Norfolk Development 2

[Sky06]

Hmm...Pilot beating the doom and gloom drum today? I haven't read the article yet, but i'm already underwhelmed. Same ole same ole. Everybody knows the condo market has cooled. The Franklin was never marketed that well in the first place, and while it looks better than I expected, it wouldn't surprise me if they had only sold one condo in a good market to be honest. The slow down will not last forever, the market will pick up again one day. You can most certainly count on the pilot however to come out with a sky is falling article per week until it does.

Did they mention the positives? Like sold-out condo project on Princess Anne? Or projects nearing completion or recently so such as the project by Depaul, Lafayette River, Harbor Heights, Westin, others in VB, etc. etc.?

What am I saying? Of course not.

[metalman]

The converted condos across Brambleton from new Residence Inn site has a sign offering Hard Hat Tours with a phone # to call. Landscaping is looking good too.

[gosscj]

Norfolk plans premiere park for Town Point

The city is planning an $11.5 million face-lift, which will include fountains, landscaping, decorative fencing, promenades, terraced sections creating outdoor rooms, and more.

[cpeakesqr]

Norfolk plans premiere park for Town Point

Let's hope they allocate all the money needed. "Phased in" means a long time or never.

[Sky06]

Norfolk plans premiere park for Town Point

I like the idea of turning the stage toward Waterside so it doesn't block the view of the river.

[mikeas]

The Design Review Committee Agenda for November 5th mentions "Discussion of The District, Hampton Blvd. @ 24th - 25th Streets". Anyone know what thats all about?

http://www.norfolk.gov/planning/PDFFiles/D...mber_5_2007.pdf

[vdogg]

The Design Review Committee Agenda for November 5th mentions "Discussion of The District, Hampton Blvd. @ 24th - 25th Streets". Anyone know what thats all about?

http://www.norfolk.gov/planning/PDFFiles/D...mber_5_2007.pdf

Wow, I must've skipped right over that when I saw Belmont @ Freemason. No clue what it is but it definitely sounds interesting. Isn't this near ODU? Perhaps an expansion of University Village that is entertainment focused, clubs/bars etc.

[spiker3]

Wow, I must've skipped right over that when I saw Belmont @ Freemason. No clue what it is but it definitely sounds interesting. Isn't this near ODU? Perhaps an expansion of University Village that is entertainment focused, clubs/bars etc.

24th and 25th are blocks from ODU, this currently is empty warehouses and run down auto shops. 24th St crosses Hampton Blvd and ends in the shopping center next to the old Food Lion/new Bottom Dollar, 25th crosses Hampton and then crosses Colley immediately before the railroad underpass. This area is sorely in need of any shot in the arm to boost economic impact, the relocation of 7-11 from 41st to 31st has helped, but it's still most run down industrial and low income housing.

[cpeakesqr]

24th and 25th are blocks from ODU, this currently is empty warehouses and run down auto shops. 24th St crosses Hampton Blvd and ends in the shopping center next to the old Food Lion/new Bottom Dollar, 25th crosses Hampton and then crosses Colley immediately before the railroad underpass. This area is sorely in need of any shot in the arm to boost economic impact, the relocation of 7-11 from 41st to 31st has helped, but it's still most run down industrial and low income housing.

It does sound like a entertainment venue but could it possibly be the off campus apartment development that was mentioned recently? Just a wild guess.

[Sky06]

Wow, I must've skipped right over that when I saw Belmont @ Freemason. No clue what it is but it definitely sounds interesting. Isn't this near ODU? Perhaps an expansion of University Village that is entertainment focused, clubs/bars etc.

I'd love to see an expansion of the Village to there, but it likely won't happen for years. Too far down. It would be nice to see something like 21st Street in Ghent, but traffic is such a pain. We need an Uptown Tunnel!

[rusthebuss]

Ford receives 4 offers for plant site

[vdogg]

Despite slowing economy, Norfolk continues to build

This article also includes a video.

[Telmnstr]

Despite slowing economy, Norfolk continues to build

This article also includes a video.

"It's a momentum he feels will weather any economic storm. "We never reach the high highs kinda buffeted from the real lows of the recession, and I think with what we've done in the past and what we continue to do people understand that downtown Norfolk is where they want to be.""

Sigh... They just don't get it. How do these people get paid so much!?!

[rusthebuss]

They need to be looking at bringing more white collar jobs to DT instead of these low end jobs they keep bragging about. Service jobs don't pay that well. We need to wipe the city council out and bring in people that will bring this city up to the pace it should be

[vaceltic]

I'm not sure what has been bad about downtown's development?? ...Dominion Enterprises is bringing hundreds of well paying jobs downtown, as will the medical tower in Fort Norfolk. City officials are also subsidizing the new Wachovia Building to keep white collar jobs IN downtown - and are ending up bringing a company HQ from Chesapeake into the mix. They have also stuck their neck out to get light rail off the ground with no buy-in from their neighbors. Point the lack of white collar jobs in Hampton Roads to HREDA, if anyone - but they have been trying to grow a Simulator Technology sector in Suffolk and Aerospace on the peninsula. Norfolk is only going to be able to do so much as a single city and the leaders seem to have the right idea and maximize the opportunities they are presented with. What solutions are out there that they have not been doing?

[rusthebuss]

I'm not sure what has been bad about downtown's development?? ...Dominion Enterprises is bringing hundreds of well paying jobs downtown, as will the medical tower in Fort Norfolk. City officials are also subsidizing the new Wachovia Building to keep white collar jobs IN downtown - and are ending up bringing a company HQ from Chesapeake into the mix. They have also stuck their neck out to get light rail off the ground with no buy-in from their neighbors. Point the lack of white collar jobs in Hampton Roads to HREDA, if anyone - but they have been trying to grow a Simulator Technology sector in Suffolk and Aerospace on the peninsula. Norfolk is only going to be able to do so much as a single city and the leaders seem to have the right idea and maximize the opportunities they are presented with. What solutions are out there that they have not been doing?

There is alot they can do. First clean the managment of this city up. Clean the public school system up. It is ran piss poor. I'm a product of the school system but i always pushed for more. Education is the key. I believe the city wastes money. They don't market themselves very well. Norfolk is more than just a Navy town. Thats the stigma they must remove from the city in order to change the growth of the city..

[vaceltic]

I agree that more could be done to improve redevelopment outside of downtown. Key management positions in the city have been left opened for years. WHile the resources have been poured into downtown to make it a success they are sacrificing opportunity in other parts of the city left to fend for scraps. But in this day and age, it seems urban cities must put all of their eggs in one basket to really revitalize a significant portion of it --- not just to increase tax revenues, but to reverse the local, regional, and national stigmas associated with urban cities.

[vdogg]

There is a new mixed use project going before design review on March 24th. Very short on details but the location puts it smack in the middle of downtown.

3.

Preliminary Review Projects

a.

Downtown Certificate of Appropriateness

i.

439 Granby Street, new mixed use building

[vdogg]

The other side of Granby

Ask any of the attendants at the downtown Norfolk Public Library for a history of upper Granby Street and you

[vdogg]

Norfolk going through apartment boom

This urban city might be like dozens nationwide where scores of weathered For Sale signs symbolize a lingering housing slump.

But one segment of Norfolk's residential market sizzles: After years of almost no growth in Hampton Roads, apartments are sprouting up everywhere. Across the region, about 4,400 apartments were either planned or under construction as of October, and a fourth of them are in Norfolk, according to a recent real estate report....

There are a couple of new renderings in this report that I will put in their respective threads and the P & C thread.

[Sky06]

I agree that more could be done to improve redevelopment outside of downtown. Key management positions in the city have been left opened for years. WHile the resources have been poured into downtown to make it a success they are sacrificing opportunity in other parts of the city left to fend for scraps. But in this day and age, it seems urban cities must put all of their eggs in one basket to really revitalize a significant portion of it --- not just to increase tax revenues, but to reverse the local, regional, and national stigmas associated with urban cities.

While this is true, Norfolk has invested a considerable amount in other large areas that needed redevelopment. Cases in point: Janaf / Military Highway corridor and Ocean View. These areas still have much more to do, but they're both a far cry from a few years ago.

[vdogg]

Radisson gets new owner, renovation planned

Brought to you by the same guy who is bringing us the Hampton Inn downtown.

[spiker3]

Radisson gets new owner, renovation planned

Brought to you by the same guy who is bringing us the Hampton Inn downtown.

Something is better than nothing, but i'm ready for this building to be torn down and get a real hotel/development on this site. But kudos to someone for finally taking a chance on this lackluster building

[mikeas]

Something is better than nothing, but i'm ready for this building to be torn down and get a real hotel/development on this site. But kudos to someone for finally taking a chance on this lackluster building

The tower portion is a classic. The article did say he may take the wings down for another development. Sounds good to me.

[Sky06]

The tower portion is a classic. The article did say he may take the wings down for another development. Sounds good to me.

This guy redid the Tazewell and Hawthorne hotels, so we know the interior should look great.