The Shockoe Project is transforming a historically important but underutilized 10-acre site in Richmond, Virginia, into a nationally significant remembrance of the suffering and struggles of enslaved Americans. The project is planned for the Shockoe Valley, just east of downtown, on a site with a channelized creek and railroad infrastructure next to I-95. 

The campus, in the early stages of construction, builds on archaeological discoveries such as the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground and the Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, contributing planned civic spaces such as the Shockoe Institute at Main Street Station, Lumpkin’s Slave Jail Pavilion, and the National Slavery Museum. The project is funded by $49 million, more than half allocated by the City of Richmond and the rest from major grants from the State of Virginia and the Mellon Foundation.

“Our vision is to establish a site that not only sheds light on this terrible chapter in our nation's history but also serves as a beacon of enlightenment, education, and remembrance,” explains Cynthia Newbille, Richmond City Councilor. “It is our sincere belief that this site will become a cornerstone for fostering a brighter and more promising future for all of humanity.”

Details of the plan include: 

• The 62,000-square-foot National Slavery Museum is envisioned as an anchor of the Shockoe Project. With Afrocentric design themes, the museum will stand above the sacred ground of the Shockoe Bottom African Burial Ground. The burial ground was established around 1799 as the first municipal burial ground for the city’s African American residents, with the exact location identified by investigations from 2008 to 2012.
• The Lumpkin’s Slave Jail pavilion will occupy the archeological site of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, also known as the “devil’s half acre,” a slave trading complex. The 21,400-square-foot pavilion will serve as both an indoor and outdoor venue for exploring history. 
• Shockoe Creek Garden will cover much of the site and connect the various elements with winding walkways, reminiscent of the river morphology of the creek bed below, as well as the circuitous journey of Africans and African Americans who traversed this site. Interspersed among the walks are sculptures relating to the stories of Lumpkin’s Slave Jail and the Richmond slave trade. Encircling the Mary Lumpkin Event Lawn and the Shockoe Creek Memorial, an accessible pedestrian bridge across East Broad Street connects the North and South campuses. 
• Shockoe Institute, its headquarters under construction on the site, is a national organization dedicated to revealing the enduring impact of racial slavery on our shared American experience.
• The Institute is located in Main Street Station, the multimodal hub for Amtrak, Megabus, GRTC (Greater Richmond Transit Company) and the Pulse, bikeshare and a connector to the Virginia Capital Trail. The historic station doubles as an event venue. 
• The Mary Shockoe Event Lawn, a restaurant pavilion, and a retail pavilion, along with visitor parking and pathways under the railroad tracks, round out the plan.

“We reside in a city that has a very complicated and dark history,” notes Levar Stoney, former Richmond mayor. “It’s a history that has scars and scar tissue. It’s a history that has been figuratively and literally paved over ... I’m proud to say that we have a collective path forward to change. We’re choosing to uplift Richmond’s full history and use its unique position to tell a national—and even global—story of how slavery was integrally connected to the complex evolution of this country’s history, economy and culture.”

The Shockoe Project is scheduled for completion in 2037.

The 2025 Charter Awards will be presented at CNU33 in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 12.

The Shockoe Project, Richmond, Virginia: 

• Baskervill, Principal firm
• Blue Nest Structural, Structural Engineer
• Brocade Studio, Cultural Planning
• Dunbar, Structural Engineer
• Flux Studio, Lighting Design
• James River Institute of Archaeology, Archaeology
• Riggs Ward, Exhibit Design
• Schnabel Engineers, Geotechnical Engineer
• Black Star Cultural Resources, Archaeology
• VHB, Civil Engineer
• Waterstreet Studio, Landscape
• Ana Edwards, Christy Coleman, Dr. Lauranett Lee, Dr. Gregg Kimball, Dr. Bryan Clark Green, and Dr. Lynn Rainville, Public Historians

2025 CNU Charter Awards Jury

• Rico Quirindongo (chair), Director, City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development
• Majora Carter, CEO of Majora Carter Group in the Bronx, New York City
• Jake Day, Maryland Secretary of Housing and Community Development
• Anne Fairfax, Principal, Fairfax & Sammons in New York, NY, and Palm Beach, FL
• Eric Kronberg, Principal, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects in Atlanta, GA
• Steven Lewis, Principal, ZGF Architects in Greater Los Angeles, CA
• Donna Moodie, Chief Impact Officer, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
• Joe Nickol, Principal, Yard & Company in Cincinnati, OH