Icetera Posted December 14, 2015 Report Share Posted December 14, 2015 While reading the 2008 Master Plan for Mississauga, Ontario (so random that I am even looking at it) I happen to run into these familiar references for examples of public spaces: http://www6.mississauga.ca/onlinemaps/planbldg/images/DT21/Downtown21_FINAL_2010-04-08_web.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted December 15, 2015 Report Share Posted December 15, 2015 Hey, pretty cool. Looks like VCU did some things right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evanf Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) So many creative buildings going up around the world. Wish Richmond could get something like this! It'd look amazing along the river, maybe next to WestRock (MWV) but oriented the other way. This is Via 57 West in NYC http://www.dezeen.com/2015/09/16/drone-movie-progress-via-west-57th-big-new-york-courtscraper/ Edited January 10, 2016 by evanf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 I think we'd be doing well just to get some major construction going on again. These types of designs come when there is a lot of construction going on like in NY. I wonder what the status is of some of the major announced projects like the new Dominion Power tower or the residential towers in Manchester? We need some tower cranes up in this city - most cities of any relavence have major projects going on constantly. Downtown Richmond has no tower cranes right now. It needs to have at least 10. I know Richmond is so much smaller than DC, but if you were to look at the DC skyline right now you'd lose count of the number of tower cranes up! It's nuts how many there are! Tower cranes are a good outward indicator of how the economy is going in a city. I know Richmond has some projects in the works but there should be constant visible signs of it without any lulls. Otherwise, I'd have to argue that Richmond's economy is not what we think it is and should be. I only hope it is better than what it appears on the outside (perhaps no tower cranes in Richmond right now is just an odd anomaly). I'd also like to know the status of the Fortune 1000 company that the GRP is courting and if they come to Richmond, might it mean that they will come to downtown Richmond and build something significant? Finally, why can't the city government get their $hit together? Really! Nothing can be more unattractive to a business exploring the possibility of moving its business downtown! No one wants to deal with crap! Sorry for the rant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downtowner Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 2 hours ago, eandslee said: I think we'd be doing well just to get some major construction going on again. These types of designs come when there is a lot of construction going on like in NY. I wonder what the status is of some of the major announced projects like the new Dominion Power tower or the residential towers in Manchester? We need some tower cranes up in this city - most cities of any relavence have major projects going on constantly. Downtown Richmond has no tower cranes right now. It needs to have at least 10. I know Richmond is so much smaller than DC, but if you were to look at the DC skyline right now you'd lose count of the number of tower cranes up! It's nuts how many there are! Tower cranes are a good outward indicator of how the economy is going in a city. I know Richmond has some projects in the works but there should be constant visible signs of it without any lulls. Otherwise, I'd have to argue that Richmond's economy is not what we think it is and should be. I only hope it is better than what it appears on the outside (perhaps no tower cranes in Richmond right now is just an odd anomaly). I'd also like to know the status of the Fortune 1000 company that the GRP is courting and if they come to Richmond, might it mean that they will come to downtown Richmond and build something significant? Finally, why can't the city government get their $hit together? Really! Nothing can be more unattractive to a business exploring the possibility of moving its business downtown! No one wants to deal with crap! Sorry for the rant. I am right there with you. It is very frustrating to see a city our size with so few large scale projects going on within the city. I really am tired with the blame game going on within our city's government and I can't wait till we get to choose our neew mayor this year. I really hope we can choose someone that can get us out of the hole that we have been in for so long. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blopp1234 Posted January 10, 2016 Report Share Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) 4 hours ago, eandslee said: I think we'd be doing well just to get some major construction going on again. These types of designs come when there is a lot of construction going on like in NY. I wonder what the status is of some of the major announced projects like the new Dominion Power tower or the residential towers in Manchester? We need some tower cranes up in this city - most cities of any relavence have major projects going on constantly. Downtown Richmond has no tower cranes right now. It needs to have at least 10. I know Richmond is so much smaller than DC, but if you were to look at the DC skyline right now you'd lose count of the number of tower cranes up! It's nuts how many there are! Tower cranes are a good outward indicator of how the economy is going in a city. I know Richmond has some projects in the works but there should be constant visible signs of it without any lulls. Otherwise, I'd have to argue that Richmond's economy is not what we think it is and should be. I only hope it is better than what it appears on the outside (perhaps no tower cranes in Richmond right now is just an odd anomaly). I'd also like to know the status of the Fortune 1000 company that the GRP is courting and if they come to Richmond, might it mean that they will come to downtown Richmond and build something significant? Finally, why can't the city government get their $hit together? Really! Nothing can be more unattractive to a business exploring the possibility of moving its business downtown! No one wants to deal with crap! Sorry for the rant. I feel the exact same way. I just looked at the New Orleans metro area which has a very similar population(Richmond-1,260,000/ New Orleans-1,250,000)and growth rate(Richmond-4.30%/ New Orleans-5.21%)and researched the buildings being built there. They have 5 proposed high rises over 20 stories while Richmond just has the Dominion high rise which could be smaller than their current building or the tallest building in the midatlantic(suprised they haven't released any info on yet). The only high rises I can think of that are under construction are the 2 in the Reynolds south development which will only rise a maximum of 13 stories. Hopefully Richmond gets back on its feet because it has been about 25 years since we had a new building that broke the 300 foot mark. As stated earlier, hopefully all that changes once Richmond gets a new mayor. Edited January 10, 2016 by blopp1234 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wahoo 07 Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) High rises in NOLA are (overwhelmingly) hotels and hospitality oriented. New Orleans has a level of tourism that Richmond will never replicate. NOLA's economy is all about tourism (even shipping is declining). Richmond is in a vastly better position economically than New Orleans, despite the latter's plethora of high rise hotels and second home condos. 4 hours ago, blopp1234 said: I feel the exact same way. I just looked at the New Orleans metro area which has a very similar population(Richmond-1,260,000/ New Orleans-1,250,000)and growth rate(Richmond-4.30%/ New Orleans-5.21%)and researched the buildings being built there. They have 5 proposed high rises over 20 stories while Richmond just has the Dominion high rise which could be smaller than their current building or the tallest building in the midatlantic(suprised they haven't released any info on yet). The only high rises I can think of that are under construction are the 2 in the Reynolds south development which will only rise a maximum of 13 stories. Hopefully Richmond gets back on its feet because it has been about 25 years since we had a new building that broke the 300 foot mark. As stated earlier, hopefully all that changes once Richmond gets a new mayor. High rises in NOLA are (overwhelmingly) hotels and hospitality oriented. New Orleans has a level of tourism that Richmond will never replicate. NOLA's economy is all about tourism (even shipping is declining). Richmond is in a vastly better position economically than New Orleans, despite the latter's plethora of high rise hotels and second home condos. Edited January 11, 2016 by Wahoo 07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrldcoupe4 Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 You guys seem to forget how far Richmond had declined by the turn of the millennium. Wide swaths of the city were decayed and it was hemmoraging population. There's a ton of organic growth happening all over the city that is making it a really fun and livable place. Many of the larger scale adaptive reuse opportunities have delivered or are nearing completion. Population is rising and occupancy rates are strong. New construction will accelerate to accommodate the growth. Anecdotally, companies in the suburbs are looking at city locations to be "closer to talent" (see Carmax and DHG) and find unique spaces that redefine their culture. Speaking of culture, the city's is thriving from the arts to food to breweries to maker startups and unique experiences. Our awesome neighborhoods are again blossoming and bursting to life. Richmond is rediscovering and redefining itself for a new century. As a resident, its livability takes precedence over tower cranes. In the next few years, we should see Dominion's project, numerous residential towers, a new general assembly tower, and others. Things are really looking up despite a really dysfunctional city government and largely inept economic development effort. If we could fix those it would only help accelerate what the private sector and the citizens of Richmond are doing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downtowner Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 You guys seem to forget how far Richmond had declined by the turn of the millennium. Wide swaths of the city were decayed and it was hemmoraging population. There's a ton of organic growth happening all over the city that is making it a really fun and livable place. Many of the larger scale adaptive reuse opportunities have delivered or are nearing completion. Population is rising and occupancy rates are strong. New construction will accelerate to accommodate the growth. Anecdotally, companies in the suburbs are looking at city locations to be "closer to talent" (see Carmax and DHG) and find unique spaces that redefine their culture. Speaking of culture, the city's is thriving from the arts to food to breweries to maker startups and unique experiences. Our awesome neighborhoods are again blossoming and bursting to life. Richmond is rediscovering and redefining itself for a new century. As a resident, its livability takes precedence over tower cranes. In the next few years, we should see Dominion's project, numerous residential towers, a new general assembly tower, and others. Things are really looking up despite a really dysfunctional city government and largely inept economic development effort. If we could fix those it would only help accelerate what the private sector and the citizens of Richmond are doing. You hit that right on the spot sometimes I think we forget about what it once was especially in the 90s I remember going downtown numerous times with my father and just seeing the amount of decay was staggering to say the least it was definitely to me a slum in the 90s and your right we have come so so far of what it's become from what it used to be and I try not to forget that it's just that sometimes it's hard to keep that in mind and I know we are all very eager to see the details on dominions new tower as I know I am. Hopefully something comes of it soon. Also lets not forget the possible tower at the locks over near riverfront plaza and Riverside on the James. I seem to remember they were wanting to build a tower of some magnitude as well. I mean we have a lot of possibilities for towers with dominions and the locks and the Reynolds property over in Manchester I mean Richmond's skyline is forever changing and we need to keep at it. I love this town and I always say I wanna leave but this truly is my home and it's a home I don't think I could ever leave. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richmonopoly Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 I'm just as eager as the rest to see some new construction overtake the skyline, but wrldcoupe is right. We went through several tumultuous decades and we are finally reaping the benefits of the many seeds that have been sown. We should not overlook this... Just as we should not overlook the crane that has risen a few blocks from my apartment building. I believe it is at 18th and Main Streets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird Fly Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 Also, don't forget that the CNB building is finishing renovations and there is still much vacancy on Broad St. yet. I would rather see the vacant buildings we already have put to use before building too much new stuff. Once our stock of vacant buildings is occupied you'll begin seeing more building, but for now it is more efficient for builders to use the tax credits and rehab our current buildings. Remember our city once had a population of 250,000+ and it's not until we begin exceeding that level, that we really need many new buildings. I'm excited for the new buildings as well--they will come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icetera Posted January 11, 2016 Report Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) Ah, but we also leveled a lot of the housing from that peak population so there is plenty of new infill construction to be done. Regardless, we have probably balanced out the vacant lots with all of the renovated warehouses at this point.a Edited January 11, 2016 by Icetera a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cltbwimob Posted January 12, 2016 Report Share Posted January 12, 2016 On 1/11/2016 at 11:04 PM, wrldcoupe4 said: You guys seem to forget how far Richmond had declined by the turn of the millennium. Wide swaths of the city were decayed and it was hemmoraging population. There's a ton of organic growth happening all over the city that is making it a really fun and livable place. Many of the larger scale adaptive reuse opportunities have delivered or are nearing completion. Population is rising and occupancy rates are strong. New construction will accelerate to accommodate the growth. Anecdotally, companies in the suburbs are looking at city locations to be "closer to talent" (see Carmax and DHG) and find unique spaces that redefine their culture. Speaking of culture, the city's is thriving from the arts to food to breweries to maker startups and unique experiences. Our awesome neighborhoods are again blossoming and bursting to life. Richmond is rediscovering and redefining itself for a new century. As a resident, its livability takes precedence over tower cranes. In the next few years, we should see Dominion's project, numerous residential towers, a new general assembly tower, and others. Things are really looking up despite a really dysfunctional city government and largely inept economic development effort. If we could fix those it would only help accelerate what the private sector and the citizens of Richmond are doing. Great post. I have lived in Richmond for a little over 1.5 years, but I hail from the Charlotte area-an area which has no shortage of tower cranes peppering the skyline. I can honestly say, residents of this city are lucky in so many ways that residents from flashy new cities such as Charlotte just never will be. Richmond has an abundance of historical structures representing multiple eras of architecture. Much of Charlotte's landscape, on the other hand, has been desecrated by 1980s and 1990s bland, utilitarian, and suburban crap as well as low quality multifamily (which seems to be popping up everywhere like metastatic tumors) . What little bit of historical architecture the city does have is under a nearly constant threat of demolition. Richmond has a major research institution with high quality programs in the medical/pharmaceutical sciences and a top-notch liberal arts school with a top-tier law school. Charlotte conversely, has a low-tier doctoral research university which has actively fought against a grassroots community effort to establish a medical school in the city and its only law school is a for-profit, fourth-tier law school in the InfiLaw system. The only semi-noteworthy first professional program in the entire metro area is the Wingate University School of Pharmacy, and that school is so far away from Charlotte that if it were just another 10 miles east of its current position it would not even be in the metro area. Richmond has major institutions such as the Fed, the Court of Appeals, and the state government whose decisions have statewide and nationwide implications in the critical areas of law and monetary policy; one can argue that institutions in Richmond help shape the course of human events. Charlotte has no comparable institutions. I could go on but I will stop there. In short, Richmond is a great city, and has many of the things I wish Charlotte had. There is not a day that goes by that I don't find myself wishing Charlotte had some equivalent of Broad Street, or VCU, or U of R, or the beautiful classic architecture that permeates this city. Just because the city doesn't have a preponderance of tower cranes or a mega hub airport doesn't mean that the city is lacking. In some ways, it possesses more of the fabric of a truly great city than a boom town such as Charlotte does, and it is important not to lose sight of that. Going forward, I think the city is on the precipice of becoming the coolest city of its size in the U.S. I think all this city needs to make itself the most livable 200k-300k population city is a far reaching BRT system akin to the system proposed by Rapid Transit RVA; a good Commuter/Regional Rail plan; more sports options such as VCU football, ECHL Hockey, and of course a desirable baseball stadium (with perhaps a Triple-A team one day); retail options downtown especially along Grace and Broad Streets; and full realization of the riverfront plan. Finally, if VCU would work to bring its engineering and business schools up to the same caliber as its medical/pharmaceutical schools, and all these ideas were to come to fruition, then I think there is no measure to how successful Richmond will be. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 Come on guys, I know you're at home with nothing to do because of the snow...what better way to spend the the day than to post on this site?! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbird Fly Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Richmond's music scene continues to gain attention. Check out this Rolling Stone highlight of a local up-and-comer: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/10-new-artists-you-need-to-know-january-2016-20160125/lucy-dacus-20160124. Among the 10 artists highlighted, only 6 are from the US and their origin cities are: Los Angeles (2), Miami, NYC, and Milwaukee. Additionally check out this new song from two of the other artists putting Richmond on the music map: There is so much to be excited about in this town. I love the cultural renaissance this city is experiencing. I really need to proclaim that Richmond is the best city of its size--it's been fun living here the last few years! Edited January 25, 2016 by Blackbird Fly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) Who knows about the history of Virginia banks? You may know that Richmond was a banking/financial center at one point, but all the major banks have all been bought out and HQs moved to other states (most notably, North Carolina). One of the more recent blows to Richmond's banking scene was when Wachovia Securies moved to St Louis, taking the more than 2,000 employees with it. Many banks in existence today started or had some sort of beginning roots in Richmond, but they all left. Richmond could have been a national banking center...what happened and why did all the bank HQs want to leave Richmond? What is the future of banking in Richmond? Seems like Richmond is only poised for just community banks, but I may be wrong. What do you know? If there is enough conversation, we can open a new thread on this topic. I think this is a great topic of Richmond's not-so-good side that is worthy of discussion. Edited January 26, 2016 by eandslee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbjust Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 The banks left because, I believe, Virginia law forbade Virginia-chartered banks from holding banks in other states. This stifled their growth but made them tremendous acquisition targets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Is this law still in effect? And why would Virginia intentionally stifle itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 11 minutes ago, NFKjeff said: Tradition! Funny! I don't know...I just can't figure out why Virginia would limit itself economically. Would love to hear a viable rationale and I still wonder if this law is still in effect. If so, why? Why has it not changed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbjust Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 I think it's still in effect, but don't quote me on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 25 minutes ago, jbjust said: I think it's still in effect, but don't quote me on that. If this is true, it is very disappointing. I wonder why this hasn't been changed. Isn't Virginia supposed to be pro business? This sort of law is very anti business! Anyone disagree...or agree? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbjust Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 I'm just happy the board has been so active today. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 No work allows time to chat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eandslee Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) Really disappointed that Richmond lost another major corporate headquarters today. Media General got bought out by a Texas firm (Nextstar). Ugh. Edited January 27, 2016 by eandslee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVA-Is-The-Best Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 This place really blew up lately, didn't it? Nice to see. Anybody hear anything on the CNB apartments? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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