Lynchburg

[StevenRocks]

Lynchburg is very well-located but yet somwhat isolated from other cities. It's a retailer's dream.

[wrldcoupe4]

My grandfather told me that Lynchburg's plan is to expand and buy more land from Campbell County as much as they can and can get and what they are allowed to get.

No offense to your grandpa... but I don't think Lynchburg can legally get more land.... isn't there a moratorium in Virginia on that?

[Jerseyman4]

Acquiring county land to annex it into the city of Lynchburg would not be feasible in this day & age. I could see Lynchburg buying a couple acres of land for a water treatment plant or a city jail but thats about it.

[StevenRocks]

No offense to your grandpa... but I don't think Lynchburg can legally get more land.... isn't there a moratorium in Virginia on that?

There was a moratorium enacted in the '70s to stop the largest Virginia cities from expanding, but I'm not sure if Lynchburg was affected by that ruling.

[lammius]

I'm pretty sure all independent cities are subject to the moratorium. Such a measure could easily be challenged and thrown out in court if a handful of cities were singled out for such a restriction. But there have been exceptions. I think Harrisonburg annexed a very small portion of land from Rockingham County about 15 years ago.

[mclawsdrive]

Fredericksburg annexed land in 1983, after the moratorium. I think it was a mutual decision with Spotsylvania county. The county got rid of their only high crime area, and Fredericksburg got a bunch of farmland and a golf-course. Spotsylvania thought it was a great deal at the time (golf courses and farms don't provide much tax revenue to compensate for the liabilities of a housing project), but they must be crying now. That land is where Central Park (a huge big box retail center) was built. It single-handedly pulled Fredericksburg out of a severe fiscal crisis and into a huge tax revenue windfall.

[adrockc2]

Some photos from this past weekend

[adrockc2]

Some more photos from this past weekend

Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest

[wrldcoupe4]

Nice photos thanks for sharing! Lynchburg has a really cool collection of architecture.

[RAS82]

There may be some new residental developement coming to the Lynchburg riverfront. This would only be the first phase.

http://www.jamesriverplace.com/

Here's the newspaper article (hope the link works)

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/business/local/article/two_riverfront_condo_projects_moving_ahead/24097/

[calwinston]

Oh their were so many naysayers about Amtrak expanding service to Lynchburg. But they were so wrong when Amtrak announced yesterday the route has surpassed expectations by reaching its projected ridership in 6 months instead of 1 year!

http://www2.newsadva...x_months/27166/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2010/05/rail_pilot_project_exceeds_tar.html

[calwinston]

A news conference will be held today at 2pm by Babcock & Wilcox and local officials announcing a huge development at the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research in Bedford County!

http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/bedford-county-in-line-for-a-new-nuclear-facility/261995/

[calwinston]

AMTI is on track to double revenue and is hiring!

AMTI, which provides contract manufacturing and product-to-market services, is now on track to double its revenues in 2010, says owner Larry Hatch. What’s behind the comeback? One factor, Hatch says, is that the recession left a major gap in manufacturing services. “Companies shut down factories and laid people off, and now that capacity just doesn’t exist anymore,” he explains. “Now there are a lot of opportunities available for anyone that has that capability.”

Hatch knows something about the effects of downsizing. He started AMTI in 2003 after being laid off when telecommunications giant Ericsson closed its Lynchburg operations. AMTI now has 72 employees and is hiring more.

Hatch says the company has focused on helping companies produce products that are critical to Americans’ health and well-being. Recent examples include jamming systems for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), high-tech electronic safety systems for coal mines, chemical-sensing detectors and building control systems.

Hatch hopes to continue his company’s expansion through organic growth, acquisitions or movement to new types of products. He acknowledges growth will be a challenge because of a continued credit crunch and a global shortage of key electronic components. But he believes that the company’s strong relationship with suppliers and clients will carry it forward.

http://www.virginiabusiness.com/index.php/news/article/company-fills-a-gap-in-manufacturing-services/261652/

[burt]

The number of passengers at Lynchburg Regional Airport rose by 64% in 2009 compared to 2008.

Despite this growth, Delta has announced that it will end service at Lynchburg in January of 2011, leaving USAirways as the only carrier at the airport.

From today's Richmond Times Dispatch:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2010/oct/28/delgat28-ar-612897/

[RAS82]

This is terrible news for the Lynchburg area, but it seems to be the new trend for large airline companies to leave the smaller cities and focus on the larger markets. Hopefully we can secure a new carrier with a northern connectoin to replace Delta.