This story was originally published by WWBT-12 by anchor Joel Vazquez-Juarbe; June 23, 2026
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For many Richmonders, Mayo Island is a place they drive through on the way downtown, but now it will become a park where people can walk trails, have a picnic or enjoy riverfront views.
“This beautiful space, so that you have this urban park in the middle of the river,” said Chris Frelke, Richmond’s director of parks and recreation. “You will also have the ability to do fishing, you will also have the ability to, hopefully down the road, launch boats, do kayaking.”
The city announced Tuesday that it acquired the quarter-acre it had been trying to obtain for two years with help from the Capital Region Land Conservancy.
Richmond already purchased most of the 15-acre island in 2024. The final quarter acre was bought for $675,000.
“It seems small, but it’s huge,” Frelke said. “It’s sort of like the last little piece of a puzzle, and you’re able connect the dots. And we’re really happy about this, because it will make it so much easier for us to start park construction and will help down the road for the bridge.”
The city is already in talks with a contractor to begin work in July.
Some of the work will include tearing down a red-brick building, converting a white building into a workspace for park staff, and removing asphalt. Frelke said it will be the largest resurfacing project ever in the Commonwealth.
“Imagine ripping up all that asphalt and being able to put a beautiful green space in there that will also be putting plantings and trails and access to the river,” Frelke said.