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TCC Student Center Progress

tuffsim

By tuffsim
in Norfolk

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Telmnstr Burg

Telmnstr

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Posted

Granby saturday at noon? Pretty dead. A few of the eats are open.

Granby Saturday at 8pm? Restaurant crowd.

Granby Saturday at midnight / Sunday at 1AM? Hopping.

At least it was this way when I used to drive the truck around.

It's easy enough to say the street needs retail, but harder to get people to spend money. The rents are retardedly high on Granby.

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varider Town

varider

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I've noticed that any time during the work week there is a good amount of foot traffic/ activity.. On the weekend there are more people downtown on Sunday than Saturday, especially when a cruise ship is in town or something goin' on at TCC, Scope, Chrysler, ect.. But this weekend 500,000 people are expected at Harborfest.. I hope you guys can capture some good pictures..

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mlsimons Whistle-Stop

mlsimons

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I really like the look of this building....it will be a great addition to the area.

Yeah, I have to say that this is one of the cooler looking buildings being built...although I kinda wish they had gone the old arcade route and built and enclosed public walkway. This would have completed the form and sealed the entire city block and would also have created a good sense of place for both TCC and downtown. Not that what's going there isn't good or inviting, I think it is. But I have really been into arcades lately, and what they can do for a heavily traffic'd urban atmosphere. It can be locked up at night, preventing the cracks and corners for homeless sleepers. Additionally the arcade provides a quick safe refuge from the elements should a shower/storm come along.

I know this is not the right forum to vent these ideas, but since I started here goes: the entire granby st corridor could be glorified much more than it currently is. They could string lights or flags from building to building (or lightpost to lightpost) to capture more spirit. Also how bout paint some mermaids or old sailor scenes on the asphalt. How bout offer to install flower boxes on all the exposed fire escapes. And my last idea is a little out there...but how bout take the street parking out on just one city block and make that block a vender stand block on both side, with vendors selling fresh fruit, magazines, snacks/sodas/hotdogs, 1 sovenier/shirt stand, maybe even a school supply stand for TCC.

I know these ideas are a little dreamy, but durring the day the pedestrian aspect is there, especially with TCC kids hanging out all over the corner. I know Granby is not Manhatten, but who's says we couldn't have one block of concentrated action and interaction?

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skylinefan Hamlet

skylinefan

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Awe, all of those trees area already down.

Here are a couple renderings I don't think we've seen.

http://www.sbballard.com/projects.php?v=pd...&project=74

Can't really tell from the rendering but are they going to restore some of the trees along the walkway from Monticello to Granby? Seems a shame that this would be a concrete and barren walkway.

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varider Town

varider

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And my last idea is a little out there...but how bout take the street parking out on just one city block and make that block a vender stand block on both side, with vendors selling fresh fruit, magazines, snacks/sodas/hotdogs, 1 sovenier/shirt stand, maybe even a school supply stand for TCC.

I know these ideas are a little dreamy, but durring the day the pedestrian aspect is there, especially with TCC kids hanging out all over the corner. I know Granby is not Manhatten, but who's says we couldn't have one block of concentrated action and interaction?

I really don't think that's dreamy at all. It sounds like a good idea. Seems to work in every other large city in america, I don't see why it wouldn't work here. I think the majority of people downtown during the day would be interested in buying food from vendors and it would really make you feel like you were in a big city lol. Light rail trains running, street vendors, foot traffic, etc. :silly:

But where would you put them? You definately can't take up street parking anywhere during the day.. Every single spot is taken, especially on Granby. Maybe they could set up along the walkway in the third anchor lot, the sidewalks along granby and monticello. I don't think putting them on the street is the best idea.

Can't really tell from the rendering but are they going to restore some of the trees along the walkway from Monticello to Granby? Seems a shame that this would be a concrete and barren walkway.

Yeah, that would be a shame.

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Ghentite Whistle-Stop

Ghentite

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But where would you put them? You definately can't take up street parking anywhere during the day.. Every single spot is taken, especially on Granby. Maybe they could set up along the walkway in the third anchor lot, the sidewalks along granby and monticello. I don't think putting them on the street is the best idea.

Well, there's that lot/seating area right in the middle of TCC near the Domo's and across from Kelly's. That could be ideal...

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varider Town

varider

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Well, there's that lot/seating area right in the middle of TCC near the Domo's and across from Kelly's. That could be ideal...

Oh yeah! I forgot about that little thing. Actually I thought the city was doing this anyway at the plume street light rail station, where they demolished the library? They keep saying it's going to be the centerpiece and gathering area of downtown, being the main stop on the transit line. Put some vendors there and in the tcc seating area thingy. In my opinion, we have the daytime population/ foot traffic to support it. During the school year, I heard there is upwards of 50,000 people downtown.

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urbanlife Town

urbanlife

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Yeah, I have to say that this is one of the cooler looking buildings being built...although I kinda wish they had gone the old arcade route and built and enclosed public walkway. This would have completed the form and sealed the entire city block and would also have created a good sense of place for both TCC and downtown. Not that what's going there isn't good or inviting, I think it is. But I have really been into arcades lately, and what they can do for a heavily traffic'd urban atmosphere. It can be locked up at night, preventing the cracks and corners for homeless sleepers. Additionally the arcade provides a quick safe refuge from the elements should a shower/storm come along.

I know this is not the right forum to vent these ideas, but since I started here goes: the entire granby st corridor could be glorified much more than it currently is. They could string lights or flags from building to building (or lightpost to lightpost) to capture more spirit. Also how bout paint some mermaids or old sailor scenes on the asphalt. How bout offer to install flower boxes on all the exposed fire escapes. And my last idea is a little out there...but how bout take the street parking out on just one city block and make that block a vender stand block on both side, with vendors selling fresh fruit, magazines, snacks/sodas/hotdogs, 1 sovenier/shirt stand, maybe even a school supply stand for TCC.

I know these ideas are a little dreamy, but durring the day the pedestrian aspect is there, especially with TCC kids hanging out all over the corner. I know Granby is not Manhatten, but who's says we couldn't have one block of concentrated action and interaction?

Oh I agree, arcades are amazing, and it would of been so unique for the city to build a collection of arcades with anchor department stores instead of MacArthur Mall...that would of created a truly unique urban experience for the city.

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varider Town

varider

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It appears from the rendering that there's still a fair-sized open space between Granby and Monticello, correct? I was worried there would be no passage through, which would be a huge mistake.

Yeah, that's the whole purpose of the curvature of the building, to allow a pathway between Granby and Monticello. It would suck to have to walk all the way around!

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virginia pe Whistle-Stop

virginia pe

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Will this building require a crane? Sorry if this is a dumb question lol.

No, it's not a dumb question.

Almost all but the smallest commercial buildings require a crane. However, there are different types of cranes.

Mobile cranes are mounted on a truck. They are often used for smaller projects where a crane is not required every day. The contractor only pays rental on the days he needs it.

A crawler crane is usually larger. The crane is mounted on treads like a bulldozer. Compared to a tower crane, a crawler crane has the advantage of being able move about the jobsite. You also do not need to drive extra piles for a crane foundation. The Norfolk Southern Tower was constructed with a crawler crane because of the very tight site.

Tower cranes are the type you see at Wells Fargo and Belmont.

Which one will we see at TCC? It's up to the general contractor. But it's a pretty safe bet that you will see some type of crane at TCC.

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CaveMaN Whistle-Stop

CaveMaN

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I'd imagine they'd have one like at the pump station near belmont...check the belmont thread, and look at my most recent photo (may hafta click the real image link & click the enlarged version). I would really doubt, as vape said, they'd use a tower crane & waste the time & energy.... I'm amazed the NS building was built with crawlers as opposed to a tower crane, musta been pretty neat to see a building 20+ going up with mobile cranes.

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CaveMaN Whistle-Stop

CaveMaN

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Oh, thanks so much for the info! Have any buildings in Hampton Roads ever required two cranes? I know none of our buildings are really that tall..
I don't think "tallness" is really the factor for multiple cranes... I think schedule is. If it's on a faster schedule, multiple cranes are probably required since the movement of materials to the working crews becomes the weakest link of the project. I think the Cosmo in VB had 2 tower cranes working, but I may be wrong about this. There's several projects in charlotte that have multiple cranes functioning, check out their forum, probably the Wachovia highrise has it (I guess tech. wells fargo) thread.
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varider Town

varider

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Yeah, I've seen Charlotte's thread about the Wells Fargo Center, kinda makes you jealous! lol. But I'm liking our verson, it's just half the height. :angry: & that's cool about the cosmo. Back on topic, the Student Center should will be a great infill project. It's good they're building something here, that whole little park was kind of useless to me. Just a way to get from the mall to granby, but since they're leaving a path anyway it's all good!

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CaveMaN Whistle-Stop

CaveMaN

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Yeah, I've seen Charlotte's thread about the Wells Fargo Center, kinda makes you jealous! lol. But I'm liking our verson, it's just half the height. :angry: & that's cool about the cosmo. Back on topic, the Student Center should will be a great infill project. It's good they're building something here, that whole little park was kind of useless to me. Just a way to get from the mall to granby, but since they're leaving a path anyway it's all good!
Yeah, Charlottes, WFC is amazing, too bad...ugh...but...I actually liked having that as greenspace...but it was pretty much just a sleeping place for the homeless of downtown. At least there's still the plat of land on the west side of granby for some greenery.
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urbanlife Town

urbanlife

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size of the site also matters when it comes to the number of cranes, a crane can only stretch so far.

I would like to see them use this new crane that is starting to show up more in construction, which is a self lifting crane, which can only go so high, about 7-8 stories, but it is perfect for these smaller buildings and is much cheaper than traditional cranes.

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