City Hall is jumping to buy a major James River island that the city has dreamed of owning for 40 years to expand parkland.

On Wednesday, City Council introduced two pieces of legislation to move forward on the purchase of the 14.5-acre Mayo Island, which fronts the 500 block of South 14th Street on the Mayo Bridge.

One ordinance to authorize the administration to buy is being sent to the Planning Commission for review on Monday, April 17, with an expectation of council voting its approval at the next meeting on Monday, April 24.

The second ordinance would allow the city to accept a $7.5 million grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to support the purchase. The city’s full cost for the purchase was not disclosed.

The plan is for the island, once a summer recreation area and home to minor league baseball in Richmond, become part of James River Park.

The city first set a goal of buying and incorporating the island into its park system in 1982 as part of its planning for the riverfront.

In an updated 2012 riverfront plan that also included acquisition as a goal, the city described the island as “strategically located to serve communities on both the north and south sides of the river as a premier regional public open space.”

However, no taxpayer dollars were previously appropriated.

In December, the Capital Region Land Conservancy, led by former City Councilman Parker C. Agelasto, announced an agreement to purchase the flood-prone property from the current owners, the Shaia family, who had owned the island since the early 1980s.

Mr. Agelasto indicated then that the price tag was $11.8 million, a major reduction from the $19 million that the family sought in listing the property for sale four months earlier.

Council was briefed in closed session Monday about Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration’s plan to become the purchaser, the Free Press was told.

Mr. Agelasto could not be reached for comment about the city’s new plans.

He previously engineered the conservancy’s 2021 purchase of 5.2 acres of riverfront property in the 3000 block of Dock Street among a string of initiatives he has pushed that have boosted the profile of the conservancy.

Previously, Mr. Agelasto said the conservancy envisions the island being restored to its natural state.

He also had indicated possible funding if the property becomes a vehicle and equipment staging area during replacement of the Mayo or 14th Street Bridge.

The Virginia Department of Transportation indicated the $81 million construction project could begin in 2024.