Commission votes to support Hunt and Randolph community center nomination to historic registers

The Historic Preservation Commission voted to send a motion of support for the nomination of the Hunt and Randolph Community Center (commonly referenced as the Hunt and Branch Y) to the state and national historic registers.

Charlotte Lester, a neighborhood planner with the Department of Community Development, briefed the commission on the nomination process and background. She said the city adopted a Diamond Hill neighborhood plan on Dec. 10, 2024, and that the Hunt and Randolph site was identified as an anchor institution in planning work staff completed with residents. The nomination report prepared by Purvis Historic Preservation cites three areas of significance: ethnic heritage, social history and architecture.

Lester told the commission the city used Community Development Block Grant funds to contract Purvis Historic Preservation for research; a public listening session and interviews were part of the nomination development. The nomination will go before a joint session of the Virginia Board of Historic Resources and the State Review Board on March 20; Laura Purvis from Purvis Historic Preservation is slated to present.

Commissioners expressed support, noting connections to local African American history and to the former Dunbar institution. A motion of support passed on an oral “aye” vote; staff said the motion and any commissioner comments would be forwarded to the joint board meeting.