On Oct. 13, Henrico gets yet another new shopping mall, but the Shops at White Oak Village sorely miss the mark for the eastern end of the county. Major retailers and smaller-parcel stores to promote and support healthy and stable families in eastern Henrico are left out!
There is no major book retailer or craft store to support literacy and the creative arts, yet tenants include GameStop and SportsZone. There is no fitness center or nutrition store like GNC, yet tenants include Chick-fil-A and McDonald's. There are no affordable, professional, brand-name stores like Old Navy and Marshalls; yet tenants include Dots, DTLR and Rainbow. These retailers do not reflect the kind of lifestyle that is deserved by our community. We deserve better than another 7-Eleven and authorized cell phone dealer!
I am not asking to replicate Short Pump or Stony Point (“Lost in Short Pump,” Back Page, Aug. 27). I am just asking to have the same amenities that our neighbors in Mechanicsville, the Virginia Center Commons area and the Hull Street-Midlothian communities have. Must our zip code be 23060 or 23059 to have more than Ukrop's, Kohls and Target? My county is demonstrating the metro-politics of economic segregation. Be wary of where you buy your home in Henrico because place matters!
J.R. Mejia, Varina