The Fan / Museum District

[Icetera]

19 hours ago, Flood Zone said:

If I recall correctly (and maybe I don’t), that Publix complex was build despite community opposition-there was a vocal segment that was very much anti-.

That sounds familiar and likely spearheaded by Ellwood-Thompson's.

[Flood Zone]

42 minutes ago, Icetera said:

That sounds familiar and likely spearheaded by Ellwood-Thompson's.

Bingo. I think that’s it.

[wrldcoupe4]

They did the same for Fresh Market. 

[Brent114]

The good news is that these development proposals are coming so fast these days that opposition doesn’t really have time to take hold.  It’s whack-a-mole these days and the city will be much better for it. 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Brent114 said:

The good news is that these development proposals are coming so fast these days that opposition doesn’t really have time to take hold.  It’s whack-a-mole these days and the city will be much better for it. 

AMEN!!! From your keyboard to God's eyes, my friend!! 

[I miss RVA]

Good article in today's RBS - the Lee School Lofts on Kensington has changed hands - and the developer is quite bullish on Richmond!  Check out THIS quote from Reggie Samuel, managing director of the Leumas Group (which purchased the property for just north of $10 million):

 “We really like Richmond and the trends that we see from an economic growth and demographic growth perspective. We see a lot of traits in Richmond that we’ve seen in some other markets across the country right before there was a pretty aggressive liftoff.”

WOW! Love this outlook! BEFORE there was an aggressive liftoff? Makes me wonder what he foresees happening in RVA?

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/08/30/lee-school-lofts-in-museum-district-now-on-third-owner-after-10m-sale/

[upzoningisgood]

I see it as a win-win for them. The property only appreciated 5% yearly from when the seller bought it. So unless the seller grossly overplayed, it’s not a huge premium. If they hold, they probably end up fine. But that parcel would be 15M$ in Nashville if you could rezone it (snowballs chance and all I know) so there’s lane appreciation upside. 

[I miss RVA]

7 minutes ago, upzoningisgood said:

I see it as a win-win for them. The property only appreciated 5% yearly from when the seller bought it. So unless the seller grossly overplayed, it’s not a huge premium. If they hold, they probably end up fine. But that parcel would be 15M$ in Nashville if you could rezone it (snowballs chance and all I know) so there’s lane appreciation upside. 

Being a guru in the industry, what do you glean from Samuel's quote about seeing traits in Richmond that his company has seen in other markets - particularly the part about an "aggressive liftoff" -- he doesn't elaborate in the article. I realize this would be speculation - but in your professional opinion, what do you think he means and how well does that bode for RVA's future as a high-growth market?

Edited August 31, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Downtowner]

I will say when my parents bought a home in 1993 in henrico my parents paid 110,000 and now homes within my neighborhood in henrico consistently sell for over 400k. One just recently got 443k and were asking 379 and was really out of date like my parents house is. Plus my parents home has 2422 square feet and this one was 2372 I think. But my parents recently added onto there house making it closer to 3000k so it will shoot up more soon. Same with my wife’s families home. I’m moving to Winchester next year on my wife’s families farm and the home and farm is a family easement meaning nobody can buy it outside the family. So my wife and I are paying her sister to have full ownership of it. The farm is over 2000 acres and is part of a farm easement that has a statue written nobody outside my wife’s family an out has it. I love Richmond and am going to miss it but With my adhd the more crowded it gets it honestly makes me feel worse even though I want it to grow more and flourish I would rather have a thriving metro than a declining one but I’ve gotten creeped out as well. as I’ve been walking early in the am to the job site at vcu I’ve been called weird names and creeped out by people who are drugged or are drunk and honestly I remember staying in baltimore one night in 2011 and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’ve felt in Richmond, my dad and I were outside one  late night in downtown baltimore on light street in 2011 and I felt for safe then then I do now have n Richmond just because I feel like people have gotten more insane. Just need to be somewhere with less people as it’s better for my health. My wife is creeped out every night when she gets a ring doorbell alert about a residential burglary because she lived  out in the remote area of Winchester just south of Stephens’s city. I know I may be ranting but I just wanted to let all of that out. 

[upzoningisgood]

@I miss RVA Let me see RVA land the plane on CoStar before I give a verdict. I have no inside knowledge to indicate they won’t, but nothing matters until they start construction. 4400 jobs is a lot in any market.

[wrldcoupe4]

It will happen. 

[whw53]

Georgia-based Flournoy Development Group seeking SUP to build a 6-story, 260-unit apartment building at Grove & Thompson

 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/09/28/former-grove-ave-assisted-living-facility-to-make-way-for-260-unit-development/

[Hike]

3 hours ago, whw53 said:

Georgia-based Flournoy Development Group seeking SUP to build a 6-story, 260-unit apartment building at Grove & Thompson

 

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/09/28/former-grove-ave-assisted-living-facility-to-make-way-for-260-unit-development/

Well, this corner is about to potentially change. Will be a nice addition with plenty of grocery, shopping, access to highways right out the door, very convenient, lived near this intersection for years and very walkable, bike ride to everything. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by Hike

[Brent114]

4-5 years ago this building would have its own thread lol  

My how times have changed! 
 

This  should be a nice addition.  I wish the finishes were a bit more up market.  I imagine the design will change before it gets the green light. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by Brent114

[123fakestreet]

8 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

4-5 years ago this building would have its own thread lol  

My how times have changed! 

That was my thought when I read it. Eh, some nice up-fill but not a game changer.  I think part of it is there is already a decent development there, it's just being altered.

[upzoningisgood]

The fact that this is in Addison’s district is huge.

[whw53]

Comments section is up and down on this one. It grinds my gears when people refer to zoning as if they have some special knowledge.. 'but the zoning class..' like they think they are pointing out some acute environmental sensitivity that needs to be preserved .

Zoning is literally arbitrary lines - it's all made up. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by whw53

[I miss RVA]

16 minutes ago, whw53 said:

Comments section is up and down on this one. It grinds my gears when people refer to zoning as if they have some special knowledge.. 'but the zoning class..' like they think they are pointing out some acute environmental sensitivity that needs to be preserved and obeyed.

Zoning is literally arbitrary lines - it's all made up. 

The kvetching in the comments section has me gnashing teeth, too, my friend. Just unbelievable. The NIMBYs are out in full force. They are so full of drek it's not even funny. (I'm so glad I know a little bit of Yiddish - I can use a few more than George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" on here and not get flagged! )

Edited September 28, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Flood Zone]

Well…..the kvetching is fairer here than in many instances. Thompson Street is in essence an auxiliary road supporting/bypassing the Beltline Expressway. It bottlenecks a bit during the evening rush hour. (I know this because I contribute to the bottleneck and am therefore self-interested.) Adding this on the Beltline side of Thompson is bound to have some significant traffic effects. * (Yes, I know there’s ingress/egress planned on the Grove side too. That’s good.)

Doesn’t mean the thing shouldn’t happen, but I can’t blame some for viewing this as a potential disruption.

*Ah, you say, but what about the Mount Vernon and Georgetown Apartments on the other side of the Beltine? Well, they’re not much of a problem because a) there’s multiple access points and b) people just don’t use the roadway as much like a bypass as Thomson. 

 

 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Flood Zone said:

Well…..the kvetching is fairer here than in many instances. Thompson Street is in essence an auxiliary road supporting/bypassing the Beltline Expressway. It bottlenecks a bit during the evening rush hour. (I know this because I contribute to the bottleneck and am therefore self-interested.) Adding this on the Beltline side of Thompson is bound to have some significant traffic effects. * (Yes, I know there’s ingress/egress planned on the Grove side too. That’s good.)

Doesn’t mean the thing shouldn’t happen, but I can’t blame some for viewing this as a potential disruption.

*Ah, you say, but what about the Mount Vernon and Georgetown Apartments on the other side of the Beltine? Well, they’re not much of a problem because a) there’s multiple access points and b) people just don’t use the roadway as much like a bypass as Thomson. 

 

 

Can't argue with you, there. Fair points, all. Thompson Street does get congested - and even though it's been more than 20 years since I was last there, I've seen the left lane become a backlog of motorists trying to get on the expressway while dodging motorists coming off the expressway. So yeah - there could be a few more bottlenecks once this apartment building goes up and fills up. But that's part and parcel with being in a city. Cities get congested and have traffic. I have to admit that after 21 years of living in Chicago, I find Richmonders' kvetching about traffic to be quite humorous.

Hamilton Street has a distinct advantage that it's a full block off of the expressway and there are no on or off ramps to/from the expressway that interact with Hamilton in any way. Thompson Street, on the other hand, has two ramps that dump into it (Floyd Ave and Hanover Ave) and the on-ramp just south of Monument is just a few blocks north of the second off ramp. The weird intersection where Kensington and Patterson split add to the fun (I remember getting caught at those lights and muttering all kinds of Carlinesque words under my breath...)

Still - I think these traffic points are more legit concerns than all the kvetching about the "character" and "zoning" and other garbage the NIMBY commentators on RBS are yammering on about. We talk about Hell freezing over because City Council voted unanimously to approve the selection of the Diamond District development group. You wanna know when I'll know for sure that Hell has ACTUALLY frozen over? When Richmonders finally stop making "character" the strawman argument for EVERY piece of NIMBY opposition to every damn project that comes down the pike. Then I'll be convinced that the nether regions actually have experienced their own ice age and all the little demons have strapped on skates and are playing hockey somewhere other than in the Meadowlands.

[Hike]

20 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

I find Richmonders' kvetching about traffic to be quite humorous.

Yes, what he said.  One of the main reasons I like living here, it's easy to move around, sure, there are bottlenecks, times of the day where areas get worse, but constant traffic like a Chicago, DC, Dallas, etc. RVA traffic is a picnic and will still be a picnic after I'm dead and gone.  IMO, the traffic we experience adds to the character in RVA, gives us something to shake our fist to the sky about, but at the end of the day, it's easy here.   

[I miss RVA]

23 minutes ago, Hike said:

Yes, what he said.  One of the main reasons I like living here, it's easy to move around, sure, there are bottlenecks, times of the day where areas get worse, but constant traffic like a Chicago, DC, Dallas, etc. RVA traffic is a picnic and will still be a picnic after I'm dead and gone.  IMO, the traffic we experience adds to the character in RVA, gives us something to shake our fist to the sky about, but at the end of the day, it's easy here.   

It's "Staples-Button" easy (the traffic in RVA) compared to what I've lived through in two-plus decades in the Windy City. Even "rapid" transit here on its best day takes longer to get across town (or from city to suburb) than driving takes in Richmond on RVA traffic's worst day. Eons ago, I lived in Laurel and commuted to Philip Morris - and could usually make the trek in about 45 minutes (sometimes as little as 30 minutes if I got lucky!) A comparable trek here -- even taking the plentitude of mass/rapid transit options vs driving -- has typically taken me on a GOOD day nothing less than an hour - and more commonly 90 minutes to two hours, depending on route and method of travel selected. I learned VERY quickly that while there are MULTIPLE methods and routes to get between A and B here - NONE of them are quick - NONE of them are easy - and ALL of them take about the same amount of time as would elapse watching Jack Nicklaus stand over a 4-foot putt at Augusta back in the '70s-'80s. (Any of you who are a.) golf fans and b.) older will know EXACTLY what I mean!) 

That ain't the case in Richmond by ANY stretch of the imagination! 

"Staples-Button easy" to be sure! 

[Hike]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

It's "Staples-Button" easy (the traffic in RVA) compared to what I've lived through in two-plus decades in the Windy City. Even "rapid" transit here on its best day takes longer to get across town (or from city to suburb) than driving takes in Richmond on RVA traffic's worst day. Eons ago, I lived in Laurel and commuted to Philip Morris - and could usually make the trek in about 45 minutes (sometimes as little as 30 minutes if I got lucky!) A comparable trek here -- even taking the plentitude of mass/rapid transit options vs driving -- has typically taken me on a GOOD day nothing less than an hour - and more commonly 90 minutes to two hours, depending on route and method of travel selected. I learned VERY quickly that while there are MULTIPLE methods and routes to get between A and B here - NONE of them are quick - NONE of them are easy - and ALL of them take about the same amount of time as would elapse watching Jack Nicklaus stand over a 4-foot putt at Augusta back in the '70s-'80s. (Any of you who are a.) golf fans and b.) older will know EXACTLY what I mean!) 

That ain't the case in Richmond by ANY stretch of the imagination! 

"Staples-Button easy" to be sure! 

I should add to the easy button theory, it really does help to know your way around though, which would be for anywhere, but having been here for so long really helps. Knowing where not to go and at what time, areas to avoid, secret cut throughs, what time to go, when to leave or maybe not go at all,  etc. can really make a difference, but even if you hit all these wrong, it’s still decent. 

[I miss RVA]

13 minutes ago, Hike said:

I should add to the easy button theory, it really does help to know your way around though, which would be for anywhere, but having been here for so long really helps. Knowing where not to go and at what time, areas to avoid, secret cut throughs, what time to go, when to leave or maybe not go at all,  etc. can really make a difference, but even if you hit all these wrong, it’s still decent. 

To an extent, yes. However, after living here for 21 years, I know my way around the portions of Chicagoland that are pertinent to where I would need to go like the back of my hand. The level of traffic and other time-consuming elements to commuting and just traveling around here is such that the amount of time savings would be for me, at best, incremental.  Good example - a few years ago when my late-father-in-law passed away, my ex-wife and I had to take care of personal things at his house. Now she is a native of Chicago - born and raised here. And with a few exceptions (including when she served in the Navy) she's lived here for most of her life. She can get around this entire metro both in her sleep AND while blindfolded. Our treks to and from her dad's house (which required us to go through downtown on Lake Shore Drive to I-90/94 -- and the trip was a little less than 90 minutes late morning (10 a.m.) to more than 2 hours on the front-end of rush hour (3 p.m.) Lake Shore Drive (which is an expressway) was a parking lot at 3 p.m. and the interstate would have been even worse.

[Hike]

2 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

To an extent, yes. However, after living here for 21 years, I know my way around the portions of Chicagoland that are pertinent to where I would need to go like the back of my hand. The level of traffic and other time-consuming elements to commuting and just traveling around here is such that the amount of time savings would be for me, at best, incremental.  Good example - a few years ago when my late-father-in-law passed away, my ex-wife and I had to take care of personal things at his house. Now she is a native of Chicago - born and raised here. And with a few exceptions (including when she served in the Navy) she's lived here for most of her life. She can get around this entire metro both in her sleep AND while blindfolded. Our treks to and from her dad's house (which required us to go through downtown on Lake Shore Drive to I-90/94 -- and the trip was a little less than 90 minutes late morning (10 a.m.) to more than 2 hours on the front-end of rush hour (3 p.m.) Lake Shore Drive (which is an expressway) was a parking lot at 3 p.m. and the interstate would have been even worse.

Totally different problem there it sounds like where knowing is great but still no help, plus about 7.5 million more people in the way. I do have to say, the visit I had to Chicago was excellent, everyone was nice,  helpful, city was clean, really enjoyed it, didn’t drive though, brother in law did all that.