Richmond off-topic postings

[wrldcoupe4]

One level below and some at grade. About 80 or so. 

[eandslee]

Interesting to see what people in NOVA say about Richmond. RVA got a lot of love on this thread on Reddit (r/NOVA). I loved reading the Richmond comments. It’s no wonder most of the transplants moving to RVA are coming from the DC metro area - most love RVA!

https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/u7kdtu/tired_of_nova_thinking_about_moving_south/

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Interesting to see what people in NOVA say about Richmond. RVA got a lot of love on this thread on Reddit (r/NOVA). I loved reading the Richmond comments. It’s no wonder most of the transplants moving to RVA are coming from the DC metro area - most love RVA!

https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/u7kdtu/tired_of_nova_thinking_about_moving_south/

 

That's a gold mine of population and businesses that the powers that be here, whether city government, chamber of commerce or civic organizations NEED to start seriously making inroads to recruit. We want companies to relo here - we want new residents to move here. Well - just up the street a yonder is a big, bulging, overgrown, chaotic part of a big, bulging, overgrown, chaotic metropolitan area just BRIMMING and OVERFLOWING with businesses and residents who could do VERY well for themselves financially (and in many other ways, too!) with a little schlep down I-95 to relocate their companies and bring their hundreds (or thousands!! ) of jobs!

But we ain't gonna get there 'organically' by relying on 'word-of-mouth' ... mind you, it helps. But we need to be PRO-ACTIVE and get this ball rolling!

I need to find that article on how Austin did it - the powers that be spent YEARS recuiting businesses (particularly hi-tech) to come to Austin - and they literally went right into Silicon Valley and walked out with wheel-barrow-loads of businesses who pulled up stakes and moved to theTexas capital to take part in the revolution that was Austin. In 1970 - Austin and Richmond were within a few thousand people of each other in terms of city population (Austin at 253K to RVA at 249K)...  The latest 2022 estimate is that they've just cracked 1 million - checking in - again, ESTIMATE (this isn't the census data from two years ago) at 1,028,225. That's the city, friends. Not the metro.  As of the 2020 census they were at 961K - so it is estimated they picked up 67K people in TWO YEARS - 33,500 annually.

Ummmmm... I want some of that!  WOW!

[Icetera]

12 hours ago, eandslee said:

Interesting to see what people in NOVA say about Richmond. RVA got a lot of love on this thread on Reddit (r/NOVA). I loved reading the Richmond comments. It’s no wonder most of the transplants moving to RVA are coming from the DC metro area - most love RVA!

https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/u7kdtu/tired_of_nova_thinking_about_moving_south/

 

Quote

I Moved to rva temporarily and can't wait to get back to nova. The city was nice/charming for the first two years but I miss the amenities of nova. While the cost of housing here is cheaper, it's starting to rise. There isn't really anything to do here besides the restaurant scene. When someone does try to build something to enhance the nightlife, it gets voted down.

Ouch, they are not wrong.

[eandslee]

1 hour ago, Icetera said:

Ouch, they are not wrong.

Saw that one and cringed a bit, but overall the comments were in Richmond's favor.  Some said that our food scene was bad compared to NOVA.  That may be true in a way, but no one is talking about NOVA having an outstanding food scene in the media, but they are talking about Richmond!

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Saw that one and cringed a bit, but overall the comments were in Richmond's favor.  Some said that our food scene was bad compared to NOVA.  That may be true in a way, but no one is talking about NOVA having an outstanding food scene in the media, but they are talking about Richmond!

There were a ton of cringe-worthy comments about RVA (even though they were meant a compliments) in that Reddit thread - but I agree with you, the overall positive aspect of RVA being OUT there in the stream of consciousness - particularly in the population and business gold mine that is NOVA. We (as in the RVA powers that be) MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST go mining up there and bring back trainloads of companies, jobs and people to really kickstart some quasar-like growth here. It HAS TO HAPPEN!!

And I'm NOT taking "no" for an answer, dammit!

[Shakman]

I would like RVA to have a mix of activities which does not involve casinos, clubs and bars.

[wrldcoupe4]

It does. 

[CitiWalker]

The reality is you have a lot of different type of people therefore, you have to have a variety of things to do which include bars, clubs and if possible a casino. We already have ABC stores , VA lottery, and canibus outlets. The horse is out of the barn on the so called non moral  businesses . But that is a topic for another day. 

[marinog711]

RVA is lacking in entertainment/sports  big time.   That needs to change asap to keep people coming here. A lot people I know get bored when they are here .  I love the character,  the neighborhoods, the river and etc.  But definitely need more variety 

[Downtowner]

I know it sucks losing the arena to henrico but just to have a hockey team again at green city will be nice to have again not to mention anything else big that comes. I hate saying this but I think we feel the boring side of Richmond without the coliseum it sucks and is sad. After awhile doing the same activities  over and over again get old. I hate saying I won’t be here when the arena is built or possibly started construction. My whole family lives here but my wife while she was born here we are moving back to where she grew up in Winchester va. Her family owns a 2000 acre farm with properties in four different counties around Winchester and Frederick county. We have land we are building on so I am finishing up another year here of trade school to be an electrician and then will finish up at the community college my father in law teaches up in Middletown formally known as lord fairfax now called laurel ridge community college. I will still come to visit as I have lots of family here and will see plenty of Richmond and will even drive through on my way to the outer banks at our beach house my father in law own. But I see entertainment options lacking big time here’s especially with people scared to go to a movie theater with covid the last couple of years. 

[I miss RVA]

On 4/21/2022 at 9:20 AM, Icetera said:

Quote

The city was nice/charming for the first two years but I miss the amenities of nova.

There isn't really anything to do here besides the restaurant scene.

When someone does try to build something to enhance the nightlife, it gets voted down.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ouch, they are not wrong.

@Icetera-- spot on. You're right. They are not wrong.

Lots of thoughts on this - but I'll try to keep it brief:

1.) Charming/lack of amenities: this has been one of my many arguments about RVA's sickening obsession with "charm" and "character".  Both (charm and character) are really nice - at first. But it gets REALLLY old REALLLY fast (especially for the demographic that is the most important at this point to lure here given that they are of the age that can really drive growth) - and when the city has little else going for it (compared to other cities), the result is BOREDOM. RVA has come a long way with an amazing food/beverage scene - and has become a fantastic brewery capital in its own right. The museum scene is awesome! The outdoors life (if you're into that sort of thing) is really cool. But let's be honest - we DO lack many amenties (particularly the VARIETY of amenities) of much larger cities. And this despite the fact that for a city our size, we punch well above our weight. But we need to get BIGGER. Which means - MORE PEOPLE living here. The realitive "lack of amenities" problem will change as RVA grows and become a bigger city, and particular as she attracts a more culturally diverse population. We can argue that the city already has quite a bit more to do now -- particularly with areas such as Scott's Addition, Manchester, Rockett's, etc., booming economically and population-wise -- than we had 10, 15, 20 years ago. There's plenty of room for growth - and we need to embrace that.

I do 100% agree that it would be FANTASTIC to get hockey here again. I wouldn't mind G-league hoops as well. A new arena will likely bring at least hockey - if not both. It's okay that it will be in Green City. Far from the worst thing in the world. Better to have it in Green City than what we have right now - which is nothing.

This problem ("lack of amenities") is one that we CAN overcome. It will just take time - and it is 100% dependent on RVA growing bigger. The faster and bigger we grow, the more quickly this problem will disappear.

2.) Nothing to do besides restaurant scene: That's not exactly true - but the amenities that a lot of Richmonders tout aren't for everyone and certainly not for everyone coming from much more cosmopolitan areas such as NOVA. "The Ruvvah" is nice - but not everyone is into laying out on the rocks or hanging out and getting drunk on the riverbank or fishing or taking a kayak down the rapids or just looking at the water. Yeah - the James is pretty to look at - but I can see someone coming from NOVA looking for things to do not being into ANYTHING involving life on "The Ruvvah" -- and thinking "Yeah, it's pretty. What else ya got?"  Indeed, the river is a great asset - but it has a limited shelf-life for a lot of folks.

The canal area downtown is nice - but it's still not all the way to what it COULD be. Mind you - I haven't seen it in about 20 years - but I was always both disappointed (at the time) by how 'dead' it was - but also enthusiastic about what it could become. I keep envisioning the Canal as a REALLLY hoppin' place - with shops, hotels, RESIDENCES, restaurants, clubs, bars, entertainment... something akin to San Antonio's famous River Walk. Pandemic aside, I keep thinking once we get more residential development built - like Locks 7 and 8 (one of those two is 13 stories!!) and have more people living there, it will really come to life. I'm sure pre-pandemic is was well on its way. They key is - we need more PEOPLE there! Living there. Working there. Playing there. It's a microcosm of what we say all the time about downtown as a whole. We need downtown RVA to become a 24-7 place - and that can only happen if/when there is a critical mass of people living right there.

3.) Someone tries to build something/it gets voted down: Unfortunately, that's been the RVA way for as long as I can remember. This is -- again, quite unfortunately -- a key difference between RVA and other booming cities and other cosmopolitan areas like NOVA - it's still - even in 2022 -- too damn conservative. I'm not talking politics here - political ideology is NOT the point. I'm talking socially conservative. Economically conservative. Fiscally conservative. Risk averse. Change averse. Growth averse. This topic has appeared on here in other threads numerous times - so I won't beat a dead horse (too much, anyway). I will say this: that uber aristocratic conservative Virginia mindset has cost RVA dearly relative to what other, booming cities have done and are doing. I don't need to say much more than this: it cost us a major airline hub that not only could have - but WOULD have been a game changer for the RVA region. Look at how it plays out even now - that same aristocratic conservative mindset is what has kept the stretch of the north side of W. Broad between A.A. Blvd and VCU from being rezoned B-4 (and even getting TOD-1 zoning was like pulling impacted wisdom teeth!) Sure - other cities have NIMBYs - but other cities are able to push through that uber restrictive mindset and they find ways to "take chances" and make BIG changes that have huge, positive impacts in terms of economic and population growth on their localities. RVA just doesn't seem to have the will to do it - and for as long as I can remember, she never has. (That has been a burr in my saddle for decades!) But this is a HUGE part of what has held us back over the past 50 years, and the fruits of this are evident today. I can't express how frustrating it has been watching a city that, in 1970, was touting itself as the soon-to-be "second-coming of Atlanta" spend the next 50 years clinging to EVERYTHING possible to keep it the modern-day Mayberry RFD. 

Okay - stepping off the soapbox and taking some blood pressure meds because this stuff simply makes my blood boil.

[CitiWalker]

4 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

@Icetera-- spot on. You're right. They are not wrong.

Lots of thoughts on this - but I'll try to keep it brief:

1.) Charming/lack of amenities: this has been one of my many arguments about RVA's sickening obsession with "charm" and "character".  Both (charm and character) are really nice - at first. But it gets REALLLY old REALLLY fast (especially for the demographic that is the most important at this point to lure here given that they are of the age that can really drive growth) - and when the city has little else going for it (compared to other cities), the result is BOREDOM. RVA has come a long way with an amazing food/beverage scene - and has become a fantastic brewery capital in its own right. The museum scene is awesome! The outdoors life (if you're into that sort of thing) is really cool. But let's be honest - we DO lack many amenties (particularly the VARIETY of amenities) of much larger cities. And this despite the fact that for a city our size, we punch well above our weight. But we need to get BIGGER. Which means - MORE PEOPLE living here. The realitive "lack of amenities" problem will change as RVA grows and become a bigger city, and particular as she attracts a more culturally diverse population. We can argue that the city already has quite a bit more to do now -- particularly with areas such as Scott's Addition, Manchester, Rockett's, etc., booming economically and population-wise -- than we had 10, 15, 20 years ago. There's plenty of room for growth - and we need to embrace that.

I do 100% agree that it would be FANTASTIC to get hockey here again. I wouldn't mind G-league hoops as well. A new arena will likely bring at least hockey - if not both. It's okay that it will be in Green City. Far from the worst thing in the world. Better to have it in Green City than what we have right now - which is nothing.

This problem ("lack of amenities") is one that we CAN overcome. It will just take time - and it is 100% dependent on RVA growing bigger. The faster and bigger we grow, the more quickly this problem will disappear.

2.) Nothing to do besides restaurant scene: That's not exactly true - but the amenities that a lot of Richmonders tout aren't for everyone and certainly not for everyone coming from much more cosmopolitan areas such as NOVA. "The Ruvvah" is nice - but not everyone is into laying out on the rocks or hanging out and getting drunk on the riverbank or fishing or taking a kayak down the rapids or just looking at the water. Yeah - the James is pretty to look at - but I can see someone coming from NOVA looking for things to do not being into ANYTHING involving life on "The Ruvvah" -- and thinking "Yeah, it's pretty. What else ya got?"  Indeed, the river is a great asset - but it has a limited shelf-life for a lot of folks.

The canal area downtown is nice - but it's still not all the way to what it COULD be. Mind you - I haven't seen it in about 20 years - but I was always both disappointed (at the time) by how 'dead' it was - but also enthusiastic about what it could become. I keep envisioning the Canal as a REALLLY hoppin' place - with shops, hotels, RESIDENCES, restaurants, clubs, bars, entertainment... something akin to San Antonio's famous River Walk. Pandemic aside, I keep thinking once we get more residential development built - like Locks 7 and 8 (one of those two is 13 stories!!) and have more people living there, it will really come to life. I'm sure pre-pandemic is was well on its way. They key is - we need more PEOPLE there! Living there. Working there. Playing there. It's a microcosm of what we say all the time about downtown as a whole. We need downtown RVA to become a 24-7 place - and that can only happen if/when there is a critical mass of people living right there.

3.) Someone tries to build something/it gets voted down: Unfortunately, that's been the RVA way for as long as I can remember. This is -- again, quite unfortunately -- a key difference between RVA and other booming cities and other cosmopolitan areas like NOVA - it's still - even in 2022 -- too damn conservative. I'm not talking politics here - political ideology is NOT the point. I'm talking socially conservative. Economically conservative. Fiscally conservative. Risk averse. Change averse. Growth averse. This topic has appeared on here in other threads numerous times - so I won't beat a dead horse (too much, anyway). I will say this: that uber aristocratic conservative Virginia mindset has cost RVA dearly relative to what other, booming cities have done and are doing. I don't need to say much more than this: it cost us a major airline hub that not only could have - but WOULD have been a game changer for the RVA region. Look at how it plays out even now - that same aristocratic conservative mindset is what has kept the stretch of the north side of W. Broad between A.A. Blvd and VCU from being rezoned B-4 (and even getting TOD-1 zoning was like pulling impacted wisdom teeth!) Sure - other cities have NIMBYs - but other cities are able to push through that uber restrictive mindset and they find ways to "take chances" and make BIG changes that have huge, positive impacts in terms of economic and population growth on their localities. RVA just doesn't seem to have the will to do it - and for as long as I can remember, she never has. (That has been a burr in my saddle for decades!) But this is a HUGE part of what has held us back over the past 50 years, and the fruits of this are evident today. I can't express how frustrating it has been watching a city that, in 1970, was touting itself as the soon-to-be "second-coming of Atlanta" spend the next 50 years clinging to EVERYTHING possible to keep it the modern-day Mayberry RFD. 

Okay - stepping off the soapbox and taking some blood pressure meds because this stuff simply makes my blood boil.

You have some very valid points. Thus my statement different types of people want different things to do.  That is normal. If clubs and bars are not for you don't go but that does not mean others won't enjoy that type of activity.  As the saying goes " Variety is the spice of life".

[wrldcoupe4]

Nothing to do besides restaurant scene: That's not exactly true - but the amenities that a lot of Richmonders tout aren't for everyone and certainly not for everyone coming from much more cosmopolitan areas such as NOVA. 

So, look, I'm just a country bumpkin living in quaint little Richmond according to most people in NOVA, but what are the amenities they are seeking that we lack? Everything will obviously be scaled back from what one would find in a mega region that approaches 10M people that also happens to be the capital of the free world. Major league sports and nightclubs maybe?  I think you are being a bit harsh on how backwards you think Richmond is from a social and cultural perspective. 

[I miss RVA]

15 minutes ago, CitiWalker said:

You have some very valid points. Thus my statement different types of people want different things to do.  That is normal. If clubs and bars are not for you don't go but that does not mean others won't enjoy that type of activity.  As the saying goes " Variety is the spice of life".

Totally agreed. Where I think RVA runs into a problem -- is that we don't have "enough" variety to be as "spicy" (if you will) as other, larger, more cosmopolitan locations. That's why there are some who come here from other places like NOVA and view RVA as 'boring'. Let's face it - not everyone from DC or NYC or where ever necessarily want to hang out at the river or worship "historic" architecture (like the preservationists THINK everyone does) or hang out at the museums. As great as RVA's museums are (and they are FANTASTIC - particularly for a city and a metro of RVA's actual population size, we punch WAYYYYYYY above our weight with the number, variety, size, depth and breadth of museums that are much more common to significnantly larger areas - DC, NY, Chicago...) you really can only go to them once or twice - or every now and then, particularly if you have kids.

Now - on the flip side: as a parent, I personally feel that the Children's Museum of Richmond is one of those kinds of gems that can pay huge dividends and that can really bring some fun factor as a great asset to the city. You see them in other bigger cities (I've taken my kids to the Chicago Children's Museum downtown and the Kohl Children's Museum in the NW suburbs many many times) - Children grow, and what was fun for them to see and do when they were 3 to 5 is different from what's fun for them when they're 6 to 8 - and so on. Those kinds of assets are wonderful for families. RVA is fortunate to have an outstanding children's museum - and this is an example of how she punches WAY above her weight class.

What you said, @CitiWalkeris spot on. Variety IS the spice of life. And as RVA grows bigger - and hopefully more diverse (I saw numerous comments in the reddit thread about RVA's relative lack of ethnic/cultural diversity compared to other larger cities) - we'll see much greater variety in things to see and do here. This is one of those matters in which, size actually DOES matter. We simply need to get bigger. And the sooner we do so, the better.

Edited April 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[Ward Wood]

Woah I never heard about the Amended RP zoning which has NO height limit on buildings?! Check out the Amended RP areas at the link below:

https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/city-center

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Nothing to do besides restaurant scene: That's not exactly true - but the amenities that a lot of Richmonders tout aren't for everyone and certainly not for everyone coming from much more cosmopolitan areas such as NOVA. 

So, look, I'm just a country bumpkin living in quaint little Richmond according to most people in NOVA, but what are the amenities they are seeking that we lack? Everything will obviously be scaled back from what one would find in a mega region that approaches 10M people that also happens to be the capital of the free world. Major league sports and nightclubs maybe?  I think you are being a bit harsh on how backwards you think Richmond is from a social and cultural perspective. 

As a native Richmonder (born and bred) who lived in RVA for 39 years and who has lived in a mega region of 10M population for the past 21 years, I must respectfully disagree with you (much as I don't like to do so bc I generally place a lot of stock in your analysis and I hold you in very high regard personally). I have both insider and outsider perspective in this matter, having spent significant parts of my life in both places (RVA & a mega-sized cosmpolitan metropolitan city/region), and whether or not I agree with someone from NOVA about RVA comparison, I TOTALLY SEE WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM. And as someone born in RVA and who loves the city dearly, I HATE the fact that they aren't totally wrong. (You'll note that I didn't say that they are 'spot on' ... but they're not wrong.)

In this case, perhaps it is a bit harsh. But sometimes, truth is a bitter and difficult pill to swallow.  Sometimes criticism is warranted. This is one of those times, and it's the native Richmonder in me that brings this harsh form of criticism.  It's not a matter of "what I think" -- it's a simple matter of provable fact. RVA's track record speaks for itself. Her socially & economically conservative mindset HAS held her back time and again for the past 50 years. You can't tell me that -- with a different approach - less risk averse, less pearl clutching about any number of issues that have had a chilling effect on growth and progress in the city and region) -- that RVA would not be at least a reasonably larger city and metro region than she is today. Again, look no farther than turning down the chance to land a major airline hub nearly 45 years ago, simply because it was deemed "not fiscally responsible" to pony up funds to build out the infrastructure to make it happen. THAT ALONE would have been transformative to the entire Central Virginia region and would have been as big a game changer as RVA could have had.

One more point: Accuracy is important here. Please tell me - where did I say RVA is socially or culturally "backwards"? Can you point me to specifically where you saw that stated?  Again, accuracy is important. With all due respect, don't read into what isn't written.

Now, where I DO agree with you, Coupe, is that everything IS a matter of scale. You raise valid questions: what ARE they looking for? Personally, I don't know. I'm beyond the age demographic that looks for such things, tbth. You are probably in the ballpark (pun intended) with major league sports and nightclubs. Maybe it's live entertainment (comedy clubs, theater, concerts - although RVA has a FANTASTIC live music scene and she always has) - One thing I kept seeing popping up on that VERY long reddit thread is "quality" and "vareity" of food choices. Not to say RVA is little more than Bojangles, KFC and Steak N Shake drivethrus - but apparently it's the relative lack (either in availability or quality) of a wide variety of "authentic" culturally ethnic cuisines. That was something that popped up on that thread.

Let's be honest through - RVA is STILL, to this day, a MUCH more homogenious region than are places like NOVA/DC, Chicago, etc. One person on the reddit thread said "everything there is either African-American or white." Now, all of us in our community here now that's simply NOT true - but it's a matter of perspective. Coming from a more cosmopolitan place like NOVA, RVA probably DOES look far and away MUCH less diverse and much more 'defined' by a very limited set of ethnicities. In short: even through RVA IS more cosmopolitan than she was even just 25 or so years ago, compared to much larger cities/metros, she's not cosmopolitan at all. AND IT PAINS ME TO SAY THAT!

Okay - for some perspective: the area of Chicago in which I have lived for most of the past 21 years is as melting pot as it gets - and it's not even downtown or anywhere in the middle of the city - it's in the far North Side of town. Two very large Jewish neighborhoods in close proximity to one another (which is why I am there, being that I'm Jewish) sit next to a large Indian and Pakistani Muslim neighborhood, which is right down the street along one particular avenue from a large Vietnamese neighborhood beyond which by a dozen or so blocks is a fairly large Korean section. Intermingled in the Jewish neighborhoods is a distinctively Russian section (all Jewish) and just across a small river on the far northwest border of the city and one of the suburban cities, is heavily Hispanic. Going east toward the lakefront, it's a mishmash of Southeast Asian and middle-near Eastern cultures that gives way to a straight up mix of African American, white and Hispanic all sprinkled together. Just to the southeast of here are enclaves of Nigerians and Somalis - both in distinct sections of the neighborhood that's not all that far (a mile or two?) away.

And that's just in the relatively small (by standards of the overall city, much less the metropolitan region) section of town closest to me.

So just from a food choice perspective (using that example since it was so prominent in the comments on reddit) - there's a gianormous difference between what I might find here vs what I might find in RVA.

Someone coming from a very cosmpolitan area might find RVA somewhat limited to a greater or lesser degree.

Do you see the point that's being made here?

Edited April 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

5 minutes ago, Ward Wood said:

Woah I never heard about the Amended RP zoning which has NO height limit on buildings?! Check out the Amended RP areas at the link below:

https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/city-center

Saw that and thought either my eyes were playing tricks on me or that they were changing the zoning FROM unlimited height!  But no,  the zoning will be NO Height Limit!  Now, just need some developers with some vision to take advantage of that zoning!

[I miss RVA]

8 minutes ago, Ward Wood said:

Woah I never heard about the Amended RP zoning which has NO height limit on buildings?! Check out the Amended RP areas at the link below:

https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/city-center

 

[I miss RVA]

46 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Saw that and thought either my eyes were playing tricks on me or that they were changing the zoning FROM unlimited height!  But no,  the zoning will be NO Height Limit!  Now, just need some developers with some vision to take advantage of that zoning!

Developers with vision AND deep pockets. And we need for the bloody construction costs to come down. These confiscatory costs are really putting the kibosh on projects here right now.

[wrldcoupe4]

I guess my point is that if someone craves the scale offered by a major metropolitan area, DC, Chicago, etc, then of course they aren’t going to like a smaller region like Richmond. Some people are big city people, some small city people. If someone craves the big city elements every day then a place like Richmond obviously isn’t the right fit and that’s fine. For every person that wants it, there’s another that is trying to get away from all the negatives that come from being in a major city. Your passion from a distance is second to none but on the ground here every day you feel the momentum and the positive changes happening. I have conversations on a weekly basis with people from major cities that moved here and are so happy with their new quality of life. A long weekend to get one’s big city fix is a short car ride or train ride away. If Richmond was anything like northern Virginia I’d be packing up the family. That doesn’t mean I don’t want it to progress and grow and be dynamic (clearly), but it is going to be its own place with its own flavor. I see us casting off old identities and becoming a really interesting city, and other people and investors are seeing the same thing. 

Edited April 22, 2022 by wrldcoupe4

[I miss RVA]

41 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I guess my point is that if someone craves the scale offered by a major metropolitan area, DC, Chicago, etc, then of course they aren’t going to like a smaller region like Richmond. Some people are big city people, some small city people. If someone craves the big city elements every day then a place like Richmond obviously isn’t the right fit and that’s fine. For every person that wants it, there’s another that is trying to get away from all the negatives that come from being in a major city. Your passion from a distance is second to none but on the ground here every day you feel the momentum and the positive changes happening. I have conversations on a weekly basis with people from major cities that moved here and are so happy with their new quality of life. A long weekend to get one’s big city fix is a short car ride or train ride away. If Richmond was anything like northern Virginia I’d be packing up the family. That doesn’t mean I don’t want it to progress and grow and be dynamic (clearly), but it is going to be its own place with its own flavor.

I see us casting off old identities and becoming a really interesting city, and other people and investors are seeing the same thing. 

Spot on, my friend! Well said. I couldn't agree with you more. 

I'd love to be a gnat on your cellphone to get an earful of some of the conversations you have. You have your ear to the ground like no one else on here possibly could. I'd SO love to tap into getting that feel of the momentum and positive changes happening. I live vicariously through our community here. (And humble thanks for your kind words!) 

Point well taken. I would offer one more category of city folk: some (I'm speaking to/about myself here - and I think there are others of us in our community who have this mindset) are big city people who want the small(er) city to blossom, grow and become a truly big city. (Note: I REFUSE to call RVA a "small" city - it has always been something I've found insulting and offensive, regardless of how true it may or may not be). No one is ever going to confuse RVA with NYC or Chicago or the DC/NOVA/Baltimore metro. But I would like for her to get a LOT bigger. Hell, if Raleigh can do it, you mean to tell me we can't? (No offense to our good friends from the Tar Heel State).

Truth is, about the only thing that keeps me from moving back to Richmond is weather -- and climate change is exaserbating the situation year after year. I am a fall and winter person, and I've been spoiled by having "real" winters with "real" cold and "real" snow here. I am NOT a spring/summer person AT ALL. Can't tolerate being hot. There is no way I could do eight months out of the year of heat and humidity (it was only four months out of the year when I was growing up and six months out of the year around the time I moved in 2001 - climate change keeps expanding the warm/hot seasons). Summers here are bad enough. In 2019, my (not-yet-ex)-wife was doing a week-long residency in D.C. (she is a Ph.D. candidate) --  and since the kids were off school, we turned it into a family vacation. It was in April (spring break time) and when we emerged into the elements from the terminal at Reagan National - I was immediately struck by the stifflingly warm, soupy and thick humidity-laden air SOOOOOO familiar to me from having grown up in Virginia. After I kissed the ground of my beloved Commonwealth (yes, I actually got down on my knees and did that!), I stood up and said to my wife - "Now I remember part of why I left here 18 years ago"...)

Mind you, I do have a love for Chicago - it's a great city and great region - and I've made it my home. But my heart & my soul belongs to RVA and always will. Mind you - I'm "big city" to the point that if I had the money, I'd actually move to New York (Brooklyn, specifically) - I've spent enough time in the Big Apple over the past 20-plus years to almost make it my "third home". But if I couldn't have afforded it 20 years ago, there's no way I could afford it now. I honestly do love NYC ALMOST as much as I do RVA. Almost. But not as much. 

Even though I was little at the time, I bought into the concept -- lock, stock and barrel - that the Tom Blileys and Bill Leidingers of the world had back in 1970 of RVA turning into "the second coming of Atlanta". That's been my dream for RVA my whole life - that she would become THE BIG CITY that Atlanta had turned into. TO BE CLEAR - I did NOT say I want her to BECOME ATLANTA or be LIKE ATLANTA ... but rather do DO WHAT Atlanta DID. Grow - grow big -and do it quickly.

And no one will ever confuse Atlanta with Chicago or New York. She's far smaller than either of those places. But she became "big" - a smaller version of big, but big nonetheless. RVA was supposed to do the same thing. My whole life I have lamented that it did not happen.

Truth is - my expectations have obviously diminished as I've gotten older and it became crystal clear that what I'd hoped and prayed for my whole life simply wasn't going to happen - and likely won't happen in my lifetime. At this point, I'd be okay with RVA even getting to 340K in the city and 2M+ in the metro in the next 15-20 years. Mind you - I'll be turning 80 years old in 20 years - so I pray I haven't become either totally demented or utterly feeble by then and flat can't enjoy it. 

But you get my point.

Edited April 22, 2022 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

22 hours ago, Ward Wood said:

Woah I never heard about the Amended RP zoning which has NO height limit on buildings?! Check out the Amended RP areas at the link below:

https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/city-center

As no doubt you can all imagine:

I have already downloaded the final City Center SAP (I didn't have the FINAL version of it) - and the rezoning proposal (from the 4/13/22 meeting) - AND - I've given feedback supporting the rezoning using the revised RP and wholeheartedly encouraging them to approve the rezoning proposal and implement it. I ALSO suggested that the city should seriously consider applying it across-the-board to ALL of downtown outside of Jackson Ward - expanding it to all points south of Broad Street all the way to the riverfront - and - for the entire stretch east-west from I-95 to Belvidere Street. I also emailed the city planner (Brian Mercer) echoing what I put into the survey feedback.

C'MON guys - let's get behind this!! Let's encourage the city to MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!

As Captain Picard would say so often - "make it so!!"

Edited April 23, 2022 by I miss RVA

[whw53]

Amended RP doesn't exist yet. The city innovation plan is suggesting the creation of the new zoning district and i get the impression they are using the current RP class to sort of hasten in a new zone.  the amended RP and the current RP (Research Park?) are far apart use and height wise but i suppose an easier story to tell-  hey nothing to see here we are just creating a variation on this outdated one in stead of bringing forth a new zoning class with unlimited height and all allowable uses which is what they are doing. Sneaky - I love it. I would suggest instead of 'Amended Rp' they go with 'UP' as i think this will be this board's new favorite zoning class. 

https://www.rva.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/CC_CPC_April18_20220418.pdf

Just like we saw with TOD-1 Richmond's zoning code is maturing so that these new classes speak less to use and more to form. 

[I miss RVA]

13 hours ago, whw53 said:

Amended RP doesn't exist yet. The city innovation plan is suggesting the creation of the new zoning district and i get the impression they are using the current RP class to sort of hasten in a new zone.  the amended RP and the current RP (Research Park?) are far apart use and height wise but i suppose an easier story to tell-  hey nothing to see here we are just creating a variation on this outdated one in stead of bringing forth a new zoning class with unlimited height and all allowable uses which is what they are doing. Sneaky - I love it. I would suggest instead of 'Amended Rp' they go with 'UP' as i think this will be this board's new favorite zoning class. 

https://www.rva.gov/sites/default/files/2022-04/CC_CPC_April18_20220418.pdf

Just like we saw with TOD-1 Richmond's zoning code is maturing so that these new classes speak less to use and more to form. 

I REALLLLLLLLY like the direction that city planners are going here. Very forward-looking, forward-thinking and pro-growth. As you said, less emphasis on 'use' and more emphasis on 'form'.  I would honestly love for the city to seriously consider replacing B-4 with this Revised RP (or your suggested designation - UP - much more accurate!) throughout downtown, north-south from I-95-64 to the riverfront and east-west from I-95 to Belvidere Street. Obviously, there would be the carveouts that exist now, and current zoning in those places would be untouched (Jackson Ward, Shockoe Slip, the "historic" district along W. Franklin Street. Now is the time to take the shackles off of downtown and really step up our game to reshape how downtown is set up to be developed. (Then we must pray that both a.) construction costs drop dramatically and b.) RVA city and metro grow big enough fast enough to make it more justifiable for developers to come in a increasingly go vertial - and REALLY go vertical!!!) ... 

Before we can get there, it has to start at the ground level - and that means getting this Revised RP established and implemented. I love the direction. Now we must be like Picard - and demand that the city "make it so!"