Diamond Area / Hermitage Rd Corridor / Ownby District

[I miss RVA]

26 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

I mean, 300 will probably get it. That’s the one with the local connections, right?

Idk - does it have the most local connections? I know it's the most LACKING of the three proposals - I have it ranked third of three.

How often have I said this on here: the local yocals need to sit down and let the BIG BOYS from out of town/out of state come in here and do this thing up correctly.  WHY MUST we ALWAYS choose "local" vs "the best" ???

Three words for this:

PLEASE...  GOD...  FORBID!!!!

[123fakestreet]

All of these look like 100% office and residential.  Thought a big part of the draw was retail being right off 95/64?  I always pictured a few big box stores.  Love there are no surface lots though.

[upzoningisgood]

I’m kind of curious where the parking would be in the renderings. I don’t see decks or podiums or surface parking. Is it 100% underground? That would be sort of ambitious—I’m curious how it would pencil out

[123fakestreet]

9 minutes ago, upzoningisgood said:

I’m kind of curious where the parking would be in the renderings. I don’t see decks or podiums or surface parking. Is it 100% underground? That would be sort of ambitious—I’m curious how it would pencil out

I am guessing it's in the center of al the ringed buildings.

[Icetera]

3 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

I am guessing it's in the center of al the ringed buildings.

This.  Definitely several Texas donuts but with green roof/plazas kind of like Libby Mill has been implementing.

[DowntownCoruscant]

Well I’ve spent entirely too long 500x zooming on these ballpark renderings (I’m mostly here for the ballpark design), and here are my thoughts:

1) Richmond Community Development is exquisite. The view in the rendering is beautiful (as I opened yesterday), but beyond that this is an ambitious design. Look at that viewing platform that begins in left center field and merges into the second level. (Its beginning seems to fork toward an elevated concourse in LF, a la Nationals Park and other modern ballparks.) Looking at all the drawings together, it seems possible this park will have a home plate gate and a center field gate. Much different than The Diamond, of course. Also. in addition to that concourse, there’s a bit of homer porch seating in LF. I’m expecting that area to be very fun for fans of home runs because it does not seem deep (I think the LF marker says 315 feet) and does not curve toward CF. RF seems to have a crazy retro ballpark style with juts and angels. Not sure what’s going on under the RF scoreboard there. Side note: People sitting on the RF side might bake in the summer sun for 6 pm or 7 pm start times.

RVA Diamond: Pretty good, but maybe 70% of the imagination of the first group. I definitely don’t hate it. Looks like more seating is allocated in the OF, which is a trend in minor league parks. In addition to the seating down the LF line, I think those are bleachers in left center field. Maybe a viewing platform along the LF line in front of that building; or maybe it’s part of the building, though I doubt that. I predict the grass berm in RF would become a prime rolling down the hill spot for young kids. It’s a good rendering, but I don’t like using all the height along AA Blvd because that limits the view from home plate. Extra points for inserting Nutzy and Nutasha, but minus points for inserting a second Nutzy. That’s guilding the lilly. There can only be one Nutzy.

300 Folks: Who knows? There’s no inside the ballpark rendering. The overhead view is kind of boring. I’m not going to take the time speculating on details if they’re not going to take the time to give me any. Funny that the street scene rendering has a picture of Russell Wilson as a Seahawk. Inconvenient timing there.

Edited May 11, 2022 by DowntownCoruscant

[I miss RVA]

10 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

Well I’ve spent entirely too long 500x zooming on these ballpark renderings (I’m mostly here for the ballpark design), and here are my thoughts:

1) Richmond Community Development is exquisite. The view in the rendering is beautiful (as I opened yesterday), but beyond that this is an ambitious design. Look at that viewing platform that begins in left center field and merges into the second level. (Its beginning seems to fork toward an elevated concourse in LF, a la Nationals Park and other modern ballparks.) Looking at all the drawings together, it seems possible this park will have a home plate gate and a center field gate. Much different than The Diamond, of course. Also. in addition to that concourse, there’s a bit of homer porch seating in LF. I’m expecting that area to be very fun for fans of home runs because it does not seem deep (I think the LF marker says 315 feet) and does not curve toward CF. RF seems to have a crazy retro ballpark style with juts and angels. Not sure what’s going on under the RF scoreboard there. Side note: People sitting on the RF side might bake in the summer sun for 6 pm or 7 pm start times.

RVA Diamond: Pretty good, but maybe 70% of the imagination of the first group. I definitely don’t hate it. Looks like more seating is allocated in the OF, which is a trend in minor league parks. In addition to the seating down the LF line, I think those are bleachers in left center field. Maybe a viewing platform along the LF line in front of that building; or maybe it’s part of the building, though I doubt that. I predict the grass berm in RF would become a prime rolling down the hill spot for young kids. It’s a good rendering, but I don’t like using all the height along AA Blvd because that limits the view from home plate. Extra points for inserting Nutzy and Nutasha, but minus points for inserting a second Nutzy. That’s guilding the lilly. There can only be one Nutzy.

300 Folks: Who knows? There’s no inside the ballpark rendering. The overhead view is kind of boring. I’m not going to take the time speculating on details if they’re not going to take the time to give me any. Funny that the street scene rendering has a picture of Russell Wilson as a Seahawk. Inconvenient timing there.

Richmond Community Development Partners' ballpark design is far-and-away the best of the three. I love how the stadium is integrated into other prominent elements of the district - particularly the two high rises adjacent to the stadium (I'm guessing at least one of those is a hotel - which makes sense). I may be way off base on this (pun intended!) but I get a strong feeling that if this proposal is selected, RVA would very likely have THE BEST and most exciting minor league ballpark in baseball. It's about time that RVA steps up and stops settling. RCDP is the way to go, hands down.

Richmond BizSense's reporting on the announcement.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2022/05/10/breaking-news-city-picks-three-finalists-for-diamond-district-rfp/

[wrldcoupe4]

I’ll be curious to see their actual proposals. These are really just pretty pictures at this point. 

[I miss RVA]

1 minute ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I’ll be curious to see their actual proposals. These are really just pretty pictures at this point. 

Do you think we'll see much in the way of details before the selection if finalized?

[wrldcoupe4]

I suspect so. The details will come from this next round. Density, how it’s being paid for, timeline, etc. 

[Virginian11]

I hope the looming recession doesn’t neuter the District before it gets started…

[wrldcoupe4]

Did anyone here order a lead balloon?

[I miss RVA]

16 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Did anyone here order a lead balloon?

And a very large one, at that! 

[Virginian11]

51 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Did anyone here order a lead balloon?

Call me Sir Buzzkillington…shouldn’t have looked at my portfolio before posting…sorry guys!

[I miss RVA]

Here's the RT-D's reporting. VERY limited report - which is somewhat surprising to me, given the magnitude of the announcement.

https://richmond.com/news/richmond-gets-closer-to-choosing-development-team-for-diamond-district-project/article_219f9330-ee63-5c7c-9ca1-c4d746c77f1f.html

[I miss RVA]

Examining the RCDP aerial rendering - did anyone else notice the height on the building behind first-base side of the ballpark? I counted around 30 stories! THIRTY!!! 

Obviously, these folks are used to designing projects for REAL cities that are unafraid of reaching for the stars with their ambitions.

Edited May 11, 2022 by I miss RVA

[DowntownCoruscant]

35 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Examining the RCDP aerial rendering - did anyone else notice the height on the building behind first-base side of the ballpark? I counted around 30 stories! THIRTY!!!

Obviously, these folks are used to designing projects for REAL cities that are unafraid of reaching for the stars with their ambitions.

Rule of Thumb is gonna come down like a bleepin anvil on that, my friend!

[I miss RVA]

10 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

Rule of Thumb is gonna come down like a bleepin anvil on that, my friend!

Oh, you know it!

HOWEVER - if the RVA UP Rule of Thumb is always a consistent 20% reduction - in this case, that equates to six stories - and still leaves us with a 24 story building in the Diamond District - and I'm SURE AS HECK NOT gonna complain 'bout THAT, amigo! 

[123fakestreet]

36 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

Rule of Thumb is gonna come down like a bleepin anvil on that, my friend!

None of these renderings are even close to final, they're just a vague imagining of the area.  Submitted plan will bring it down to at least 15, probably closer to 10.  Then apply your rule. 

[I miss RVA]

20 minutes ago, 123fakestreet said:

None of these renderings are even close to final, they're just a vague imagining of the area.  Submitted plan will bring it down to at least 15, probably closer to 10.  Then apply your rule. 

Which is probably why so many folks locally seem to lean toward that Vision 300 plan. (RVA Reddit had a poll about it...) Zero imagination or creativity - with designs that look VERY "Richmond".  Meaning - short, squat, flat, wider and longer than tall. Think Innsbrook, only shorter and laid out on an urban grid. PLUS - how many of the NIMBYs - ESPECIALLY those nutjobs in the Fan (or Oregon Hill for that matter) will clamor about "desecrating" the city's "charm" and "architectural integrity" if we build anything of any significant size over there in the Diamond District?! 

Part of me (unfortunately) thinks that if we have anything much above five stories, we'll really be doing something. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by I miss RVA

[DowntownCoruscant]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

Oh, you know it!

HOWEVER - if the RVA UP Rule of Thumb is always a consistent 20% reduction - in this case, that equates to six stories - and still leaves us with a 24 story building in the Diamond District - and I'm SURE AS HECK NOT gonna complain 'bout THAT, amigo! 

I haven’t mined the full contours of the Rule of Thumb, but what I meant is that you can’t game  it like that.  :-) 123FakeStreet is right.

[wrldcoupe4]

Whatever is built will be market driven. 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Whatever is built will be market driven. 

And this ain't Charlotte or Austin... (sigh...)  And right, wrong or otherwise - our market size absolutely SUCKS. Just stating simple fact here, boys.

Edited May 12, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

IMO, all of these kinda suck.   It is a  throwaway location so I don’t really care what gets built, won’t help or hurt the real city.
 

 I just detest present day urban development.  They just look like some suburban office parks.   Why does every plan have a single building on a single block, many with grassy areas around said buildings?   These aren’t even on Richmond’s level with regards to structural density.  The city would be better off to just plow everything down, reconnect the streets and let organic development happen.   Silly diagonal streets and promenades make for nice sight lines  but do nothing to integrate a development into the existing landscape. 

[I miss RVA]

45 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

IMO, all of these kinda suck.   It is a  throwaway location so I don’t really care what gets built, won’t help or hurt the real city.
 

 I just detest present day urban development.  They just look like some suburban office parks.   Why does every plan have a single building on a single block, many with grassy areas around said buildings?   These aren’t even on Richmond’s level with regards to structural density.  The city would be better off to just plow everything down, reconnect the streets and let organic development happen.   Silly diagonal streets and promenades make for nice sight lines  but do nothing to integrate a development into the existing landscape. 

On the one hand, I get your frustration. HOWEVER - my primary pushback to this argument would be that if we bulldoze everything and just sit and wait for organic development to happen (a VERY "Richmond" thing to do -- to sit and wait and do nothing while nothing happens), we'll lose the Squirrels - and every last one of us on this forum here will be long-since in the ground - and even then the city will STILL be waiting for organic development to happen there. I guarantee you 30, 40, 50 years will pass and nothing will have changed except there will be no baseball in Richmond.

No - the city HAS to step it up here and push hard to make something happen.

Edited May 12, 2022 by I miss RVA