FAQs About The Green

The Green project will reclaim two acres of asphalt parking and transform historic Broad Street Station’s frontage along Broad Street into a 6-acre green space that will be free and open to the public.

Phase 1, the western portion of The Green, is expected to be completed in spring 2023. Construction on Phase 2, the area around the main circle, will follow the completion of Phase 1.

The 6-acre park will cost a total of $7.5 million to complete.

Science Museum guests, public transit passengers and individuals who live and work nearby will reap mental and physical health benefits from time spent in nature.

City residents and visitors will benefit from the reduced urban heat, improved air quality, stormwater management and biodiversity that The Green’s trees, plants and sustainable design will produce. Click here to learn more about the benefits of using natural solutions.

The Science Museum brought on Glave & Holmes Architecture and landscape architects HG Design to develop a detailed plan for Phase 1. We sought further guidance from field experts in horticulture, sustainable landscaping, urban forestry and conservation gardening to inform our plant selection.

Science Museum leadership held a series of planning retreats and community forums with architects, landscape designers, local residents and other stakeholders to explore future uses of its 37-acre urban campus.

The Green aligns with Richmond 300 small area plan for Greater Scott’s Addition, which envisions a ribbon of open green spaces connected by biking and walking trails to offset denser, taller development encouraged by the neighborhood’s TOD-1 (Transit-Oriented Development) zoning designation. Click here to see the Greater Scott's Addition Small Area Plan in Richmond 300.

The Green will incorporate 100% Virginia native plants and trees. The planting guide, Native Plants for Virginia’s Capital Region, identifies over 70% of the selected Science Museum species as native to the Richmond region. The remaining ~30% of species were chosen to highlight iconic Virginia plants that may become more common in our region in the future due to our changing climate, reshaping our understanding of what is truly a “native plant.” Some were chosen to help reestablish species that have been significantly reduced in number and challenged by overharvesting or disease. Others were chosen because of their aesthetically pleasing phenology, tolerance for urban environments and edibility. Learn more about what trees and plants will be incorporated into The Green.

The Green will be watered through a combination of hand watering with a quick coupler system and a Tree Diaper hydration system. Tree Diapers catch and slowly release rainwater to conserve and stabilize the soil moisture.

The Green will reduce urban heat, improve air quality, increase biodiversity, restore wildlife habitats threatened by urban development, and reduce the amount of stormwater and pollutants flowing into the City’s stormwater system—and ultimately, into the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the James River. Click here for a visual showing the before and after comparisons of impervious to pervious surfaces.

Public art will provide a standout feature within The Green. The project team enlisted public art specialist Ellyn Parker to facilitate an international call for artists to commission a site-specific piece as a focal point. The public art solicitation for The Green generated more than 90 proposals from artists worldwide. The team invited community feedback on finalists and selected a work designed by Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee’s RE: site public art studio out of Houston. Allbritton and Lee have designed other site-specific works that invite viewers into a shared experience that sparks discovery and dialogue. Cosmic Perception is designed as a conceptual and sculptural counterpoint to the Science Museum’s iconic Kugel Ball.

We appreciate your interest in The Green! For more information on how you can support the project with a donation click here.