FAQs About The Green

Phase 1 of The Green reclaimed two acres of asphalt parking and transformed historic Broad Street Station’s frontage into a community greenspace that is free and open to the public.

Phase 1, the western portion of The Green, was completed in May 2023. Construction on Phase 2, the area directly in front of the Science Museum, began in fall 2023 and is expected to be completed in spring 2024.

Phases 1 and 2 will cost approximately $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 incorporates 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 are in The Green.

The Green is 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 reduces the urban heat island effect, improves air quality, increases biodiversity, restores wildlife habitats threatened by urban development and reduces 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.

With the opening of The Green, the Science Museum debuted the large, STEM-inspired art feature called Cosmic Perception. Featuring 50 protruding white spires—steel triangle-shaped tubes shooting outward and upward like a burst originating from a single point—guests can travel around and through the dynamic original sculpture to experience how the dichroic-glass kaleidoscopes offer an unexpected view of the urban environment and natural world.

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