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Belharbour Station at SoNo

vdogg

By vdogg
in Hampton Roads

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rusthebuss Metropolis

rusthebuss

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Hasn't Chesapeake been planning to build a new HS near Deep Creek? Did that ever happen?

No, I thought I read they said they didn't have enough money. I remember reading about it taking some H.S. kids in the southern part 1.5 hours to get home from school.

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MissSouthNorfolk Crossroads

MissSouthNorfolk

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As a board memember of the South Norfolk Civic League, I do appreciate your comments on the South Norfolk projects coming to our area. It's a more candid view of what people are thinking. You are right when about the price of land is less expensive in this area than the rest of Chesapeake. Economic Developement has been working very hard to bring the right project to the area including South Norfolk. This type of high rise mix use building may come to Greenbrier some time too. For right now this company wants to put it in a place that will allow a water taxi, boat slips, luxuary condos, quality shops, public parking, etc. We don't want to be the downtown area, but we would like to have small town feel with Poindexter having a little downtown of it's own, not a town center like V.B. When you have a city this large, every neighborhood needs to have it's own center peice. Like Greenbrier Parkway and South Battlefield in Great Bridge. As it is now, my family visits the Ghent area for it's shops and resturaunts. We would love to have something like that here. Ouside cafe's, live music, art studios, offices, icecream shop, and maybe someone would bring back a Portsmouth style theatre like we once had. I would love to take the water taxi to Portsmouth or to Norfolk to walk around without the hassel of finding expensive parking. THe South Norfolk Borough is on the historic register but only a small section of the district is actually under regulation by the city inspectors to maintain it's historic look. Investors are coming to South Norfolk looking at other areas including the Big Pig lot. TCC wants to put a campus here in the near future. These are sure things if the city helps us to grow once again. You my find yourselves coming back too.

I also work in the schools in South Norfolk. Because we are Title 1, we have to have small class room sizes. It's not that we dont' have the physical room to place children. As more families come to invest in homes here or condos, our Title 1 satus could change allowing the normal size classrooms. OSMiddle is a done deal and will be ready by 2009 when my son attends it. The money we get from the new tax dollars will help fund more schools freeing up money for the rest of the city. Although labor does not come from the TIF account. It can't fund labor or salaries for teachers, firemen, police, etc.

Please continue to write. I really enjoy the comments. That will help us to make changes and bring more positive things to Chesapeake. Afterall, more people are leaving Norfolk, Portsmouth, and VB to come here. We must be doing something right.

Have a good day everyone!

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MissSouthNorfolk Crossroads

MissSouthNorfolk

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Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm not a local but I have lived here in the historic district for 9 years now. We now have a new Police Captain at Prec. 2, Captain Branch. He's been great since he took over in May. He's been active at cleaning the neighborhood up. The last Captain we had didnt' really care and let the neighborhood go. I really was almost ready to sell and move N.C. in Moyok.

The plans you see listed on the site are things we'd like to do. We have a few investors who have been actively looking at all the areas to see what they can do with the area. It's been years in the making already, but will still need work to be done. We have investors who are just waiting to see what happens with the Paylor Spruill project. No one wants to be the first one in. Thanks to this man, he's also made a proposal to Portsmouth to keep the trash site from coming here. We're trying hard to clean up the waterfront from the years of abuse. We don't want to add to that. Portsmouth and Norfolk have already invested in the waterfront and it's about time that Chesapeake does the same thing. Waterfront is where the money is in today's market. People keep saying who would buy a luxuary condo right there? When you have people who have never seen a shipyard or Navy ships in person, but yet they will be able to look accross and see our country at work. It's an amazing site. People are fleeing to the South for warmer weather and cheaper housing. Baby Boomers are retiring with a solid bank account and they just want a little peice of the waterfront view without having to mow a lawn. The condos will have a section for retirees for 55 and up. Then there will be another section for mixed ages. Office space, parking garage, even a park with a play area. They will be putting in a bike path that will also include roller blading, skate boards and golf carts that will make a path to Lakeside park and Portlock. This company came to us with many ideas and they were nice enough to include our ideas as well.

Mill Creek is another project. Alexander Homes came to us three years ago with their project. Sure they wanted to put in some townhomes and maybe a couple of shops. We said that we want better for our area. Look where your putting it. This a wonderful area with existing homes. We want it to fit the area. So with our help they came up with three story townhomes with front porches and decks, ginerbread trim, each house a different color and style. I have the drawings somewhere. I should see if I can scan them in. It will be a gated community with some shops below in the first set of homes to be built. Once again this is not going up overnight like some houses. They will be of quality and take over three years to have the complex built. It will have it's own private water access, playground, no pool is to be included. The ideas were beautiful.

We did have another project to come through and it was just ugly when we first saw it. This builder just wanted to through town homes up. It will be built in front of the Mill Creek project facing Bainbridge Rd. We said no way. Not looking like that. He made a lot of changes to make it blend in with the Mill Creek project. Unfortunately his didn't pass because of the land issue. We passed a new law last year that all projects in this city have to have land testing. Mill Creek is new land,never built on and the property cleared city council. But the other project had water run off from the grandfathered junkyard next to it. The cars are just sitting out there with oil and gas seeping into the ground which has polluted the projects property. Just sad and there's nothing we can do about it. We truely want the junkyard gone. It's messy and doesn't look nice from the street. Of course the junk yard fought the two projects coming to Portlock because he'd be forced to clean up his act or leave and then he'd have to follow the new guidelines by the government.

We have other investors that have been looking at the historic area. When this area goes up in value the landlords will sell because they wont' be able to keep up witht taxes and raising the rents of the houses they let fall apart. The investors know this and will be coming in to buy up the houses, fix them up and sell them for a huge profit. Which will clean up the gang activity and other violence. Really it's the same thing they did in Greenbrier, Ghent and now East Beach (Ocean View).

What do you think of the nickname So No? One of the older ladies here thought of it because of lot of communities all over the country are using this type of renaming to sound more like an art district. The younger people I've talked to don't like it because it sounds like Say No which kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I'm in between on this issue.

We have been waiting for the Poindexter street Scape to start. It took years for us to get the money from grants in the state and from the Feds. When the city saw that we were serious they finally came on board about five years ago and said look, there is no sense redoing the street when plumbing and wiring need to be redone too. Our plumbing is original to the neighborhood. It was done in the 1920's and the sewer lines have decayed. Our streets flood with sewage. It smells nastey. So we waited for them to put on the public works schedule to have the work done. The city had other commitments to other growing neighborhoods before they could do us. We have been waiting a very long time. They finally came up with the money and put us on the schedule and hopefully it will start in Nov. and will take about three years plus to do the whole thing. We're waiting for the state to come on board to redo the 464 exit onto Poindexter. No word yet probably because the state doesnt' have the funds. We been adding out ideas also to the street scape project. The lighting, walkways, parking, benches have all been a co-opertive decsion.

Believe me, the city wouldn't build anything if they had their way. Everything being done in South Norfolk has been pushed by the citazens and Economic Developement. We have been begging for redevelpement here while the rest of the city conitues to grow and renew. South Norfolk built this city and it's time the city gives back.

Have a wonderful day everybody! :yahoo:

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br0guy Whistle-Stop

br0guy

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Believe me, the city wouldn't build anything if they had their way. Everything being done in South Norfolk has been pushed by the citazens and Economic Developement. We have been begging for redevelpement here while the rest of the city conitues to grow and renew. South Norfolk built this city and it's time the city gives back.

How about starting by setting aside some land to the church they kicked off the old Piggly Wiggly site. I believe they settled the suit, but they still have nowhere to build.

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MissSouthNorfolk Crossroads

MissSouthNorfolk

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How about starting by setting aside some land to the church they kicked off the old Piggly Wiggly site. I believe they settled the suit, but they still have nowhere to build.

They knew when they bought the site that they would have a fight on there hands. They do have a church in Norfolk's berkley section. Near the projects. They have done nothing to improve the area they are already in. They knew this was a gold mine and bought it very quietly for little money. The news was already out that the city was going to purchase the land to revitalize Poindexter. Unfortunately the city didn't have any money to obtain the land. That was the downfall of the city. Farm Fresh owned the property earlier on and refused to build a new grocery store on it or sell it to Food Lion for fear the competition it would have to the existing store on Providence. The refused to sell it at the time. Finally someone else was able to buy it and they too kept the property so nothing could be built on it. They intern sold it to the church.

The Church knew that it was a commercially zoned lot but bought it anyway. Many churches came to our area before this and many have come since then. It wasn't a church issue but a land issue. The city offered them four other sites in Chesapeake for free at tax payer expense and would let them keep their land too, to lease out to developers. This is why it kept getting postponed during city council. We constantly met with the church to come up with other alternatives, but they didn't budge at all. When city council said no, the church sued. We settled out of court paying them 3 times what they paid for it. Good investment for them though. The developer has purchased the land from the city which has reimbursed the city what they payed for the land, the court cost and made $75,000 more to put in the general fund. Don't feel too sorry for the church. They made out quiet well.

You ever notice how biased the Pilot is and not all the facts are put into the articles. Oh, I mean stories. There is always more to the story than is put in the paper. :)

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urbanlife Town

urbanlife

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As someone who is concerned with the growth of South Norfolk as well as an architecture student. It has always been a town I have wanted to see make a major comeback, not as a downtown like Norfolk or a TC like Virginia Beach, but rather as the great small town of South Norfolk it use to be and should be today.

As an architecture student and getting the chance to study so many great works of architecture out there, much of which is modern architecture. I suggest checking out 10 x 10 or 10 x 10 2 on Amazon.com for perfect examples of modern architecture. South Norfolk is at a point where it can offer something to Hampton Roads that no other city there can offer, the idea of a changing small town in the middle of a big metro.

Would I love to return home to find an urban town in SOuth Norfolk, yes. I would love to see that area home to a well knit of 3 to 10 story buildings from young architects from around the country giving a chance to flex their ideas and inspire a community with architecture. I would love to return there and stop by the market in the heart of town where you run into every new local that has helped bring that area back and sample all that it has to offer.

I think another great example is, think Ghent in a several block scale, where skyline is not important and the urban connections are.....kind of like the city of Portland I am living in now is like.

That area has so much to offer that region, I hope to one day get to see it come true.......I mean I was one of the few 20 year olds in 1998 who saw a golden chance for urban development in Fort Norfolk and when I would speak about them I was always told "something like that would never happen there, so you might as well dream about something else, no one would want to build anything there." Its funny how things can change in just 8 years.

I actually own a book on the history of South Norfolk, which is why I have always speaked so highly of that area no matter how far down hill the metro has let it get. I know it will have a great comeback someday, it just needs more people (with money always helps) to believe in it to make it happen.

Dennis.

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MissSouthNorfolk Crossroads

MissSouthNorfolk

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Sorry I haven't written in a while. My 7 year old son is home for the summer and we've kids over playing almost everyday. He's taking a summer class for two weeks and letting me catch up on what you all are talking about.

I don't want South Norfolk to become too Urban anymore than the people who are living here for years. We just want to blossom and control the growth as it comes in. I would just like to have some things within walking distance so I don't have to leave my area to do my shopping or eating out. I love the restaurants in Ghent and would like to see that here. I like to see mom and pop shops to bring that old town feel. Maybe one day we could expand the July 4th Parade to Poindexter.

We've had two new families buy homes here just on the first two blocks near my home. We have professors, hospital staff, city employees, electricians, plumbers, draftsmen, teachers, realitors, construction workers, shop owners, retail staff, etc. We have a variety of people living here from all kinds of backgrounds.

What would all of you like to see in South Norfolk if you could pick?

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  • 3 weeks later...
vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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Big riverfront plan gets ok (still no renderings though :angry: )

On the shore of the Elizabeth River, near Poindexter Street, sits the former J.G. Wilson site. The property is on the edge of a deteriorating section of South Norfolk and was the former home to a metal door manufacturing company.

Across the river in Portsmouth is a 16.5-acre property, a vacant parcel of land known as the Allied site. It is a mile away from any residential area.

On Tuesday, the Chesapeake City Council made clear its vision for both sides of the water.

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MissSouthNorfolk Crossroads

MissSouthNorfolk

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I just find it so sad that Portsmouth would ignore her sister cities to build something that is such an eye sore after all the work that Portsmouth and Norfolk have done to reinvent their downtowns. We have been working for the past 7 years on these plans for South Norfolk to mirror image the waterfront. Paylor Spruill offered the same thing to Portsmouth, but they turned it down because this chunk of land is 2 miles from anything residental. I think you have to start somewhere. I hope they will pick a different project than the trashport. Even the Portsmouth residents don't want it.

We are very excited about the project. At our civic league meeting Monday night we had a group to come out that has invested their time walking our neighborhood and talking with business owners and neighbors. They were able to see what buildings are to be saved and which ones have so deteriated to be torn down. It's taken them a year to put this plan together. They've gotten two investors to come here. One bought the big pig lot and has offered a ton of money to the residents behind that area to move. They want a larger chunk of land to build on. Another is waiting for them to peice together more property to invest in. They are now putting together finacial packages for the residents who have homes that need work. Some will be low interest loans while others will be forgiven loans that will not be paid back. McDonalds and the bank next to it own large amounts of property. They have joined in as well. They both want to rebuild only smaller into a building. More like a small storefront. McDonalds will make a killing off the rental of their property and so will the bank.

The city doesn't want to get into taking any property but the investors will buy out alot of people. There are huge plans for the B Street section which are on their way to be peiced together. Some of the projects in the area will be relocated to other areas of the city so they are not all in just South Norfolk. That is still a ways down the road though.

:yahoo:

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erdogs Burg

erdogs

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It's about time they got rid of that industrial eyesore. With so much potential on the river this could be the beginning of something much greater. I think the Portsmouth side should be looked at for a possible manufacturing complex. With the NN shipyard and SPSA there it would make it hard to sell people on living there. The smell alone would keep people away.

You could live in Sono, cross the new Jordan bridge, and work in Portsmouth.

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