HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County leaders held the 2024 State of the County Address at the Henrico Sports Complex in Glen Allen on Thursday.
County manager John Vithoulkas spearheaded the event, touting the county's strides over the past year in education, infrastructure, parks and recreation, and redevelopment.
“Today’s presentation that I’m referring to is on another level,” Vithoulkas said.
EDUCATION
On the education front, the county's superintendent Amy Cashwell elaborated on the success of the Henrico CARES mental health initiative.
The $17 million five-year investment expanded school-based mental health services to include 24/7/365 live support and clinical licensure supervision for students and faculty.
Cashwell said the school division recently opened its Middle School Center of Innovation at John Rolfe Middle School which allowed the county to hire additional staff to meet the needs of the division’s second language learners.
HPS is also investing $9.6 million in the Opportunity School Initiative to support schools that have the greatest number of provisionally licensed staff.
“This funding helps with licensure attainment, professional development, and a teaching fellow who — in addition to teaching students — also serves as a mentor to new teachers who are developing their skills,” Cashwell said.
Weapons scanners are also fully operational at all of the county’s school buildings as part of the county-wide comprehensive safety plan.
“Over the past five years, we’ve hired more than 85 security officers to provide an additional layer of security in the school,” Cashwell said.
In June, the county approved plans to replace Davis and Longan Elementary Schools, in addition to recently approving design plans for a new Quioccasin Middle School, which will be completed in 2027.
Cashwell said 58% of the most recent graduating class earned an advanced diploma, including nearly 6000 industry certifications and credentials through Henrico’s career and technical education programs.
To that end, the county is investing in what it calls a 'state-of-the-art' living building at Wilton Farms near the James River, opening doors in the Spring.
“This will be the first public K-12 school that we hope will meet the living building challenge, which is a rigorous set of standards around environmental sustainability and stewardship,” Cashwell said.
HOUSING OPPORTUNITY
Thriving schools means more people moving to the county, facilitating the need for more housing. For the past decade, the county has invested more $110 million to ensure that homeowners stay in Henrico for the long term.
Varina supervisor Tyronne Nelson said the county is investing heavily in its housing, with two new development projects to make homeownership more affordable for lower and middle-class residents through its housing trust fund, a $60 million investment.
“The revenue comes from data center real estate tax revenue," Nelson said. “Whether it’s police officers, teachers, firefighters, service workers, bankers, just people who are just trying to make it. This project, by the time we finish, we hope will help thousands of people.”
About 30 affordable homes will be built in the Varina and Tuckahoe Districts.
EMERGENCY SERVICES.
In the past year, the county has also seen an 11% reduction in overall crime and a 22% reduction in violent crime.
Henrico Fire and EMS have also purchased two new ambulances ahead of the opening of the county's newest Fire Station which the county believes will reduce response times.
The county announced that so far this year, the medical services have shaved off an average of 17 seconds from their response times.
INFRASTRUCTURE
To keep up with that growth, the county also highlighted the completion of its newest Cobbs Creek reservoir water system. The reservoir was recently filled for the first time which will supply the county with nearly 15 billion gallons of water over the next 20 years.
Henrico continues to invest heavily in infrastructure to support residents and businesses.
The county is extending water mains along Magellan Parkway in Addison. The county is constructing a sanitary sewerway crossing at I-295 to provide utility services for Green City and the surrounding areas.
In the Three Chopt District, Sadler Road will be widened and realigned between Dominion Boulevard and Cedar Forest Road. The project also includes numerous public safety improvements like roundabouts and dedicated trails for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Likewise, Three Chopt Road will be expanded from Barrington Hills Drive with curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and much-needed improvements at the intersection of Gaskins Road.
The Richmond Henrico Turnpike will also be widened between Laburnum Avenue and Hummingbird Road to a four-lane highway with sidewalks on one side and a light path on the other.
“These improvements show Henrico's emphasis on pedestrian amenities for residents and students at nearby schools like Laburnum Elementary School in Henrico High School,” said Director of Public Utilities Bentley Chan.
The board has also dedicated $1.5 million in the past year for improved street lights across the county.
So far this year, Henrico has built 20 new sidewalks, trails, and bike lanes, including sidewalks on major thoroughfares like Broad Street.
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