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Va. Beach Towncenter project

vdogg

By vdogg
in Virginia Beach

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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The news of Philip Johnson came straight form VBGov.com so I am thinking it is a reliable source. I am happy to see there will be some different architecture touches to the town center. I was afraid everything was going to come from CMSS.

Well, CMSS is still mentioned so they aren't completely out of the picture. Maybe just sidelined a bit. :lol:

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urbanlife Town

urbanlife

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Well, CMSS is still mentioned so they aren't completely out of the picture. Maybe just sidelined a bit. :lol:

Nah, that is just architect talk. It means that they need an AIA licensed architect from Virginia. CMSS is just being used for a home office. They will pretty much be lucky for sitting in on the meetings. Chances of them having any real imput on the project will be slim. This will be completely a Johnson project.

I think that 4 story glass wall and chandelier are going to look amazing. This might be my favorite spot in the whole city center.

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urbanvb City

urbanvb

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based on the map of the master plan, the new office tower looks incredibly thin. Also, on the plot next to the westin(between block 9 and 13), it says cinemas above retail. I wonder if that is the first step in redeveloping blocks 15, 16 and 17 by moving columbus theater from block 15 into the new cinemas.

Great question. One would think it they were moving them all it would have alluded to it on the scheme. Also, Columbus just updated all theaters to stadium seating so I am not sure this would happen.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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I wonder how that can be so with the smaller footprint (at least it surely appears to be) and also since it will be shorter than the AH.. :unsure:

I've learned not to take these drawings too literally. If you look at the block for the Westin, it would appear that the hotel is next to the condos instead of under them. We all know that this is not true. I put much more weight on the actual figures given than the diagram itself. The retail component that is on either side on the red office block on block 11 may indeed be part of that structure. If that's the case, the structure will probably stretch the width of that block along main street.

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metalman Burg

metalman

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I wonder how that can be so with the smaller footprint (at least it surely appears to be) and also since it will be shorter than the AH.. :unsure:

What they show in red as the office tower is not the whole tower. It is just the only portion of the block that is not used for anything other than office. If you notice other blocks- if office is above retail, they show it blue meaning retail and not the red for the office above. I'll bet that the office takes up the majority of the block and the blue retail space is just on the ground floors of the tower. I'm also wondering if it is a parking garage and not ground parking?

As far as the "20 story office tower" goes. What if they mean 20 story's of public building (garage and office) and they are leaving out the 2 or 3 stories for mechanical, etc. The Westin is advertised as the same- a 36 story tower, but we all know that it is really 38 with a few mechanical floors that aren't counted in any of the advertising.

...my two cents...

Merry Christmas!

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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What they show in red as the office tower is not the whole tower. It is just the only portion of the block that is not used for anything other than office. If you notice other blocks- if office is above retail, they show it blue meaning retail and not the red for the office above. I'll bet that the office takes up the majority of the block and the blue retail space is just on the ground floors of the tower. I'm also wondering if it is a parking garage and not ground parking?

As far as the "20 story office tower" goes. What if they mean 20 story's of public building (garage and office) and they are leaving out the 2 or 3 stories for mechanical, etc. The Westin is advertised as the same- a 36 story tower, but we all know that it is really 38 with a few mechanical floors that aren't counted in any of the advertising.

...my two cents...

Merry Christmas!

Couldn't have said it better myself. I knew it had something to due with the physical makeup of the project, and not the building itself. I just couldn't find the words. I agree on the mechanical floors as well. This may indeed account for the discrepancy.

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urbanlife Town

urbanlife

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I've learned not to take these drawings too literally. If you look at the block for the Westin, it would appear that the hotel is next to the condos instead of under them. We all know that this is not true. I put much more weight on the actual figures given than the diagram itself. The retail component that is on either side on the red office block on block 11 may indeed be part of that structure. If that's the case, the structure will probably stretch the width of that block along main street.

Keep in mind this is a first floor plan, when it shows the office, that is not the footprint of the tower, it is only the footprint of the entrance of the tower. My guess with block 11 is something I am not happy about, it looks like it is going to be a fat 20 story building. I would much rather seethem go for height and elegance than floor space. So don't expect too much from this building until the rendering is released. What they originally forcasted for the lot is actually much smaller than what they will be building.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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What they originally forcasted for the lot is actually much smaller than what they will be building.

I don't get it. 287, 000 sq ft is actually much larger than the office space that is currently there. How much bigger were they planning on going? I remember reading a while back plans for a 300,000sq ft building but they were unclear as to whether It would be part of TC or not. The other building at pembroke, at 12 floors, would be of similar size. Still, a 13,000sq ft reduction is not a huge drop in the overall scheme of things. It is also a plus that it appears that no spire is planned for this tower. I think for the time being our height will be invested in Westin.

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urbanlife Town

urbanlife

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I don't get it. 287, 000 sq ft is actually much larger than the office space that is currently there. How much bigger were they planning on going? I remember reading a while back plans for a 300,000sq ft building but they were unclear as to whether It would be part of TC or not. The other building at pembroke, at 12 floors, would be of similar size. Still, a 13,000sq ft reduction is not a huge drop in the overall scheme of things. It is also a plus that it appears that no spire is planned for this tower. I think for the time being our height will be invested in Westin.

Keep in mind that this is a big lot and anything could happen to it. (I was hoping the would divide the block up into four lots and had a mix of projects happen on the block, but honestly I knew that would never happen.)

The computer generated model that was released a long time ago of the town center project was about 180,000 sq ft at most with a small 3-4 story garage and 2 story retail. It looks like instead of the thin tower with a rap around building for shops, it looks like it was upgraded to a much larger building complex that will probably look more like the Cosmo.

This all can change at any time depending on who all signs into this, how many condos are apart of it, and what CMSS can pull out of their butts for design.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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I wasn't aware of that but good to hear.

This is just based off the computer generated block rendering. It could wind up having a spire, but it does not look like they are planning for it from the diagram. It doesn't look like they were planning on the bldg. on the Westin site having one either but since they weren't even planning on a Westin at that time i'll let it slide :lol:

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