This week, Margaret Johnson has kept her windows closed despite the glorious weather.

"I don't want to hear it," she said.

"It" is the sound of bulldozers tearing down three homes in her neighborhood near St. Christopher's School in Richmond's West End.

The school razed the homes, which it owned, to make way for a parking lot in the 5900 block of Fergusson Road.

"The whole neighborhood is going to be changed," Johnson said.

Changed, yes, but for the better, St. Christopher's says.

"Everything we have touched, we have left improved," said Delores Smith, director of development at the school.

Neighbors don't deny that the school is attractive.

"So many of us bought in this area because of the green spaces," said Stuart Carter, who lives near the planned parking lot. "[St. Christopher's] said they'd try to save as many trees as possible."

But Carter said she was concerned about the lack of dialogue between the school and the neighborhood. She said she first heard about the plans at an estate sale held at the last of the homes to be sold to St. Christopher's.

The school sent postcards to all area residents, inviting them to a meeting to explain the project and meet with the school's landscape architect, one administrator said. Many area homeowners had complained about cars parking along neighborhood streets.

Several residents of the area expressed concern that the homes were earmarked for demolition in a master plan established years ago. Smith rebutted that, saying that although the homes may have been targeted for purchase, tearing them down had not been in the school's strategic plan.

The school's most recent purchase was an English cottage-style house that was situated between the school and two other houses it owned. By purchasing the adjoining property, St. Christopher's was able to expand and develop the parking lot.

"We have no plans to take down any more homes," Smith said.

St. Christopher's School and its foundation own other properties in the neighborhood, the school said. It often sells them to faculty members.

"It helps them stay in touch with the community," Smith said.

Smith said she was uncertain about how many cars the new lot will accommodate.

It will not be paved, she said, and instead will have a grass or pebble surface.

"Lighting -- if there is any -- will be low lighting," she said. Large trees and brush will be untouched. "It will maintain a rustic, parklike appearance."
Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or lcrutchfield@timesdispatch.com.