Thread by @ternary_logic

I'm watching the GreenCity press conference. This site was purchased by the county in 2011 with the intent to use it as a government center. The site was literally flagged for public use, and will now be sold to developers.

nbc29.com/2020/12/01/hen…

"This particular story begins in the spring of 2020. After an attempt to locate in the city of Richmond, my office was asked if Henrico had a site suitable for such a unique economic development opportunity."

Lol to "unique." 😂

Props though to recognizing that Richmonders gave these developers the boot. We absolutely did.

We're shouting out Short Pump. GreenCity is promised to have the same economic impact as "the 10 largest tax payers in our county." They are not named.

Michael Hallmark describes 2020 as "humbling."

Hallmark—a developer whose project was funded by Dominion Energy—describes environmental sustainability as goals "shared by businesses and individuals" but not "cities."

Is GreenCity also a Dominion project? Farrell is not at the presser. Is Tom Farrell canceled?

Susan Eastridge reports that the products sold in GreenCity will be sustainable and also reflective of the Christmas "consumer shopping news" that consumers of the future will be "following movements."

GreenCity reflects the historical arc of "human settlements" that have "evolved" to allow people to "get together" "in a healthy way" "through continuous innovations in planning and design."

This presser is really incredible.

GreenCity will allow small businesses to occupy a "green campus" like "big companies like Facebook, Amazon, or Google."

Eastridge thanks the 12-person development team working on GreenCity. In addition, Eastridge thanks "all of the consultants who've been working with us, the architects, the lawyers, the financiers, the capital markets, the bond underwriters..."

Part of what's fascinating about the Henrico announcement of GreenCity, is it shows Mayor Stoney's key constituency—the intersection of finance, development, and the fossil fuel industry—had lost faith in his ability to move their projects within city limits.

Without a governing mandate in the city, and without this power block behind him, it's unclear what Stoney's next steps look like in Richmond. He's clearly eyed statewide politics for a while. I wonder if he'll attempt to pivot instead to national.

We've got a second shoutout to Facebook and Amazon for making commitments to reduce their climate footprint. Might be notable that both companies are bringing data centers and other big fixtures into the state. This could indicate emerging partnerships with Dominion.