Richmond's new Dollar Tree pays homage to city's industrial roots
Winding its way through the final stages of the city approval process, a new Dollar Tree store in Northeast Richmond should open in a few months, according to city planners.
At least one aspect of the controversial project at Barrett and San Pablo Avenues appears not to have hit any critical nerves: unique window coverings featuring historical photographs of Richmond.
The evocative black and white images – which include the work of Muralist Victor Arnautoff – are enlarged from real photos mined from the Richmond History Museum and reflect the city’s history of work and industry, from 1930’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects to WWII shipyards.
Linda Hemmila
“It’s very subtle, it’s very simple, it’s not a typical, modern mural. . . it just embraces the history of the city,” said Hector Lopez, a Richmond senior planner assigned to the project. “I think it looks great.”
While many aspects of the Dollar Tree project have drawn community concern – noise, traffic congestion, and exterior lighting, Lopez said he hadn’t heard any comments about the window art, negative or positive.
The photos are local, but so is the artist behind the project.
They’re the work of graphic designer Helen Babalis, who commutes between Richmond and the Sierra foothills, where she and her husband are building a house. They lived in Richmond for years.
“Oh man, I think it’s one of the best things in Richmond; I’m blown away,” Babalis said about the final photo installment, which covers 23 windows and was completed in November. “It’s because when you look at those images, it says Richmond. It’s Richmond’s legacy. It was an industrial town with a lot of character and a lot of opportunity.”
Babalis said the concept originated from her husband, Jonathan Livingston, the former chair of the city’s Design Review Board, who needed to approve the Dollar Tree project along with other board members.
“It was collective group thought,” Livingston said. “I give the whole board credit.”
Livingston presided over the design board’s review of the project in 2021, but resigned about a year later, for unrelated reasons.
Adapted from a former automobile showroom, the original building had massive picture windows for showcasing the merchandise – like walls of glass.
Vacant since 2017, several auto dealers have operated from the space over the years, most recently West Coast Motors and Car Hop. When considering the project, Babalis said the design review board wanted to preserve the windows as key to the building’s historical significance and wasn't a fan of the developer’s initial plan of a major scaling back.
But looking inside a Dollar Tree isn’t quite the same as viewing glistening new Thunderbirds, Mustangs, or Galaxies. So, the board brainstormed aesthetically pleasing or attractive ways to block inner store views. Historical images came to mind.
Livingston consulted with his graphic artist wife, Babalis, who volunteered to do some mock-ups.
“After much agonizing ideas going back and forth, I went to the Richmond History Museum, and I was blown away. I poured through hundreds of things, thousands,” said Babalis. She selected about a dozen photos initially, which the museum sent to her digitally. Then came Photoshop to enlarge and position the images to fit 8 ft. x 4 ft. windows. Babalis called the work painstaking.
Her mockups were sent to the project contractor and architect. Then, for more than a year, not a peep. Last October, the company contacted her to essentially say, ‘How soon can we get these in?’ Babalis said.
When asked if he felt it was a conflict of interest to bring in his wife on a project before the city’s Design Review Board while he was on it, Livingston called this a good question. He said Babalis’s initial designs were a relatively fast way to show Dollar Tree a concept the city may accept. She worked quickly for no charge. When the company got back to her in the fall to order the work, he was no longer on the board, he said.
Dollar Tree, Inc. is a chain of discount variety stores with 15,115 stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. The company also operates stores under the names Dollar Bills and Family Dollar and is headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Grandview Independent left several messages with Dollar Tree’s media contact to learn if the chain has done something similar at other stores and hasn’t heard back. Same with the project architect, H. Weston Drumheller, of Oregon.
But Bud Davis, of his namesake construction company, which built the Richmond store along with many other Dollar Trees nationwide, said different kinds of window coverings happen.
“Every store is unique; every store is different. It varies from municipality to municipality,” Davis said. He didn’t say if any of the Dollar Trees he’s built have used historical photos as in Richmond.“We’re working on finishing the store up.”
While the window art appears not to have met community criticism, this isn’t true for other aspects of the Dollar Tree project.
Since it was presented to the Design Review Board in 2021, an early step in the city approval process, neighbors have voiced concerns about lights, noise, and traffic, according to city documents. Some also don’t like having a “big box” type chain store in the neighborhood. Though others welcome it.
The East Richmond Neighborhood Council, which represents the Dollar Tree neighborhood, led much of the criticism – feedback that’s resulted in several project changes to mitigate impacts.
Linda Hemmila
Jim Hanson, president of the council, following the standard appeal process for city projects, appealed the 2021 city design review board’s approval to the city planning commission; and then appealed the planning commission approval to the city council, which in March 2022 issued the final green light.
Each step of the way, the city has required changes to address concerns, called conditions of approval, including adding fencing, reducing the size of signs, changing trash location, and changes to parking lot traffic flow and lighting to reduce noise.
"Currently, project developers are working on a traffic safety study, changes to exterior lighting, and a delivery truck noise study," Lopez said.
Hanson said, “I have not heard any opinions or views on the window art.”
Social media comments on the windows are generally positive.
“The photos look great and will put a nice spin on the Dollar store,” one person wrote on a Facebook post on the project. “Very cool and unexpected for a discount store to have an iconic facade like this,” said another.
Babalis said one lingering step remains for her work – to add the names to the people in the pictures.
“The only thing I regret is I didn’t have names of the people in the photos. This isn’t art or representation; these are real people. It’s real Richmond,” she said.
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