2017: Exciting Times!

[carolinaboy]

2017 is shaping up to be very exciting for Norfolk, Virginia Beach (and by extension the Hampton Roads region).

I am excited for the major projects that are being built or almost finished:

The Hilton

Waterside Live

Icon at City Walk

Norfolk Outlets

I am equally excited about the projects that are soon to be built or proposed:

Virginia Beach Arena

Ikea

Block 9 Town Center development

Greenbrier Dollar Tree HQ

River Tower

Tarrants Bay

Sentara Tower

1500 Monticello Apartments

We lost some battles also: VB light rail, Cordish tower next to Waterside Live, the Dome Site

Things I'd like to see in the future:

Expansion of light rail within Norfolk

More corporate jobs in downtown Norfolk

Light rail to the Oceanfront

The continued growth of Town Center

The region work together a bit more

A new office tower in Norfolk (30 or more floors)

More residents in downtown Norfolk

 

What did I miss or what would you add?

[urbanvb]

I agree there's a lot of positives going on in the region. I was hugely disappointed that Virginia Beach residents turned down light rail again but the city does have the row of land should they decide to try BRT, bike paths or other forms of transportation. I'm excited to see Block 9 of town center being built. I feel It's only a matter of time until Armada Hoffler redevelops the existing retail just east of Town Center to include more high rises thus growing Town Center. I'm excited of hear of more data centers coming to the city due to high speed cables coming to our shores. These types of centers should bring in great paying jobs for the city and region. The outlet mall and IKEA should be very successful bringing in lots of visitors to shop thus adding tax dollars to the city of Norfolk. Also redevelopment of the land surrounding around the mall and IKEA will transform that area in time. In Norfolk residential construction continues at an all time high. The Main is a beautiful and very iconic hotel and conference center for the city to draw more visitors to the city. Norfolk has done a great job luring companies downtown and some to Military Circle which in time could see redevelopment. It's a great time for the region.

[BFG]

I would love to see BRT take shape throughout the region. Public transportation here is very lackluster, so any improvements outside of more Interstate/tunnel lanes help. Norfolk and VB need to look into BRT, either in place of LRT or alongside it.

More jobs, esp. for "millennials". I want this area make its way into the same conversation as other cities like Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville, Denver, etc. I want more businesses in downtown Norfolk, and more tech jobs in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake. All three can co-exist there.

I know ORF can only do so much with the limited space, but I'd love to see us get to 5M passengers there. More events downtown and at the arena can help. Make the metro a tourist and cultural destination outside of the beach and Colonial Williamsburg. My next point could help with this.

Continue expanding the arts in downtown/the NEON district. A major festival along the lines of SXSW would be amazing. Also, get more film and TV projects here. The Virginia Film Office extended its tax credits through 2022, so this is a great opportunity for the region to continue growing in film.

Improve Norfolk schools.

Create a more vibrant nightlife in downtown Norfolk, Town Center and on the strip. Do something with the "riverwalk" leading from Waterside to Harbor Park.

Finally, a pro team. NFL and MLB are not likely, NBA and NHL are not impossible but would be an uphill battle. Arena football at the beach or MLS would be equally cool.

[HRVA]

I had the pleasure of attending ODU's Hampton Roads Real Estate Market Review and Forecast tonight and I wanted to take the opportunity to share what was discussed.  This thread seemed like the most appropriate place to put this post. 

Generally all of the speakers seemed cautiously bullish on each segment.  They all seemed to believe that if President Trump delivers on proposals to increase defense spending and end sequestration, then their outlook would become much more confident.  Due to the unpredictability of the administration however, their data generally reflected on the assumption that government spending would continue as it is currently.  

I'm going to list the highlights and I'll elaborate further if anybody requests.  There's a lot of info.

-Class A office demand Downtown is low.  Don't expect a new office tower barring a major company coming in.

-Millennials are demanding less individual office space and the availability of subleases is soaring.  They expect this trend to continue.

-Medical jobs have increased 20% since before the recession and there is an expectation of new medical office development as soon as this year.

-The fiber lines were discussed briefly and the mentioned the potential for very high paying jobs but it seems like they are still gauging the potential impact.

-Port volumes are demanding new industrial space - potentially one million square feet of warehouse space under construction this year. 

-Aldi plans to slow growth to determine existing store performance before deciding whether or not to continue expansion.

-Lidl is planning eleven new stores (including those already under construction).

-Kroger Marketplace confirmed for Kmart at N. Military.

-Official Publix announcement expected within six months.

-There is concern (as mentioned here) that existing grocers may consolidate or even exit the market with the onslaught of new entrants.

-Expect apartment development to decrease as there is a concern about oversupply if construction does not slow down.

-Existing and new construction home sales continue to trend up.  

 

[BFG]

Thank you for the report. Was there any mention about cost of living, whether it was considered too high or just right? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I'd wonder if there's oversupply, could it be due to the fact that people think it's overpriced?

[HRVA]

They seemed to believe cost of living was lower than the national average.  The multifamily speaker said that the trend nationally is that rent growth is slowing, occupancy rates are stabilizing around historic averages, and supply is surging.  HR is expected to underperform the national market due to the fact we lost jobs last year due to reduced defense spending.  There is no indication that they believe rent prices are too high. 

[vdogg]

13 hours ago, Brennen said:

 

-Medical jobs have increased 20% since before the recession and there is an expectation of new medical office development as soon as this year.

Are they referring to the already announced CHKD Tower or as yet announced new development? 

[HRVA]

They mentioned Optima going into Military Circle but no mention of CHKD's plans. No specific new medical construction was talked about. 

[carolinaboy]

Block 9 Town Center is underway.

The Hilton has opened.

Waterside District opens today (or tomorrow).

River Tower seems like a go.

Norfolk Outlets is progressing nicely.

Good 2017 so far!

[chris722]

On 3/15/2017 at 2:09 PM, carolinaboy said:

2017 is shaping up to be very exciting for Norfolk, Virginia Beach (and by extension the Hampton Roads region).

I am excited for the major projects that are being built or almost finished:

The Hilton

Waterside Live

Icon at City Walk

Norfolk Outlets

I am equally excited about the projects that are soon to be built or proposed:

Virginia Beach Arena

Ikea

Block 9 Town Center development

Greenbrier Dollar Tree HQ

River Tower

Tarrants Bay

Sentara Tower

1500 Monticello Apartments

We lost some battles also: VB light rail, Cordish tower next to Waterside Live, the Dome Site

Things I'd like to see in the future:

Expansion of light rail within Norfolk

More corporate jobs in downtown Norfolk

Light rail to the Oceanfront

The continued growth of Town Center

The region work together a bit more

A new office tower in Norfolk (30 or more floors)

More residents in downtown Norfolk

 

What did I miss or what would you add?

Those things will eventually happen.  It just takes time. 

Norfolk will expand light rail but I don't think it will ever go to the Oceanfront.  I hope I'm wrong. 

As far as residents in downtown Norfolk, the area doesn't have the infrastructure needed to keep people downtown. If you can get schools, grocery stores, etc there, to keep people downtown, then people will want to leave there.  As long as they have to leave downtown for essential services it will continue to struggle to maintain residents.  Plus public housing there is also an obstacle to anyone moving downtown.