Jump to content

Norfolk Off-Topic


vdogg

Recommended Posts

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/from-state-delegate-to-city-attorney-letters-of-support-pour/article_c4cc9698-eb45-561a-b1a7-29e2cd590afa.html

I have been critical of Burfoot and his shady dealings and I'm glad he was eventually caught, but 17 years seems a bit much for the crimes committed. There are people who've done far worse and received far less. I hope this gets dropped down at sentencing. I'd settle for probation and a permanent ban from holding public office honestly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


On 4/11/2017 at 2:09 PM, vdogg said:

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/from-state-delegate-to-city-attorney-letters-of-support-pour/article_c4cc9698-eb45-561a-b1a7-29e2cd590afa.html

I have been critical of Burfoot and his shady dealings and I'm glad he was eventually caught, but 17 years seems a bit much for the crimes committed. There are people who've done far worse and received far less. I hope this gets dropped down at sentencing. I'd settle for probation and a permanent ban from holding public office honestly.

Any sentence that doesn't include jailtime will be seen as him getting off scott-free. Probation is seen as a slap on the wrist, as it essentially IS a slap on the wrist. As for a permanent ban from holding office, i don't think the Virginia courts can do that. The General Assembly would have to do that, and with that lot, i''m sure they haven't banned convicted felons from holding office.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I was there and Downtown was very lively and even with the weather the wine fest was fun as usual.  My partner always comments on how clean Downtown Norfolk is.  I tell them that is a result of the Business Improvement District (BID) and years of planning on the part of the city.  Downtown looked great and it seems Norfolk is finally getting close to its full potential.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even though VB has the population advantage, to say it's a suburb of Norfolk does seem more accurate, no matter how much that would anger a VB resident to hear. :P

Great to see this area getting more and more publicity. It's becoming a hidden gem, and downtown's rebirth is helping. However, I noticed the article said 4,400 people live downtown. That's gotta be an old number? I thought we reached 6,000 in the last year, with that number growing when the Icon opens?

Edited by BFG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grocery store is badly needed.  When we walked from Downtown over to Ghent a young gentleman asked for directions to Harris Teeter and I told him I thought it was over on Colonial Ave.  The young man said he walked from the Residence Inn looking for the grocery store.  I think maybe the market is ripe for a scaled down urban type of grocery store like Trader Joe's or Wholefoods.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, NFKjeff said:

If downtown Norfolk's population is now 6,600, with all of the housing units soon to come online it will soon top 7,500. There needs to be a walkable grocery store for this population, and it needs to have pricing which is in line with what is available in Ghent.

Perhaps a grocery store with a butcher-shop that would supply cuts of meat to local citizens and restaurants. They could carve a need for that now.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure if we had a thread for this, but this is just shameful IMO.

 

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/columnist/roger-chesley/norfolk-cigar-factory-s-demolition-is-the-best-solution-to/article_616190a3-0507-5307-ac78-cccb73c16293.html

Quote

No more false promises the building’s shell will become the centerpiece of a 155-unit apartment complex.

When you look at old pictures of Norfolk, its a shame what the city has destroyed. This building was actually  on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, the city should make it a point to persevere this building, even in that condition IMO. How many times have you visited other cities were they have re-purposed old structures into very nice businesses and living spaces. They have done it in recent years with a few buildings, but this task should have been taking on decades ago. With the right apt pricing, that building could have done a lot for that section of town.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I forget where I read the article, but ideally they're looking for around 10,000 to support an actual grocery store. We have a ways to go. I think a scaled down concept may work, but it's going to take a lot to convince grocery retailers to take a chance on downtown again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think we see 10,000 until they start on SPQ, Fort Norfolk or the area near Harbor Park, and all of those are about 5 years away IMO.

I get the reservations, but it is a little unfair to send people to Harris Teeter, if they want something within walking distance. Hopefully they change their minds on that one. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, zeppelin14 said:

I agree with the grocery store... I used to live in West Freemason and it was nice to be able to walk to it. However, it was way overpriced. Ideally, an urban Target with a grocery section would be awesome for downtown in my opinion.

Amazon Prime Now probably has an affect on putting an grocery store down there now. We would need to almost double the amount of people living DT

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Seems like the apartment boom might not be slowing down anytime soon.

http://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/commercial-real-estate/favorable-business-climate-leads-to-gains-for-virginia-s-real/article_96bebe43-89e6-5a6b-bdc6-1902d83fae68.html

"Virginia’s residential real estate market saw substantial gains in the first quarter of 2017. During the first three months of the year, 22,859 residential transactions closed. That’s a 7.8 percent increase over the 21,213 units sold during the same period in 2016, according to the Virginia Realtors Association."

Fraley said Norfolk is the most popular market, followed by Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg and Portsmouth.

This is statewide folks. We may be closing in on another population boom.:)

While this is more about real estate in general, this is indicative of the population trends in the state, and thus the demand for all types of housing including apartments.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, brikkman said:

I still believe the rents could be more affordable in DT. I would love to see a math of military vs non military living in DT.

I was talking about this with friends the other night. It annoys me that just about every building downtown starts at close to $1,000 for even a studio.

I get market demand and everything, but even just one building starting at a price closer to that of Ghent or elsewhere (maybe 1K for a 2 BR) in the city could do wonders. 

Another friend of mine lives in the Botetourt high rise in Freemason...which is about to become another Buddy Gadams property. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/11/2017 at 6:51 PM, vdogg said:

Seems like the apartment boom might not be slowing down anytime soon.

http://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/commercial-real-estate/favorable-business-climate-leads-to-gains-for-virginia-s-real/article_96bebe43-89e6-5a6b-bdc6-1902d83fae68.html

"Virginia’s residential real estate market saw substantial gains in the first quarter of 2017. During the first three months of the year, 22,859 residential transactions closed. That’s a 7.8 percent increase over the 21,213 units sold during the same period in 2016, according to the Virginia Realtors Association."

Fraley said Norfolk is the most popular market, followed by Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg and Portsmouth.

This is statewide folks. We may be closing in on another population boom.:)

While this is more about real estate in general, this is indicative of the population trends in the state, and thus the demand for all types of housing including apartments.

This article seems to be about home sales rather than leases. I would think strong home sales would be bad news for apartment development especially since multifamily thrived on people not being able to get the financing needed to buy. 

Also I feel like the writer got the wording wrong on the paragraph quoted above. Wouldn't it be Norfolk is the most popular market which includes…?  I find it hard to believe a NoVa county wouldn't make it somewhere on that list. 

Here's the actual report:

http://www.virginiarealtors.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Virginia-Home-Sales-Report.Q1.pdf

 

Edited by Brennen
Link
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Friends and I are in downtown again tonight, and I just can't get enough of how 2 venues revitalized the ENTIRE area. Tons of people walking up and down Granby tonight and traffic coming in was heavy. I was a bit critical of how much money they invested in the Hilton, I thought Bruce should've paid more. That said, if foot traffic stays busy like this every weekend, they will recoup their investment in short order. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.