News
Storefront for Community Design
Storefront Launches Roadmap for 3-year Plan

In May 2022, Storefront for Community Design announced a bold, new vision and a three-year strategic plan. We will firmly focus on transforming our low-cost design and planning assistance programs and expanding our design education programs to inspire community-driven design in the built environment.

This is a living, breathing plan that we will continue revisiting over the months and years ahead. Since kickstarting our plan in July, we've been building an intentional roadmap that prioritizes actions and creates measurable goals. We are excited to share it and begin collaborating with you as we continue to realize our vision.

Storefront Launches Roadmap for 3-year Plan
Community Design Archive, News, Impact Stories
Storefront for Community Design
Storefront Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Each year, Valentine’s Day reminds us to purposefully demonstrate love, care, and support for our families, friends, and communities. This year’s holiday also marks Storefront for Community Design’s 10th anniversary and we want to shout a huge THANK YOU for your support in making our first ten years a success.

Since the beginning, we set out to make design accessible to all “for the love of our city.” Through partnerships and community collaborations, we continue to discover new ways of seeking Richmond's physical and social transformation through design and community voice. After an incredible ten years, we remain humble, yet excited for the possibilities that lie ahead for our organization, partners, and neighbors.

Our Board of Directors, staff, and partners are excited to celebrate this milestone anniversary throughout the year, so stay tuned for ways to get involved. To kickstart our celebration, here’s a few ways you can show your support today.

  • Donate to Storefront to support our next ten years

  • Volunteer as a Session Designer

  • Share our story with your network

Whether you’ve been with Storefront from the beginning or just a short time, we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with a look back over the last ten years. Enjoy the memories and accomplishments of our community and we look forward to making many more with you in the coming years. Now, it’s time to celebrate!

Storefront Celebrates 10th Anniversary
News
Storefront for Community Design
Storefront Welcomes New Executive Director and ...

Storefront for Community Design is excited to announce the selection of Shawn Balon as its new Executive Director.

Shawn brings a wealth of experience in design, non-profit, and educational environments with expanded knowledge of organizational management and strategic planning. He has the strategic vision necessary to elevate Storefront for Community Design and its programs in the years to come and will bring a creative, innovative, and collaborative approach when working with staff, board members, donors, partners, volunteers, and the community-at-large.

“I appreciate the board’s confidence in me, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to lead such a great organization. It will take innovative and purposeful solutions to create a path for Storefront for Community Design to continue addressing the challenges in our communities, and I look forward to advancing my efforts to focus on the importance of participatory design to honor differences, challenge injustices, and create vibrant neighborhoods,” said Balon.

News, Programs & Projects
Storefront for Community Design
Richmond Magazine: Designs Within Reach

We recently got to share a few projects at mOb studio + Storefront for Community Design with Richmond Magazine and how it all got started. Read the full interview by Taylor Peterson published on Feb 7, 2020.

“Design provides a vision rather than a … volatile position.” —Camden Whitehead, co-founder, Mob Studio

Richmond Magazine: Designs Within Reach

Resources

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Have You Ever Wondered How to Design an Edible Landscape?

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Have You Ever Wondered How to Design an Edible Landscape?

Have you ever wondered how to get started designing a garden or edible landscape? Yeah? You’re not the only one. Learn more and check out the resources available below to help you design an edible landscape!

In early August, Storefront for Community Design partnered with the City of Richmond’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities (PRCF) Teen Workforce program to host a design workshop to create a food forest in the City’s Southside. The workshop would bring a variety of ideas from workforce participants who visited and worked in many gardens across the city. This was also a great opportunity to showcase Storefront’s mission to build capacity, engage the next generation of designers, and create resources for our community.

The design workshop took place over two days. Day one included a site visit to Broad Rock Sports Complex, the project location selected by PRCF. After the visit, teens and staff headed back to Storefront’s office on East Broad Street to learn more about the design process. Shawn Balon, Executive Director at Storefront who is also a landscape architect, assisted in leading the discussion highlighting the design process, built environment professions (architecture, landscape architecture, etc.), and different drawings created by professionals to visualize an idea - like a plan drawing.

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What is an RFP? Community Resources for Construction Proposals

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Earlier this year, we wrote about Storefront for Community Design’s community engagement process to receive feedback and ideas from residents for the new intended use of the former Bank of America building in Northside’s Highland Park community. The bank building closed in 2017 and ownership was transferred to the Richmond Land Bank, a program of Maggie Walker Community Trust (MWCLT), in the hope of finding a suitable use and tenant in the coming years.

Since the development of Storefront’s final report, MWCLT developed a Request for Proposal (RFP), held a community meeting to review the process and RFP, and organized an informational session to review the RFP with potential applicants. The RFP launched in early June and applicants are encouraged to send proposals by August 2.

As this process continues, and additional opportunities arise for community members and businesses to develop similar projects around Richmond, it’s important for everyone to understand the terminology in these proposals. Check out the following resources to learn more about RFPs and the process of responding with successful proposals.

 

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