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vdogg

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Thank you!

Looking at the design for that shelter, I like it. I read something in the Pilot this week about a possible bike path that could run alongside the proposed LRT extension. Wonder if that's part of the future plans as well?

Edited by BFG
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I'm sure there has been a trend of properties along the proposed LR line that have changed ownership. Certainly this trend would be favorable for LR with the assumption that these properties are being bought and prepped for future LRT development. The city should be able to provide this information!

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  • 2 months later...

new virginia beach projects:

http://dodgeprojects.construction.com/Chesapeake-Bay-Bridge-Parallel-Tunnel--Design-Build-_stcVVproductId152165235VVviewprod.htm

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Parallel Tunnel (Design/Build)

Valuation: $1,016,046,800 Owner Type: Public Bid Ends: Apr 29, 2016
Location: VA (Virginia beach (city))   Report #: 201300409387 v. 21  

Description: Parallel tunnel at the Thimble Shoal channel - 5,700 ft in length portal to portal - approx 4,400 ft of trestle extensions & crossover lengths - 21,000 square ft ventilation buildings at each portal - two above ground and two below ground levels for equipment, operation and control services - fifth level at the tunnel roadway level - widening of Portal Islands Nos 1 & 2 - Additional project elements include: tunnel finishes, tunnel ventilation, tunnel lighting, tunnel emergency egress, approach lighting, electric primary and secondary power distribution system,emergency generators, tunnel drainage system, fire alarm and detection system, fire protection system, lightning protection, communication systems, intrusion detection and alarm system,Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (?SCADA?), Intelligent Transportation System (?ITS?), traffic monitoring and control devices, island maintenance roadways, and as-needed utility modifications and upgrades - bored & immersed tube tunnel options<<

 

Housing Resource Center

Valuation: $19,000,000 Owner Type: Public Bid Ends: Jun 9, 2016
Location: VA (Virginia beach (city))   Report #: 201300601322 v. 11  

Description: Temporary housing & services - 32 single beds for shelter - 60 beds for family shelter (15 families) - 20 single room occupancy apartments (flexible affordable housing for one person per unit) - day center - toilet/showers - laundry spaces - food services - offices - central reception - storage facilities for personal property - classrooms - outdoor recreation areas - streetscapes - landscaping - brick, composite metal panels & precast concrete exterior - aluminum louvered sun control devices - demolition of eixsting buildings<<

Aldi Grocery Store (#116) (Virginia Beach VA)

Valuation: $4,999,999 Owner Type: Private Bid Ends: Apr 8, 2016
Location: VA (Virginia beach (city))   Report #: 201600476201 v. 6  

Description: (NEW BUILD) - The work consists of the new construction of a one-story structural-steel frame on CMU or poured in place foundations over concrete footings; masonry veneer with metal stud backup, aluminum storefront windows, and membrane roof; new plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work, including a loading area, sidewalks and other site improvements. NOTE The existing building on this location (the former Golden Corral) will be demolished -<<

Take 5 Oil Change Facility (Parkway Plaza)

Valuation: $399,999 Owner Type: Private Bid Ends: May 10, 2016
Location: VA (Virginia beach (city))   Report #: 201600421282 v. 4  

Description: 1,283 square ft stand alone building with two service bays - standing seam metal roof - exterior insulation and finish system - full site work -

 

sorry i did provide links to all of these but you can find the through the above link for the cbbt.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...
53 minutes ago, BFG said:

New "affordable" apartments coming to Witchduck Road, right off 264. Hopefully this leads to extra lanes on Witchduck as well.

http://pilotonline.com/news/local/affordable-apartments-will-jumpstart-redevelopment-in-virginia-beach-s-pembroke/article_67645f6c-934a-5b71-9e6e-9dd10b83ba5d.html

Looks suburban. Trying hard to see how this fits in with the strategic plan, which emphasizes urban development. Alas, nothing from this city will surprise me any more.

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I don't hate it, but I'm not a huge fan of the colors. It definitely doesn't scream "urban development" and looks like the typical complex you'd see off Independence or Lynnhaven. 

Hopefully they at least make some changes to the design between now and next year.

apartments.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is for the Hickman Place center at General Booth and Nimmo.  Found on the city eBuild site under planning documents (site doesn't link well).  The center is proposed on it's listing to  be 93,000+ sq ft  

"Central Drive Mini Storage, Inc.
The applicant proposes some relatively minor layout adjustments to the proffered Conceptual Layout Plan to accommodate an anchor tenant for the Retail Center. The anchor tenant will be a grocer which is not presently in this market."

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  • 5 weeks later...

No posts since December 15th. This is a testament to how much development in VB took a nosedive this year. It's gonna take a long time to recover from the loss of all these major projects, especially light rail. Just not much to get excited about anymore, this is depressing. I would love for a new announcement to come through and get things rolling again, but even if it did, I wouldn't feel safe until the thing is actually built. :(

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  • 2 months later...

The thing that kinda bugs me about articles like that is you never know whether they mean Virginia Beach proper, or the region.

After what John Atkinson said about them not being welcome there, I'd think Norfolk is the more millennial city. 

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  • 1 month later...

Lol. I wish Norfolk and Va. Beach wouldn't copy eachother so much. There's nothing wrong with being unique, I'm tired of all this "me too" stuff. Having different areas with different atmospheres is what makes living in the "7 cities" attractive.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This sounds really cool: the city is considering placing lighted surfboards along the grassy median near the Convention Center. It would be a way to welcome tourists to the beach.

http://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/hello-tourists-virginia-beach-wants-to-create-a-sense-of/article_992f5928-122e-581a-998a-3f5117964a9d.html

Of course, Kerry Dougherty, quick to hate anything fun or cool, has to grasp at straws and ask compare it to the stormwater fund. The Pilot has a strange fascination with articles about tax dollars lately. They've become very negative and slanted.

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4 hours ago, BFG said:

This sounds really cool: the city is considering placing lighted surfboards along the grassy median near the Convention Center. It would be a way to welcome tourists to the beach.

http://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/hello-tourists-virginia-beach-wants-to-create-a-sense-of/article_992f5928-122e-581a-998a-3f5117964a9d.html

Of course, Kerry Dougherty, quick to hate anything fun or cool, has to grasp at straws and ask compare it to the stormwater fund. The Pilot has a strange fascination with articles about tax dollars lately. They've become very negative and slanted.

I think Kerry Dougherty is exactly right though. $2 million for some lighted surfboards that nobody is going to notice (we're not talking a few thousand dollars here)? I think there are much higher priorities that need to be focused on. Stormwater anyone?

 

Edited by HRVT
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8 hours ago, NFKjeff said:

It really depends on the funding source. IIRC there are special voluntary taxation areas at the Ocean Front, and at Town Center which raise money that is set aside specifically for those areas. If that is the case with this project it would not be the first time Dougherty, and others have incorrectly cried foul regarding money they believe should be spent fixing the storm water drainage problem.

That is correct. The hotels at the resort contribute to a special fund for such things, sort of like the TIF that exists at town center. This fund consist of only taxes generated from the hotels themselves, nothing from the general fund. Unless you stay at the oceanfront, you don't pay a dime.

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I think Virginia Beach can walk and chew gum at the same time. There are different dedicated sources of funding for different agenda items, so this is not a zero-sum game.  

While the stormwater problem is a serious matter in need of real attention, I do believe that there is an orchestrated effort afoot in the media and elsewhere to weaponize the "headline-value"  of said issue to further certain agendas and to simultaneously silence other voices with alternative agendas.

It's almost like an attempt at public shaming. You know, "if you're not for spending our everlasting dime on stormwater issues, you must want people to suffer!"

Boring!  Pathetic!

And illogical.

Edited by baobabs727
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While I do understand that the money wouldn't be coming from the general fund, maybe what should be done instead is to stop earmarking this kind of money for what turns out to be useless projects outside of a few people driving by and going "oh, that's neat... where's the hotel again?". I know it isn't quite so simple as snapping fingers and diverting that money to the general fund... but this project should be a sign that maybe the amount of money being earmarked for these kinds of special projects should be reconsidered.

Ultimately, these surfboards are simply an unnecessary expense. It's spending money because the money is just sitting there. 

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I think the one thing I'd change about the surfboards is the location. I get that it welcomes people to the beach, but putting it in a location where tourists can stand in front of them and pose for pictures creates a nice little marketing opportunity. Scatter them throughout the strip as well as on the Interstate, like the mermaids of Norfolk.

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TIF funds are moved to the general fund in Chesapeake all of the time.  It's always a request from the city manager that council has to approve (and they do). I'd think a similar procedure exists in VB. 

Not saying I think this is what should or shouldn't happen…

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21 hours ago, NFKjeff said:

If the funds in question are indeed produced by a TIF, then they can not be diverted and spent in any other area of the city. The funds musy be spent within the TIF area, and be used to spur development. 

 

Public art is a proven means to spur development, tourism, and increased spending, and revenue generation. 

For one, how in the world do $2 million surfboards spur development? For two, as Brennan pointed out, perhaps it is possible to divert the funds to the general fund. Even if now, there has to be a way to change the deal to get some of those funds into the general fund. And certainly there's a better use for the $2 million for what it IS currently earmarked for then these stupid surfboards that will yield exactly zero change.

I'm not anti-development by any stretch, but Virginia Beach seems to think they have a blank check when it comes to development right now... but when necessary services are requested suddenly the money doesn't exist. Stormwater maintenance absolutely must be a priority and yet it doesn't seem to be. 

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