opens First Workforce Development Center

On Monday, October 3, 2011, the City opened the first joint Workforce Development Center in the city that offers services and resources to City residents to better prepare and search for jobs. The One Stop Shop Resource and Missions Center is open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To learn more, please click here.

City Receives Excellence in Economic Development Award from International Economic Development Council (IEDC)

The City's Department of Economic & Community Development received an Excellence in Economic Development Award for their marketing kit in the category of General Purpose Promotion for communities with populations of 200,000 to 500,000 from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). To learn more, please click here.