Diamond Area / Hermitage Rd Corridor / Ownby District

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, Downtowner said:

yes been trying to keep it on sports myself and tune out the news. I’m an atlanta Braves fan so I’m spoiled with the teams we have had over the years. My uncle is a diehard orioles fan as is my best friend that I grew up with. I tell both of them man that’s a rough life. Luckily my uncle who will be 60 in November grew up watching guys like brooks Robinson Jim Palmer, boog Powell and of course cal Ripken. Been some greats coming through baltimore and I love going to Camden yards to games. But I’m honestly really excited for football season both college and nfl. I’m praying to the good lord the lions finally wake up and surprise some people. I always say keep talking bad about them one day the lions will wake up and roar like no other. I’m a Georgia fan for college football so I’ve been spoiled with my teams from the state of Georgia. Also excited for hbo hard knocks with the lions being the team this year. Going to be fun with the way dan Campbell is and his personality. 

Same here - being excited about the approach of football season. Wishing SOMETHING could be done about about Danny Doodleboy to separate him from the Redfootballteammanders the same way a linebacker or strong safety separates the football from an unsuspecting receiver who makes the mistake of crossing the middle of the field with his head down. We haven't won squat since he bought the team in '99. So just like RVA was for the a stretch of 40 years, the Burgundy and Gold have basically been in retrograde for the past 30 years. Holy moly...

Hope springs eternal every July... at least for me, that's been the case since 1970.

I'll be 60 in October. So I recall watching Brooks, Boog, Frank Robinson, Palmer, Cal Jr., Eddie Murray (even as a Yankees' fan - he was one of my all-time favorite Orioles)... 

Still boggles my mind that Reggie played for the Birds for one season (1976) - AND THEY BOOED HIM AT MEMORIAL STADIUM!! 

[Virginian11]

UVA, Carolina panthers and Os fan here.  Talk about some ups and downs over the years!

[Shakman]

15 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

My younger brother is a DIEHARD DIEHARD DIEHARD fan of the Buccos. Win, lose or draw, he watches them faithfully. Boy they had a team and a half back in the day (as in the '60s and '70s) - I'm surprised they didn't win more than three World Series from 1960 through '79 - given that they had Clemente, Stargell, Sanguillen, Oliver, Hebner, Mazeroski - and some GREAT pitching - Doc Ellis, Steve Blass, Bob Moose (I often wonder how many times the announcers made some reference to "Mr. Moose" and followed up with a reference to "Mr. Greenjeans" )

Go figure - ever since I started watching MLB in earnest in 1970, I've been a diehard fan of the Yankees. 

Love you brother!  Yankees fan here!  We need a Yankees farm team here in Richmond.  Richmond Yankees!  (No pun intended.)     

[DowntownCoruscant]

We need a Nats farm team! My boy was the perfect age to get into them in 2019. I was fortunate to go to an NLCS and WS game that year. After driving home from the NLCS game, I found him asleep on the couch (mommy had let him watch the game), and as I carried him to bed all he said was “Howie Kendrick.” (Kendrick, a veteran player, had so many clutch hits that postseason including the game-winner homer in WS game 7.)

Truth be told, though, the Giants are a good parent team here. They sent lots of game-used balls and merch to Richmond. My son had a fe of their game-used balls.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Shakman said:

Love you brother!  Yankees fan here!  We need a Yankees farm team here in Richmond.  Richmond Yankees!  (No pun intended.)     

Some Yankees love right back at'cha, brother! 

Richmond actually DID have the Yankees' AAA farm team for about a decade. The Richmond Virginians played at old Parker Field from 1954-64 - and were affiliated with the Bronx Bombers from 1956-64. After the 1964 season, the club was relocated to Toledo, Ohio - and became Corporal Klinger's favorite team - the Toledo Mud Hens. Then, after the 1965 season, the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta - and ATL's former AAA team relocated to Richmond under the nickname of the Braves. The R-Braves played at Parker Field and then The Diamond from 1966 through 2008.

[CitiWalker]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

Some Yankees love right back at'cha, brother! 

Richmond actually DID have the Yankees' AAA farm team for about a decade. The Richmond Virginians played at old Parker Field from 1954-64 - and were affiliated with the Bronx Bombers from 1956-64. After the 1964 season, the club was relocated to Toledo, Ohio - and became Corporal Klinger's favorite team - the Toledo Mud Hens. Then, after the 1965 season, the Braves moved from Milwaukee to Atlanta - and ATL's former AAA team relocated to Richmond under the nickname of the Braves. The R-Braves played at Parker Field and then The Diamond from 1966 through 2008.

Working from home today. I will see what I could do on Tuesday after the holiday break.

[I miss RVA]

31 minutes ago, CitiWalker said:

Working from home today. I will see what I could do on Tuesday after the holiday break.

Sounds good to me. Enjoy the holiday weekend, my friend! 

[I miss RVA]

No new "news" per se - just some details about how developers are suggesting the $1 billion redevelopment of the Diamond District be paid for.

I will say - I honestly love the spirit and vision of planner Maritza Pechin - she's a real go-getter and has her focus in the right place, IMNSHO. Check out this clip from the article:

"Maritza Pechin, deputy planning director for the city and the project manager for the redevelopment process, said in a community meeting last month that she envisions the development could create a new skyline that would be visible to motorists traveling southbound on the interstate. “This location, because of how the highway bends, could become a real signature spot in our community,” she said. “This is going to be an entirely new neighborhood — an entirely new place.”

All the more reason I am hoping against hope and praying like crazy that we get more than just "meh" out of this. If this, in fact, does become a "signature spot" emblematic of RVA, and we get nothing better than "meh" because of our damned too-small market size, I will be done. Totally done. To the point that I might just go on a social media crusade proclaiming: "RVA - America's OFFICIAL Symbol of "Meh"diocracy".  Jesus - A Charlotte or an Austin or a Nashville would knock this redevelopment totally out of the park - but my fear is that it will be proven out - yet again - that we're too damn small and not growing fast enough to sustain ANYTHING of any real consequence.

I pray we get a helluva lot better than "meh". I'm nervous though. I know - I'm jaded from have been burned too many times over the years. My confidence in this being something really spectacular is quite low - but I am hoping to be proven wrong!

From this afternoon's Richmond Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/heres-how-developers-are-planning-to-pay-for-a-new-stadium-and-redevelopment-at-the/article_c41a4b73-3252-53ec-9001-260b2cad5b90.html?utm_source=richmond.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fnews-alert&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=0ec7e032dd1e4ec101109fd5c9cd7c5c0a175c41

[Downtowner]

14 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

No new "news" per se - just some details about how developers are suggesting the $1 billion redevelopment of the Diamond District be paid for.

I will say - I honestly love the spirit and vision of planner Maritza Pechin - she's a real go-getter and has her focus in the right place, IMNSHO. Check out this clip from the article:

"Maritza Pechin, deputy planning director for the city and the project manager for the redevelopment process, said in a community meeting last month that she envisions the development could create a new skyline that would be visible to motorists traveling southbound on the interstate. “This location, because of how the highway bends, could become a real signature spot in our community,” she said. “This is going to be an entirely new neighborhood — an entirely new place.”

All the more reason I am hoping against hope and praying like crazy that we get more than just "meh" out of this. If this, in fact, does become a "signature spot" emblematic of RVA, and we get nothing better than "meh" because of our damned too-small market size, I will be done. Totally done. To the point that I might just go on a social media crusade proclaiming: "RVA - America's OFFICIAL Symbol of "Meh"diocracy".  Jesus - A Charlotte or an Austin or a Nashville would knock this redevelopment totally out of the park - but my fear is that it will be proven out - yet again - that we're too damn small and not growing fast enough to sustain ANYTHING of any real consequence.

I pray we get a helluva lot better than "meh". I'm nervous though. I know - I'm jaded from have been burned too many times over the years. My confidence in this being something really spectacular is quite low - but I am hoping to be proven wrong!

From this afternoon's Richmond Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/heres-how-developers-are-planning-to-pay-for-a-new-stadium-and-redevelopment-at-the/article_c41a4b73-3252-53ec-9001-260b2cad5b90.html?utm_source=richmond.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fnews-alert&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=0ec7e032dd1e4ec101109fd5c9cd7c5c0a175c41

I know we are nowhere close to the scale of atlanta but imagine this like a midtown atlanta or buckhead. 

[I miss RVA]

13 minutes ago, Downtowner said:

I know we are nowhere close to the scale of atlanta but imagine this like a midtown atlanta or buckhead. 

That's been my hope - that it would be a smaller version of something like Midtown Atlanta. I'm not expecting 40, 50 or 60 story buildings. But I want something a little more hefty than a MAX of 6 or 8 stories. At LEAST double-digits - preferably in the teens. Not everything has to be huge - but at least a few buildings in the teens to give this development some real teeth, for God's sake.

And yeah - I know that ALMOST "anything will be better than what's there now" - and I say "almost" because I don't view that as a 100% black-and-white, binary, zero-sum argument. But my God - a smaller version of something like Midtown Atlanta would be FANTASTIC! I couldn't ask for more, tbh.

Edited July 8, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Downtowner]

9 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

That's been my hope - that it would be a smaller version of something like Midtown Atlanta. I'm not expecting 40, 50 or 60 story buildings. But I want something a little more hefty than a MAX of 6 or 8 stories. At LEAST double-digits - preferably in the teens. Not everything has to be huge - but at least a few buildings in the teens to give this development some real teeth, for God's sake.

And yeah - I know that ALMOST "anything will be better than what's there now" - and I say "almost" because I don't view that as a 100% black-and-white, binary, zero-sum argument. But my God - a smaller version of something like Midtown Atlanta would be FANTASTIC! I couldn't ask for more, tbh.

I say throw in a couple or few 20 floors or so in there while your at it. 

[I miss RVA]

6 hours ago, Downtowner said:

I say throw in a couple or few 20 floors or so in there while your at it. 

Fully agreed, brother - I'm just trying to not be greedy and also trying to manage expectations so the letdown isn't as colossal.

[Urbs42]

Can anyone explain why the developers can't sell/lease the office/residential/commercial space they create to make their profit? 

Not sure I understand why they also need to be paid with tax revenue. I'm not against the idea per se, I just don't get it. 

[Brent114]

Does anyone even like Midtown Atlanta?  It looks pretty I guess from a few miles away but I find it pretty dreadful on the ground (not as dreadful as the area around the Diamond of course, I’m not a monster lol).  Silver Spring, Bellevue and even Clayton are better role models for the Diamond District IMO. 
 

 

Midtown= trash (green photo) 

Silver Spring = proper city neighborhood  (the other two)

 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Brent114

[I miss RVA]

15 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Does anyone even like Midtown Atlanta?  It looks pretty I guess from a few miles away but I find it pretty dreadful on the ground (not as dreadful as the area around the Diamond of course, I’m not a monster lol).  Silver Spring, Bellevue and even Clayton are better role models for the Diamond District IMO. 
 

 

Midtown= trash (green photo) 

Silver Spring = proper city neighborhood  (the other two)

 

How about for the Diamond District we take the best of both worlds. Lets mix in a few taller towers in the midst of the tight, dense, urban fabric.  It never EVER has to be a binary "either-or" zero-sum solution.

Edited July 8, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Shakman]

No no not Silver Spring.  Bethesda instead.

[I miss RVA]

23 minutes ago, Shakman said:

No no not Silver Spring.  Bethesda instead.

If we're gonna pick locales - if I had to pick a "Midtown" I'd MUCH rather have Midtown Manhattan instead of Midtown Atlanta... Just an opinion here... 

Edited July 8, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Brent114]

Midtown Manhattan is the perfect model  

I’m just trying to drawl the focus of this group  away from the South.  There’s nothing south of Petersburg that I want to see here.  I’m just not a fan of new South development aesthetics and urban design.   There are so many good edge cities in the North and Midwest (and here in VA) that make better examples IMO.  
 

What we’ve seen in the renderings is the worst of both worlds IMO, no height and no density. 
 

A Bethesda type development would be dreamy.   Bellevue WA was my example of a taller edge city (like Midtown ATL) but with a less goofy footprint. 
 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Brent114

[I miss RVA]

14 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Midtown Manhattan is the perfect model  

I’m just trying to drawl the focus of this group  away from the South.  There’s nothing south of Petersburg that I want to see here.  I’m just not a fan of new South development aesthetics and urban design.   There are so many good edge cities in the North and Midwest (and here in VA) that make better examples IMO.  
 

What we’ve seen in the renderings is the worst of both worlds IMO, no height and no density. 
 

A Bethesda type development would be dreamy.   Bellevue WA was my example of a taller edge city (like Midtown ATL) but with a less goofy footprint. 
 

Ohhhhhhhhh HECK YEAH!!! Bellevue's downtown would be a grand-slam homer for the Diamond District. REALLY nice (and even by RVA standards, I think potentially achievable) height and FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC density! Something like this absolutely would be the "signature" development for RVA that would present a great impression on travelers coming in on 95 or 64. A really impressive "second skyline" (actually, third, if you count what's happening in Manchester) that would make a wonderful visual impact - AND - create a vibrant, exciting "hot spot" new neighborhood right there with the new ballpark all just a stone's throw from Scott's Addition. WOW - if we could get something along THIS order built, what's the over-under that a PULSE line would need to be routed there? (I realize we really need a true north-south PULSE line on the Chamberlayne/U.S. 1 axis - as well as a PULSE line running through Manchester and connecting it to downtown via the Manchester Bridge. But still... putting that thought out there...)

Methinks we gotta stay pedal-to-the-metal to get the companies and get the jobs and get the peeps from other cities to move here to keep demand pumped up so we get something this good.

[wrldcoupe4]

3 hours ago, Urbs42 said:

Can anyone explain why the developers can't sell/lease the office/residential/commercial space they create to make their profit? 

Not sure I understand why they also need to be paid with tax revenue. I'm not against the idea per se, I just don't get it. 

When you throw in lots of public infrastructure and a ballpark which doesn’t turn a profit, it doesn’t pencil. Without that burden it works. 

[I miss RVA]

25 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

When you throw in lots of public infrastructure and a ballpark which doesn’t turn a profit, it doesn’t pencil. Without that burden it works. 

And I'm quite certain city planners FULLY understand this. City Council does, too - whether they choose to ACCEPT it or not, is another story.

And that said - does that not potentially lead us right back to where we were two years ago with Navy Hill, (minus the backroom, political wheeler-dealing and lack of transparency and public input, of course) where the PUBLIC will be losing their lunch about tax dollars going to build any part of this (and that "any part" is the ballpark and the public infrastructure) when, in turn, means getting a 7-2 vote in favor on City Council is pretty much a non-starter? God knows, the NIMBYs are licking their chops at this like a German Shepherd would when sniffing a prime steak... 

It's almost as if the city wanted to redevelop the Diamond District minus the ballpark and public infrastructure (I don't see how you can do it without the second part because the streets, water, sewer, electric grid, etc., all have to be there for it to work) perhaps almost no tax revenue would be necessary. But because absent the ballpark and without public infrastructure, the Diamond District is pretty much a non-starter, at least from the City's perspective.

Makes me think City leaders have been fooling themselves into thinking they could somehow get away with building out this redevelopment essentially free of charge - which is basically the ONLY acceptable option to (I'm guessing) 95% of the electorate.

Which, when thinking of this development in these terms, takes quite a bit of the shine off the apple - because I feel certain public pushback will be as fierce as it was against Navy Hill - and again, based on who currently constitutes City Council, getting 7 yes votes will take something on par with the splitting of the Sea of Reeds about 3,300 years ago.

[123fakestreet]

On 7/8/2022 at 5:01 PM, Shakman said:

No no not Silver Spring.  Bethesda instead.

Yeah I went to Bethesda once years ago and was pleasantly surprised at the density and walkability. Nice town.

[DowntownCoruscant]

I could look very foolish in a few months’ time, but I think this project is different. At least from my outsider’s vantage point, this is far more competently run and presented (at least so far) than any in recent memory, such as the Bottom ballpark, Navy Hill, the casino push, etc.

As for Bethesda, with any foresight, that’s what Short Pump should have resembled.

Edited July 10, 2022 by DowntownCoruscant

[I miss RVA]

58 minutes ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

I could look very foolish in a few months’ time, but I think this project is different. At least from my outsider’s vantage point, this is far more competently run and presented (at least so far) than any in recent memory, such as the Bottom ballpark, Navy Hill, the casino push, etc.

As for Bethesda, with any foresight, that’s what Short Pump should have resembled.

To your points:

1.) From your keyboard to God's eyes, my friend! 

2.) 100% AGREED! Short Pump will end up trying to play Freddie Catchup and they STILL won't get the kind of results with a nice, cohesive, high-density edge-city that they COULD have had, if only they had the foresight to plan it out better.

[123fakestreet]

12 hours ago, DowntownCoruscant said:

I could look very foolish in a few months’ time, but I think this project is different. At least from my outsider’s vantage point, this is far more competently run and presented (at least so far) than any in recent memory, such as the Bottom ballpark, Navy Hill, the casino push, etc.

 

I am cautiously optimistic for 2 reasons.

1. Maritza Pechin running this is very talented, and the team has said all the right things on what they want out of this.  Density, height, signature view from the interstate, no surface parking, etc.  They are saying everything that this should be, and they are excited about pursuing it.  That alone is big, so often the city doesn't even aim for what it should, never mind achieve anything close to it.

2.  This is a desirable project for developers and almost none of this is public money.   The ballpark aspect will probably be, but that's one small part.  If the city was paying for the whole thing or needed a tax deal they would absolutely cheap out and it would killed by NIMBYs and the development would be garbage.  This is desirable real estate right by the interstate, and RVA is growing, there's tons of demand for apartments.  We're not begging anyone to build this for us and giving them a tax deal.

That said the incompetent City Council with absolutely no vision still has to weigh in.