Norfolk Development 2

[BeagleAccountant]

This has been in the works for years but it's finally official. The Generic Theater is going to renovate the Riverview Theater on Granby Street;

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2774734055979705&substory_index=0&id=399571416829326

[Cjnfkvb]

Thats cool, but does that mean they are fully moving out of there current location under Chrysler hall? If so, i will miss the unique speak easy vibe, that the place had. Its definitely somthing unique, however, i wish them the best.

[BFG]

I said for years that if I had the money, I'd put the money into renovating the Riverview myself. This would be an excellent jump-start for Riverview, Colonial Place, and Park Place. When I get a little more money, I'll definitely throw a few dollars their way.

[BeagleAccountant]

Chipotle is (apparently) moving into the vacancy left by Gray's Pharmacy. It really is a shame the owners of DelVeccs couldn't see their plans realized. And while I'm sure it will do really well there, the DelVeccs idea sounded much better than this.

[zeppelin14]

1 hour ago, BeagleAccountant said:

Chipotle is (apparently) moving into the vacancy left by Gray's Pharmacy.

A Chipotle at ODU will be almost constantly busy as well.

[BFG]

And if I'm not mistaken, there's also a Moe's in the University Village. But Chipotle right off Hampton Blvd. should do very well.

[Former Resident of HR]

On 10/30/2019 at 9:02 AM, Norfolk757Kid said:

Damn, townhomes on the basketball courts

I am a little late to the party but I am very happy to see that Stuart is being turned into apartments and not getting turned into a parking lot or left sitting abandoned. When I worked with NPS, I used to love that old building. It is really amazing and has an inner courtyard. 

As for the basketball courts, it is kind of a shame that the city can't or has not yet thought of ways to accommodated it. There is a weird strip of land called the "Colonial Place Playground" that is basically an empty stretch of grass at Llewellyn and Delaware that could easily accommodate a new basketball court. But I am sure that there would be inevitable drama because it is close to the dog park and so you would have complaints about parking and every other blah blah blah complaint people can come up with (like when the good folks in Ghent squashed the grassy strip on Princess Anne from being used as a soccer pitch) to fight it.  

[BeagleAccountant]

On 1/11/2020 at 9:35 PM, JPN0731 said:

I am a little late to the party but I am very happy to see that Stuart is being turned into apartments and not getting turned into a parking lot or left sitting abandoned. When I worked with NPS, I used to love that old building. It is really amazing and has an inner courtyard. 

As for the basketball courts, it is kind of a shame that the city can't or has not yet thought of ways to accommodated it. There is a weird strip of land called the "Colonial Place Playground" that is basically an empty stretch of grass at Llewellyn and Delaware that could easily accommodate a new basketball court. But I am sure that there would be inevitable drama because it is close to the dog park and so you would have complaints about parking and every other blah blah blah complaint people can come up with (like when the good folks in Ghent squashed the grassy strip on Princess Anne from being used as a soccer pitch) to fight it.  

That's the Colonial Place Greenway and a few years ago they installed a buffer garden and a retention pond. And while there is a small open area before the garden starts, it's hard to envision courts fitting there without it impacting the purpose of the buffer and retention pond.  Perhaps a pervious concrete surface would work but that would seem cost prohibitive for a rather cheap city.

Edited January 13, 2020 by BeagleAccountant

[BeagleAccountant]

On 10/8/2019 at 4:27 PM, Norf native said:

Apartments planned for the Virginian Pilot Headquarters downtown.

https://www.pilotonline.com/real-estate/vp-bz-monument-buying-pilot-hq-20191008-mcv2alt47zgsnaislnwexcficy-story.html

This sale is final;

https://www.pilotonline.com/business/vp-bz-monument-newsroom-20200123-5rvrvcki3jbidfpkmi6lxw7mmu-story.html

[HRVA]

On 12/4/2019 at 3:34 AM, Asdfjkl; said:

It’s not a done deal but there are plans for the Norfolk Southern building. It would involve two regionally known companies occupying the building. At least one of the companies has already signed the deal. Both would be consolidating a number of offices from around the area so it’s good news for Downtown but a wash for the region. 

TowneBank wants to buy Norfolk Southern tower downtown

““At this time, TowneBank is not in a position to detail its intentions for use of the office space, other than it would supplement Towne’s existing requirements, not replace what it currently has in the Harbour View area of Suffolk,” the bank said in a statement relayed by Joel Rubin, the company’s public relations representative. “We look forward to completing all negotiations on this potentially exciting project for our bank and the community in a timely manner.””

[vdogg]

IF Towne Bank occupies a significant portion of this tower we may yet see significant movement on Gateway this year. Good news.

[BeagleAccountant]

6 hours ago, vdogg said:

IF Towne Bank occupies a significant portion of this tower we may yet see significant movement on Gateway this year. Good news.

 If this deal goes through (and I've been told it's done), it will have the entire building occupied. One of the reasons they haven't closed yet is they want the parking garage included in the sale.  So the city will have to help in that regard.

[vdogg]

1 hour ago, BeagleAccountant said:

 If this deal goes through (and I've been told it's done), it will have the entire building occupied. One of the reasons they haven't closed yet is they want the parking garage included in the sale.  So the city will have to help in that regard.

One has to wonder if they were one of the original tenants of Gateway to begin with.

[BeagleAccountant]

21 minutes ago, vdogg said:

One has to wonder if they were one of the original tenants of Gateway to begin with

Definitely possible. Their partner in this is CHKD, who will occupy most of the building. Renovations will occur and they'll slowly transition staff in over a few years time.

They'll be able to consolidate all their professional staff to one building and open up their current space to clinical use. 

Also hearing that Sentara will consolidate all their offices to somewhere on Military Highway but not sure exactly where yet. They were looking downtown but that doesn't appear to be on the table any longer.

[vdogg]

Would've been really nice to have Sentara downtown.

[HRVA]

29 minutes ago, BeagleAccountant said:

Definitely possible. Their partner in this is CHKD, who will occupy most of the building. Renovations will occur and they'll slowly transition staff in over a few years time.

They'll be able to consolidate all their professional staff to one building and open up their current space to clinical use. 

Also hearing that Sentara will consolidate all their offices to somewhere on Military Highway but not sure exactly where yet. They were looking downtown but that doesn't appear to be on the table any longer.

Based on the RFP by the Development Authority, it seems like they are at least seriously considering the vacant anchor boxes at Military Circle Mall. 

[vdogg]

7 hours ago, BeagleAccountant said:

Definitely possible. Their partner in this is CHKD, who will occupy most of the building. Renovations will occur and they'll slowly transition staff in over a few years time.

They'll be able to consolidate all their professional staff to one building and open up their current space to clinical use. 

Also hearing that Sentara will consolidate all their offices to somewhere on Military Highway but not sure exactly where yet. They were looking downtown but that doesn't appear to be on the table any longer.

Kinda odd that CHKD is the main tenant. I would have thought it made more sense to add office space to the tower they already have under construction, thus being located on their main campus near all their other resources.

[BeagleAccountant]

2 hours ago, vdogg said:

Kinda odd that CHKD is the main tenant. I would have thought it made more sense to add office space to the tower they already have under construction, thus being located on their main campus near all their other resources.

When you have an accounts receivable or collections department, you really don't want to put that in a building that everyone has access to. 

It is industry standard to keep payroll, A/R, accounting and finance separate from the clinical offices.

Edited January 29, 2020 by BeagleAccountant
Additional thought

[BeagleAccountant]

On 1/28/2020 at 9:15 AM, 23320 said:

Based on the RFP by the Development Authority, it seems like they are at least seriously considering the vacant anchor boxes at Military Circle Mall. 

Hearing it's the space currently occupied by movement mortgage. Optima is also working on moving their offices to Norfolk. 

[vdogg]

2 hours ago, BeagleAccountant said:

Hearing it's the space currently occupied by movement mortgage. Optima is also working on moving their offices to Norfolk. 

Where is Movement Mortgage going then?

[BeagleAccountant]

19 minutes ago, vdogg said:

Where is Movement Mortgage going then?

No idea. I just know folks on the Sentara side of the equation.

[urbanvb]

Former 1920’s school in Colonial Place is being redeveloped as apartments and townhomes.

https://www.pilotonline.com/business/vp-bz-monument-school-apartments-20200225-vjioishgubf7phr3qyobuohyqq-story.html

Edited February 26, 2020 by urbanvb

[BeagleAccountant]

Pretty good article on Monument and all the work they are doing in the newly minted Railroad District.

https://www.pilotonline.com/business/vp-bz-monument-railroad-district-20200301-jcspz3vtq5bkzghlow6dv2367e-story.html#nt=oft-Double Chain~Flex Feature~homepage-top-chain~po3~~1~yes-art~curated~curatedpage

[BFG]

I caught that yesterday. It's great to see Park Place getting a little love, and I like that Monument is keeping the neighborhood's history in mind as they revitalize the area. That, Colonial Place/Riverview, and OV should be just as much of a priority as downtown.

[HRVA]

Since the start of the year, the EDA has agreed to sell the Movment Mortgage/Optima building and separately agreed to purchase the former hotel.

There was also an RFP to consolidate the Human Services department into a single 110k SF office, which is approximately the size of the hotel but that may just be a coincidence. One of the spaces currently occupied is the Workforce Development Office in Wards Corner (adjacent to the former Kroger) and it is currently month to month. Hopefully this move will help kickoff some redevelopment in Wards Corner.