Earlier today, the City was notified of the failure of air conditioning systems in all four Imperial Village buildings. Throughout the day, the City met with the property managers to understand the details of the situation and to suggest possible paths forward for the owners to take to restore air conditioning to all buildings. 

Owners are currently working to restore the air conditioning. 15 City staff are onsite, and the Richmond Fire Department are conducting wellness checks of residents and encouraging hydration throughout the night.  

Tomorrow morning, July 7, City Staff will continue discussions with the property owners and management about the progress required to bring all four buildings up to code. 

Tonight, Mayor Danny Avula and Richmond City Council introduced a resolution authorizing the City of Richmond to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority (RRHA).  

The resolution formalizes the City’s partnership with RRHA to establish a consistent, resident-centered plan for redeveloping Gilpin Court. Specifically, the resolution:  

1. Supports the redevelopment of Richmond’s aging public housing, citing deteriorating conditions 
2. Establishes key principles for redevelopment including one-for-one replacement of public housing units 
3. Requests Mayor Danny Avula and CAO Odie Donald to sign an MOU with RRHA by September 1 
4. Requests ongoing updates about the progress of the partnership to City Council’s Land Use, Housing, and Transportation Committee and annual reports to all of City Council  

Additionally, the City of Richmond is excited to soon announce its new People Plan Manager.  

The People Plan Manager will oversee the implementation one of the People Plan, one of the three major elements of the Gilpin Court Redevelopment alongside the Neighborhood and Housing Plans. The People Plan Manager, who will begin work this summer, will lead work on the resident-centered component of the plan, including resident engagement, case management, connections to service providers, and partnerships with community organizations. Together, these efforts are designed to ensure residents remain at the center of the redevelopment process and have access to the resources, services, and support they need every step of the way.   

“I am extremely pleased that Mayor Avula and the RRHA leadership have reached an agreement on how the City and the Authority will work together on the redevelopment of Gilpin Court,” said Councilmember Cynthia Newbille, Richmond East End 7 th District . “This agreement not only prioritizes residents, their needs, and engagement, but also enshrines core protections for residents such as one-for-one replacement, and a tenant bill of rights, which provides a model for similar partnership agreements for our other public housing communities engaged in redevelopment activities. This resolution is a critically important and needed step forward in addressing one of our most significant community challenges, the transformation of our public housing communities city-wide.” 

"I’m thrilled that we’ve reached this moment in building a stronger partnership and shared commitment to the residents who call Gilpin Court home. It is so critical to build a redevelopment process that creates lasting opportunity, and keeps residents at the center of every decision,” said Mayor Danny Avula . “Today’s resolution marks an important step towards that.” 

Together, these efforts will help create thriving neighborhoods where every resident can succeed.  

Resources  

• July 6, 2026,  Gilpin Court Redevelopment: How We Get There  
• July 6, 2026,  Draft Memorandum of Understanding for the Joint Gilpin Transformation Working Group  (to be reviewed by City Council)  
• July 6, 2026,   Proposed Resolution for Executing the Joint Gilpin Transformation Working Group MOU  (to be approved by City Council) 

Note: this press release shares the latest water main updates from Sunday, July 5, at 9:52 a.m. Looking for previous updates on the water main break and repair? 

• July 3, 10:30 a.m.: Overnight Water Main Break Isolated, Service Being Restored
• July 3, 6:01 p.m.: Water Pressure Continues to Increase Across the Region  

Following Friday’s water main break, efforts to optimize pressure across all pressure zones in the water system proved successful yesterday. Sampling results for each of the nine pressure zones continues to confirm safe drinking water throughout the distribution system. The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) was provided the results, and DPU will continue to coordinate with VDH throughout the long-term repair efforts.  

Additionally, access and staging for the repair work on the 36” water main was successfully initiated July 4th. Work is scheduled to begin Monday, July 6th. DPU will continue to coordinate with its regional partners throughout the repair process and may adjust system operations to ensure optimal performance.  

For the most up-to-date information on utility work impacts in their area, citizens are encouraged to sign up for CivicReady to receive alerts. 

We appreciate the patience of all impacted customers throughout the water main break. Should customers experience issues with water pressure in their home they can call the DPU Call Center at 804-646-4646.  

Richmond, VA - The City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities (DPU) continues to see increased pressures throughout the region’s water distribution system, as water storage tanks fill and return to full capacity after the 36” water main isolation and recovery. 

This was an isolated water main break; however DPU mitigated this interruption by balancing system demands throughout the nine pressures zones in the system and working closely with our regional partners. Drinking water remained safe during these activities and continues to be due to the decisive action taken by staff and their dedication to our customers.  

All customers should be experiencing water pressure that is within normal conditions with an expectation that the pressure will increase as the storage tanks within the system are filled further. Customers who are experiencing low water pressure currently, should report that by calling the DPU Call Center at 804-646-4646 so crews can investigate as a hydrant may need to be flushed in their area to improve service or it may be an unrelated issue that needs to be investigated further.

Crews were onsite throughout the day with contractors to assess the needed repairs for the 36” water main parallel to the canal. Mobilization of the repair crew will begin on Saturday, July 4 to perform preliminary access work and staging, with repair work scheduled to begin Monday, July 6. Updates on anticipated timeframe for full repair will be available after that time.

DPU continues to coordinate with its regional partners and may adjust system operations further to address any localized pressure concerns.  

In a prior press release, the City stated “As a result, customers in some portions of the City were impacted and experienced low or no pressure, resulting in no water for a period of time for some users.” This statement was in reference to the pressure within the customer homes and not the pressure within the distribution system. Out of an abundance of caution, DPU has sampled through the entire distribution system and will provide those results when they are completed. These results will be provided to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) for their review.