Richmond Department of Community Development

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Department of Community Development
City of Richmond
900 E. Broad Street,
Room 511
Richmond, VA
23219 USA
(T) 804.646.6310
(F) 804.646.5789
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Rachel O’Dwyer Flynn, AIA

Rachel Flynn joined the City of Richmond in March 2006 as Director of Community Development. She is a licensed architect and has practiced both architecture and urban planning for over twenty years. Prior to her arrival in Richmond, she was Director of Community Development in Lynchburg, Virginia for eight years. She received numerous recognitions including; Best Civic Leader, Central Virginia Visionary, Most Influential Leader, Preservationist of the Year, and Outstanding Urban Conservationist.


She led the effort to develop various Master Plans for Lynchburg, receiving awards such as: Best Comprehensive Plan, Outstanding Plan Award for the Downtown & Riverfront Master Plan, and the Great American Main Street Award.
Rachel is a graduate of Harvard University, where she received her Masters in Public Administration, and a graduate of the Catholic University of America, where she received her Master of Science in Engineering/Construction Management and her Bachelor of Science in Architecture. She spent the large part of her architectural career with the firm Cannon Design (New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Toronto, Ontario). In addition, she worked with the Mayors’ Institute on City Design at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design where she developed a national housing conference on HUD’s HOPE VI housing redevelopment program.

Rachel is on the Sweetbriar College Board of Trustees and was appointed by Governor Mark Warner to serve on the VA Board of Historic Resources.

Rachel welcomes citizens’ input regarding the department’s services as well as their ideas for Richmond’s future. She can be reached at Rachel.flynn@Richmondgov.com or at 804-646-6310.



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