| 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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