Virginia Beach off-topic

[baobabs727]

Boom. Somebody bit.  LOL...ok,..I know...not nice...but I was being somewhat facetious in my comparison. Besides,  as I have owned properties in Freemason & DT for over 15yrs.  and have also lived there off and on--on, at the moment & sending this from Town Point Park--I walk DT every day, my great-grandparents and grandparents lived in ORF... (see a pattern?).... I am no Norfolk hater by any stretch! And  since I grew up entirely in VB but moved to ORF to return to my familial roots, I'm probably the most balanced in ORF-VB perspective and the cultural underpinnings of both of anyone that I know. Oh, anyway,  just a bit of background.  Actually, I was praising Virginia Beach because I give credit where credit is due...& right now they are doing marginally better than ORF ...IMHO ...in job creation and econ. dev.  Of course I don't much like my big, fat tax increase my Norfolk gave me today, so I'm on a bit of a tear. Admittedly!  

OK...finally, if we were one major metro, UNITED, these types of discussions would never take place and no one would ever get offended by anything that anyone ever implied or said about the other's fave city.  Or didn't say. Maybe one day true unification will arrive...sadly, when we are all likely six feet under.

P.S...also guessing from your prior posts that I love Virginia Beach way more than you do...and Norfolk...just as much.  So....GO Norfolk! GO VB! GO Tidewater/HR/Coastal VA,  ...& Portsmouth,  Suffolk, NN, Hampton and Franklin, too! Smithfield! Surry?

Edited May 23, 2018 by baobabs727

[urbanlife]

And here I am checking up on a region I will never go back to, to see if it will ever really change...

[BFG]

The cost of the new “sports center” has shot up $28M. I have a feeling this one won’t be happening now. 

https://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/article_06537632-6f22-11e8-b428-279b73ab1135.html

[baobabs727]

It's a done deal. Head count taken with knowledge of increased scope and costs. Bonds paying for it. They decided to go way bigger at 285k sq ft once they also decided to issue bonds. At one time early on they were saying 150k - 185k sq ft.

[urbanlife]

I just came across this comparison on the Armada Hoffler site, it really shows how much has changed in such a short period of time. Granted in the past four years construction has slowed down a bit with only the one block that is currently being developed. This is still quite a change in 18 years worth of time. It is unfortunate that there is really only this one development firm jumping at this to build an urban district, I personally was expecting outside developers to pick up on this and want to run with it with more development because I have always seen this area as being a potential major urban living area in the city. But with all that aside, this is quite impressive amount of work for this firm.

[baobabs727]

What once was an urban forest...for most of my life...is now a shining example of new-urbanism and public-private partnerships. An unmitigated success--and still growing.

[Virginia City]

One thing that I think is really cool is that Town Center breathed new life into Pembroke Mall. That mall was basically dead along the lines of Coliseum and Military Circle.  Lynnhaven Mall was also to blame as well but TC brought Pembroke back to life while at the same time Lynnhaven boarded up their entire second floor. 

[urbanlife]

8 hours ago, Virginia City said:

One thing that I think is really cool is that Town Center breathed new life into Pembroke Mall. That mall was basically dead along the lines of Coliseum and Military Circle.  Lynnhaven Mall was also to blame as well but TC brought Pembroke back to life while at the same time Lynnhaven boarded up their entire second floor. 

Oh wow, that is surprising. When I was growing up there, Lynnhaven was the mall to go to in VB. Pembroke is where you went if you wanted to catch a random movie, get an Orange Julius, and go to the Old English store that was in it.

[baobabs727]

49 minutes ago, urbanlife said:

Oh wow, that is surprising. When I was growing up there, Lynnhaven was the mall to go to in VB. Pembroke is where you went if you wanted to catch a random movie, get an Orange Julius, and go to the Old English store that was in it.

Actually, Lynnhaven recently completed a multi-million $$$$ total top-to-bottom renovation with all new interior and a backside addition of 30k sf for a new food court, a new mall entrance and huge addition out front for a new LL Bean & Maggie McFly's plus others ...plus a new 11k sf ground-up build out front ongoing for upscale Cooper's Hawk Winery...not to mention all new front of mall parking configuration, landscape, hardscape, lighting, way signage and entrance signage (ongoing) ......

[urbanlife]

7 hours ago, baobabs727 said:

Actually, Lynnhaven recently completed a multi-million $$$$ total top-to-bottom renovation with all new interior and a backside addition of 30k sf for a new food court, a new mall entrance and huge addition out front for a new LL Bean & Maggie McFly's plus others ...plus a new 11k sf ground-up build out front ongoing for upscale Cooper's Hawk Winery...not to mention all new front of mall parking configuration, landscape, hardscape, lighting, way signage and entrance signage (ongoing) ......

That's good, when I was showing my wife where I grew up about five years ago, the mall was in a pretty sad state.

[Urbanlooker]

Tourism in VB increased by 7.34 percent last year to 19m people compared to 2016.

https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/tourism-and-hospitality/article_52239466-901f-11e8-9979-b74635d56565.html

[BFG]

That's pretty awesome. Hopefully the strip continues to grow with more entertainment options like something at the Dome site and a new pier.

[BFG]

I was doing a little bit of research, and by comparison, Atlantic City had 24M visitors in 2017. Miami saw 16M visitors, and Myrtle Beach had about the same number as VB. This area is doing something right, so that's great news. Again...keep building up the tourist options, and maybe loosen up on some restrictions.

[Urbanlooker]

I'm shocked that VB had more than Miami.

[BFG]

1 hour ago, Urbanlooker said:

I'm shocked that VB had more than Miami.

I am too. I had to look over a couple articles to make sure I didn't misread something.

[vdogg]

It's shocking, until you actually think it through a bit. Va. Beach is a budget destination, not everyone can afford to go to Miami. Our location, on the southern tip of the NY-Balt-Wash megalopolis makes us a key driveable destination for those in the Northeast. Finally, we have sections that feel like Miami, sections that feel like South Beach, and sections that feel like Obx all in the same general vicinity. Miami doesn't have the same level of variety.

[Virginia City]

I remember reading somewhere that VB advertises in Canada a lot because its the closest warm water destination.

[Mike A.]

On 7/29/2018 at 12:33 AM, Virginia City said:

I remember reading somewhere that VB advertises in Canada a lot because its the closest warm water destination.

Makes sense when you see all of the Quebec license plates here in the summer. I recently relocated to Raleigh and Va Beach advertises a lot here as well. A lot of coworkers travel to VB for the weekends 

[BFG]

I can’t remember where the post was, but there was an article about a survey on how to make the beach attractive to young adults (I’ve grown to hate the word “millennials” lol). 

Having now gone to Miami and now being in Vegas this weekend, I see where they could go with this. I was on Fremont Street last night, which is Old Vegas. They closed off Fremont to cars, and made it an enclosed area with casinos and bars/restaurants. There’s also live entertainment and souvenir shops. It reminds me of Atlantic Avenue minus the casinos, but I saw people of all ages there enjoying themselves. You had security out there but they weren’t as heavy as they are back home.

Obviously, I don’t see VB closing off Atlantic, at least not all 35+ blocks. But, they could do a portion or maybe revamp the amusement park area around 15th St. There’s a lot of potential to work with there, esp. if they use the Dome site correctly. 

This could also work a bit with downtown Norfolk. 

[baobabs727]

Nice. When I was a little kid, Granby was a walking mall. No cars.

What VB Oceanfront needs is better architecture, generally more mid-upper scale  offerings in hotels, fewer t-shirt shops, fewer "bars/clubs"...and additional young professional and family-friendly entertainment, shopping & dining options.  Maybe take away the silly faux-trolley lanes and really extend the sidewalks for outdoor cafes and upgraded landscaping.

Edited August 5, 2018 by baobabs727

[carolinaboy]

Is it allowable for Casinos to operate in Virginia? I would imagine VB could boom if they were. Has there been any talk of it?

[HRVA]

There’s talk of an Indian tribe doing it but they’d still need state approval since they’re proposing it on land they own but not historic tribal land. They have a billionaire backing their efforts but it’s still years away even if everything went perfectly for them. 

Louise Lucas is always proposing something in the General Assembly (normally with language that will allow Portsmouth but not other localities) but it never goes anywhere. 

The General Assembly did allow for betting on historical races with the intent of getting Colonial Downs reopened. 

Charity poker has been brought up a few times. It passed the Senate in 2017 but the House didn’t vote on it. There were a couple of bills again this year but none were voted on. 

There are “games of skill” in bars throughout the area that were approved by the ABC board. They’re glorified slot machines but legal as of now. There are also the sweepstakes places that have been shut down over and over again now masquerading as vape shops in Chesapeake & Portsmouth (& probably more). 

[BFG]

I know Virginia is considering it, since it would bring in revenue that keeps going to Maryland and DC. But I’d be surprised if VB would allow a casino at the strip. They didn’t want light rail because of possible “crime” so I imagine their reaction would be similar here. 

But more entertainment options would be great. 

[urbanlife]

On 8/6/2018 at 12:40 PM, BFG said:

I know Virginia is considering it, since it would bring in revenue that keeps going to Maryland and DC. But I’d be surprised if VB would allow a casino at the strip. They didn’t want light rail because of possible “crime” so I imagine their reaction would be similar here. 

But more entertainment options would be great. 

Ironically, early generation VB was lined with casinos along the strip. I imagine if they would have never merged with Princess Anne County, there would still be a number of casinos along the strip.

[HRVA]

Bruce Thompson Sells the 31st Street Hilton

Prices haven’t been disclosed but Thompson has sold the 31st St Hilton and the Garden Inn on 33rd. He has also purchased the Days Inn at 24th St for future redevelopment. There are also rumors that he is selling the Main.