Enrichmond finalizes purchase of Vauxhall Island
Published on January 9th, 2015 by Enrichmond Blog Archive
The Enrichmond Foundation, a non-profit foundation serving the people, parks, and public spaces of the City of Richmond for 25 years, announced today that it has completed the purchase of Vauxhall Island in the James River. This 2.82-acre undeveloped island lies upstream of the Mayo Bridge and is adjacent to the great blue heron rookery.
“We are honored to be a part of a dedicated group of local foundations who have facilitated the purchase of this valuable asset of the James River. Enrichmond was created 25 years ago to protect another river asset, Belle Isle. It is with great appreciation and enthusiasm that we move into our next 25 years with another act of commitment to the James River and our City’s people, parks, and public spaces.” says John Sydnor, Executive Director of Enrichmond.
Enrichmond has been an enthusiastic proponent of Richmond’s Riverfront Plan and sees this purchase as furthering its implementation. “The environmental, open space, recreational, and tourism benefits of a fully-implemented Riverfront Plan are enormous. We are thrilled to add one more step in the plan’s advancement.” added Sydnor.
Future plans for the island are in development and will be announced at a later date.
About Enrichmond:
Founded in 1990, the Enrichmond Foundation supports over 100 citizen-led, volunteer-driven projects and partnerships in the City of Richmond. Partners of Enrichmond include community and civic associations, outdoor enthusiast groups, trails and parks, garden and history groups, and many more. The Foundation’s goal is to enhance the quality of life in Richmond with extraordinary and abundant parks, public spaces, recreation opportunities, and cultural programming.
About Vauxhall Island:
Vauxhall Island is named for Vauxhall Gardens, the great pleasure garden of eighteenth century London. Richmond’s Vauxhall pleasure grounds (parks, public gardens, and open spaces) operated on the island in the nineteenth century. Patrons could access the island on a footbridge from Mayo’s Bridge and enjoy barbeque, a barroom, a shuffleboard court, fishing, and other amusements.