| Tri-Cities,
Virginia is also known as the Tri-Cities area or the
Appomattox Basin. This is an area within the Greater
Richmond Region, which includes the three independent cities
of Petersburg,
Colonial
Heights, and Hopewell.
Additional unincorporated communities found in the
Tri-Cities area include Ettrick,
Fort
Lee, and City Point. City Point, a formerly historic
incorporated town, was annexed and became part of the City
of Hopewell, Virginia. Portions of the adjoining counties of
Chesterfield,
Dinwiddie,
and Prince
George are also considered part of the Tri-Cities area.
Tri-Cities, VA area is located in south central Virginia
about 25 miles south of the Virginia's state capital of Richmond,
and is centered on the Appomattox River, which has its
confluence with the James River near historic City Point in
Hopewell.
The Metropolitan Statistical Area for the Tri-Cities area
is Richmond, Virginia. Economic diversity is typical of the
entire Richmond-Petersburg region, and helps to insulate it
from hardship due to economic fluctuation in particular
sectors of the economy. The region's central location also
allows it to benefit from growth in other regions of
Virginia and the state as a whole.
Many locations in the Tri-Cities, VA area have names that
reflect the region's role in the American Civil War. The
history of the Battle of the Crater can be viewed in
Petersburg National Battlefield Park and is commemorated in
nearby 'Crater Road’. Fort
Lee is named after Civil War Hero Robert E. Lee.
Fort Lee is a United States Army post and headquarters of
the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), U.S.
Army Quartermaster Center and School (QMCS), the Army
Logistics Management College (ALMC) and the U.S. Defense
Commissary Agency (DeCA). A U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)
unit, the 49th Quartermaster Group (Petroleum and Water), is
stationed here. Fort Lee also hosts two Army museums, the
U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum and the U.S. Army Women's
Museum. The fort is named for Confederate General Robert E.
Lee. The presence of military personnel in the Tri-Cities
area is quite significant.
Petersburg is the largest of the three incorporated
cities in the Tri-Cities group. Like many cities in the
United States, Petersburg has sought to revitalize the
dilapidated and crime-ridden reputation of its downtown area
by promoting its arts scene. In the 1990s and 2000s, several
areas including the "Old town" area, have seen the
remodeling and renovation of abandoned buildings into loft
apartments and eclectic restaurants. In 2004, the Shockoe
Bottom Arts group moved from downtown Richmond to
downtown Petersburg.
The Tri-Cities, VA area is served by several hospitals, John
Randolph Medical Center (a HCA Hospital) in Hopewell, Hiram
Davis Medical Center of Petersburg, and Southside
Regional Medical Center School of Nursing and Poplar
Springs Hospital in Petersburg.
The Tri-Cities also is home to a federal prison complex
called the Petersburg
Federal Correctional Complex. It consists of medium and
low security Federal Correctional Institutions know
respectively as FCI Petersburg Medium and FCI Petersburg
Low. Despite its name, the address of the Petersburg Federal
Correctional Complex is actually in Hopewell.
Tri-Cities, Virginia has numerous public schools and
community colleges and is home to many well known and key
Educational institutions including the Appomattox
Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology, Virginia
State University at Ettrick and the U.S.
Army Logistics Management College in Fort Lee.
Southpark
Mall is a large regional shopping mall in the Tri-Cities
area. Built in 988 at the intersection of Temple Avenue and
I-95, the mall complex has expanded significantly to include
many big box retailers. The mall itself is located in
Colonial Heights, Virginia. This enterprise is a typical
example of how these cities meld to become functionally
operational and know as the Tri-Cities.
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