New Richmond Arena

[cbl1]

I don't think this is invisioned as one of the "Baltimore Live" type districts that are closed off and dead most of the time.  With the housing aspect I believe they want a more main street feel to it.

[Brent114]

“Main Street feel” is the worst possible outcome.  West Broad Village has that “Main Street feel”. 

I get that no one wants neighborhoods to be like that and developers say they don’t want it either but the reality is everything will be bought in bulk from the same  suppliers and will look fake and cheap.   Think the area around Union Station in Denver, the Arena District in Columbus, L.A. Live in Los Angeles.  These are all the worst places in their respective cities. 

Edited November 17, 2018 by Brent114

[vaceltic]

If Navy Hill feels hemmed in there it’s mostly because...

1) the federal government constructed a massive highway system that tore through the middle of a vibrant African-American neighborhood now in ruins.

2) After that, the (state? City?) government tore down the southern half of navy hill to construct...wait for it...an arena (our now deplorable coliseum).

3) the City government built a giant superblock convention center with no street activity that cuts off connectivity between Jackson Ward and downtown. Has it been financially successful, as I’m sure was the argument for it to be built. Or is the Navy Hill proposal, in part, a correlating admittance that the convention center needs more financial support to keep it running? RTD needs to ask the question!

4) the city has controlled the property in Navy Hill for decades...arguing to the public it needs development because it’s a dead zone with no tax revenues. But this has been the city’s own fault since they haven’t relinquished control of the land to allow anyone else to risk their capital there!

I haven’t checked the current zoning of Navy Hill, but upzoning might have encouraged private development and also restrict surface parking lots on entire blocks like you see in parts of Monroe Ward and downtown. I’m all for the city to use it’s regulatory mechanisms to increase density and make land use feasible to developers.

I also might be wrong on this too, but didn’t the city deny a 14-story residential development downtown (the one south of broad st near the theater) because it had too much parking and not enough affordable housing? I thought there was an affordable housing component in there but it wasn’t considered enough to approve.

Other examples of government intrusion to our detriment is the failed Granby Tower in Norfolk (30-story residential blocked by federal courts wanting rights to the land - it still sits vacant 11 years later and is an eyesore in downtown) and the Dome Site in VB (city controlled lot for 40+ years and zero development since I’ve been alive).

One positive argument I thought Mayor Stoney would make about the Navy Hill proposal (maybe there isn’t a nexus at all) is to talk about how this project enables the deconcentration of Gilpin and Mosby Court housing units (other examples of government development project failures) and allow those areas to redevelop as well. Are any of Navy Hill’s units intended for families of those communities to begin the process of demolition of Richmond’s worst communities, created by the City itself?

The City really needs to get out of its own way!

[Shakman]

On 11/17/2018 at 4:39 PM, cbl1 said:

I don't think this is invisioned as one of the "Baltimore Live" type districts that are closed off and dead most of the time.  With the housing aspect I believe they want a more main street feel to it.

When  I think of "Main Street" feel, I envision a suburban "town center"  that looks like a fake downtown which is surrounded by acres of asphalt parking.  

I want an urban feel.

 

Edited November 19, 2018 by Shakman

[wrldcoupe4]

Seems pretty urban to me. 

[Shakman]

This project is definitely urban.  Unfortunately the term "Main Street", which has been tossed around on this thread, always makes me say uh-oh.  Since I currently live in the suburbs (cough-cough), I see the suburbia version of Main Street.

[Urbs42]

Are there successful examples of other arenas around the country that have been built that are not the home for a professional sports team? 

Just wondering how often this is going to get used for capacity events. 

[Brent114]

 No.  There aren’t any. 

It was brought up on the bring hockey back to Richmond FB page that if Richmond gets a minor league hockey team you can expect between 5-7k spectators.  That leaves 10-12k empty seats  per game which will make for a pretty crappy experience for everyone. 

 

[georgeglass]

1 hour ago, Urbs42 said:

Are there successful examples of other arenas around the country that have been built that are not the home for a professional sports team? 

Just wondering how often this is going to get used for capacity events. 

There are examples I can think of, but they still involve a sports team having their home there...like a college basketball team. Three that come to mind off the top of my head are in Lexington, KY, Louisville, and Tallahassee, FL. Rupp Arena is a better example because it is tied into the convention center and hotels downtown. Because UK basketball plays there, they fill the 23,000 seats every home game. There has been talk of UK building an on campus arena, but the city could not support two arenas. At this point, the way it works is mutually beneficial. 

Richmond is twice as big as Lexington, so I think an arena without a home team is more doable here...but still a challenge. I would like to see VCU play in a larger arena. The Siegel Center is too small...hard to get tickets and they are ridiculously expensive for certain games. Maybe they could at least play a few there. There may be better examples and I would love to hear them. I think your points are valid...though I am still fully on board with the development.

[DowntownCoruscant]

Omaha is a decent comp, an 18,000 seat arena built about 15 years ago.* It’s hosted the NCAA tourney opening rounds several times, lots of WWE stuff, and other things, but to my knowledge no minor league sports. How it was funded and whether it even comes close to paying for itself, I don’t know. It hosts Creighton basketball, which is the Big East.

* Yes, Omaha is smaller than Richmond, but you have to adjust for the lack of density out there. It’s a rather major metro area for the region, somewhat less significant than Oklahoma City, which isn’t big but can support an NBA team because no other one is close.

Edited November 22, 2018 by DowntownCoruscant

[Shakman]

Actually Omaha's population within it's corporate boundaries nearly 470,000 which makes it larger than Richmond though Omaha's MSA population is under 1,000,000.

Edited November 26, 2018 by Shakman

[eandslee]

A little more drama in a quest to get a new arena built in Richmond.  City Council is trying to decide how they will review the development plan when they get it.  All options involve a lot of time and money...none of which Lavar Stoney says is necessary since the mayor’s administration already spend the time (the last 9 months) to review the plan and money (approximately $500,000) on a study of the plan from a third party.  Some believe that if too much time expires, the plan will unravel.  We’ll see how this goes. Fingers crossed!

https://www.richmond.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/no-need-stoney-administration-opposes-councilwoman-s-bid-for-coliseum/article_7f6f9bd9-cb78-58fa-8108-288a26da1d83.html

[Shakman]

After the 90 day review period is complete, another commission should be created to audit the first commission's findings.  In addition, a commission should be created to oversee the first two commissions.  Then a commission needs to be created in order to determine if this is a waste of time and resources.

Edited December 4, 2018 by Shakman

[Downtowner]

And then we need to create a commission in order to create another commission. then we need one to actually ask ourselves why do we need all of these commissions to start with when it’s a waste of valuable time and resources.


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[wrldcoupe4]

I wish someone could quantify how much money the city has spent on consultants  and commissions over the past, oh I don't know, 5 years.

[eandslee]

5 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I wish someone could quantify how much money the city has spent on consultants  and commissions over the past, oh I don't know, 5 years.

...because no one is smart enough to come up with their own conclusions.  I guess all of City Council are idiots!

[BFG]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I wish someone could quantify how much money the city has spent on consultants  and commissions over the past, oh I don't know, 5 years.

Must be a Virginia thing. Virginia Beach and Norfolk do the same thing. Just pull the trigger already.

[Brent114]

Well the existing commission was hardly objective. 

I do hate the feet dragging, differed votes and millions wasted on reports. C’est la vie! 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Brent114

[wrldcoupe4]

18 hours ago, eandslee said:

...because no one is smart enough to come up with their own conclusions.  I guess all of City Council are idiots!

They're not dumb, they're  just scared to put their neck out there and be decisive. They had behind consultants all the time. It provides cover in case things don't go as planned. "Well, the consultant told us X which I why I voted in favor of Y"

[cbl1]

17 hours ago, Brent114 said:

Well the existing commission was hardly objective. 

I do hate the feet dragging, differed votes and millions wasted on reports. C’est la vie! 

How was the company hired (and already paid for by city) to vet the proposal not objective??  They were a 3rd party hired to be objective.  What is the incentive for them not to be - don't they have a reputation to uphold in that regard?

[RVA-Is-The-Best]

The ol Seattle Process at work ladies and gents

[eandslee]

Your prediction:  will the mayor present his proposal for the new arena (and everything that goes along with it) to city council on Monday?

[I miss RVA]

On 11/4/2018 at 9:58 AM, wrldcoupe4 said:

There is a Block I that will include 411 residential units and a ~50k sf grocery store, but it doesn’t define where Block I is actually located. 

Also, block N which is the surface lot on Broad between 4th and 5th would have over 500 units. It’s not a huge site, less than an acre, so I suspect it would have some real height to it. 

Yep - and two other parts of the proposals that I'm excited about:

1.) In addition to the Broad St. 4th-5th property slated for high-density residential and retail development (and that should equate, as you said, to some height), the Block P section - Broad between 6th-7th - where Thalhimers used to be - is also calling for high-density residential and retail - again, potential for some height

2.) The Block U parcel - Grace between 6th & 7th - calling for high-density residential and retail - that was the site of the proposed City Center high-rise residential project that never got off the ground. Perhaps something akin to the City Center complex is what is being envisioned here.

I'm actually excited to see that blocks outside the originally proposed development boundaries are now being included in the overall project.  If this all comes to fruition, the positive impact on downtown will be off the scale. Just the residential density alone around that old retail corridor - a new, large convention hotel, more retail, will really ignite the area. Plus, if the residential buildings particularly in the blocks south of Broad are high-rises of any decent height, we will see a very nice beefing up and filling in of the skyline.

IF - and that always seems to be the biggest word - but IF this really flourishes to its fullest potential, it will totally reshape downtown and be a catalyst for an uptick in private investment that could possibly start to fill in those surface lots in Monroe Ward.

[eandslee]

I'd love to see more than just residential in those blocks mentioned above.  It would be nice to see retail on the ground level, some office space, AND some residential.  I hope developers see the importance of making their building a mixed-use structure to maximize the potential of the space.  It also makes the building taller! 

[wrldcoupe4]

There is retail planned on each of those blocks. Vertically integrated buildings with office are harder to pull off in Richmond than you might think.