Short Pump Developments

[Cadeho]

I forgot about the Market. Mechanicsville is Mechaniscville but serves a portion of the East End.

[CommRE]

Also I used to get great cups at this place in shockoe slip near the fountain. It's beside the Martin Agency. I can't remember the name (Bowers maybe), but they had some good stuff!!

Shockoe Expresso is the one you are thinking of - and they also run a coffee bar in Henrico Doctor's Hospital on Forest.

I went by the Omni Starbucks today. Looks like work has ramped up again.

[mpar1]

One just opened in Mechanicsville on Bell Creek Road. Don't know if that's east enough for you, but there it is next to a Noodles & Company which is about to open and a Chick-Fi-Lay. And what about the one in The Market store on Main Street? Is that closed?

My apologies for going to the other end of town in the "West Broad Village" thread.

What is Noodles & Company? I saw the sign.

[heykey4]

What is Noodles & Company? I saw the sign.

From the website, it appears it's like CiCi's Pizza, but with pasta.

[heykey4]

For the first time in ages, my travels have taken past West Broad Village in Short Pump. I was blown away by how much has been done and even how much has that has been built around that area. I've been the Short Pump Mall, but I usually come from 288 and head east to the mall. I'm not really opposed to the development of W. Broad; but I don't live there so it doesn't really matter how I feel. A friend of mine with me commented that soon Mechanicsville Turnpike will look like this (I live in Mechanicsville).......maybe, just so long as we get a Barnes & Noble out here.

Now, West Broad Village, is this development being built all at once, or is it a phase in project over a certain time frame?

[Cadeho]

Mechanicsville can be just as bad but the retailers are not in bed with people in Mechanicsville like they are in Short Pump. The traffic is equally as bad though. I wish Hanover would construct other routes so people wouldn't jam Mechanicsville Tnpk. At rush hour, Pole Green and Creighton are also backed up. I've said I'll take Cold Harbor to get to Target and Ukrop's etc instead of going through Mechanicsville and Bell Creek where I've almost been hit twice recently during rush hour.

[heykey4]

Mechanicsville can be just as bad but the retailers are not in bed with people in Mechanicsville like they are in Short Pump. The traffic is equally as bad though. I wish Hanover would construct other routes so people wouldn't jam Mechanicsville Tnpk. At rush hour, Pole Green and Creighton are also backed up. I've said I'll take Cold Harbor to get to Target and Ukrop's etc instead of going through Mechanicsville and Bell Creek where I've almost been hit twice recently during rush hour.

My work is on Creighton right there at 295 and I can testify that on any given weekday between 4:30 and 6:00 pm, traffic has and will back up onto the Interstate. It's horrible. One of the biggest problems in the Mechanicsville area is the lack of adequate turn lanes and traffic signals which is what is fouling up traffic.

[kelly4me]

From the website, it appears it's like CiCi's Pizza, but with pasta.

Re: Noodles & Company - it's not a buffet. You pick a pasta and any toppings, pay and then sit while they fix it and then bring it out to you. It's pretty tasty.

[nhughes]

Re: Noodles & Company - it's not a buffet. You pick a pasta and any toppings, pay and then sit while they fix it and then bring it out to you. It's pretty tasty.

Welcome to the forum, kelly4me.

That sounds like WILD NOODLES, which was on Cox Road out in the same area (now the space is occupied by BIG AL'S SPORTS BAR). They did all sorts of pasta dishes -- not just Italian, but Asian and American (mac & cheese, beef stroganoff, etc). I remember that NOODLES & COMPANY was supposed to be a competitor with a similar concept.

Maybe the concept will take hold this time around with better visibility from Broad Street.

[kelly4me]

Welcome to the forum, kelly4me.

That sounds like WILD NOODLES, which was on Cox Road out in the same area (now the space is occupied by BIG AL'S SPORTS BAR). They did all sorts of pasta dishes -- not just Italian, but Asian and American (mac & cheese, beef stroganoff, etc). I remember that NOODLES & COMPANY was supposed to be a competitor with a similar concept.

Maybe the concept will take hold this time around with better visibility from Broad Street.

Thanks for the welcome!

It is indeed a very similar concept, but I think that the food is better at Noodles & Co.

That Cox Rd. shopping center is a horrible place to get in and out of. I know that there was a petition one day at Today's Hair there to try to allow access from Cox Rd. to that plaza. I think it would be helpful for the plaza.

[TBurban]

Cam's not gunna' like this..

http://www.downtownshortpump.com/

[ejones]

the link the website gives is to some casino hotel in costa rica. i think what they meant was:

Hotel Sierra

anyways i think the whole idea of "downtown Short Pump" is a joke.

[Shakman]

Cam's not gunna' like this..

http://www.downtownshortpump.com/

I wonder if he would like it if it were built in eastern Henrico?

[Cadeho]

I can't read the link. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to with my Internet access about to become 0. I'd prefer as I've always said, the money invested in Short Pump invested downtown which identifies us all.

[D_C]

anyways i think the whole idea of "downtown Short Pump" is a joke.

It IS a joke. That's how the whole "downtown" concept started, as a joke. When I first started surveying out that way back in the late 80's, and things started getting built, we joked about the new "downtown". Everyone would get a good laugh out of sleepy little Pouncy Tract Road being the new center of the universe. Little did we know that the large influx of soccer-mom's in huge battleships on wheels, would create such a demand for more crap and also create a demand that they reside at the center of the universe. The day that "downtown" short pump stopped being a joke and became a god-awful shame, was when the transmission shop had to remove the airplane from its roof because dumbasses would call 911 to report a plane crash. Not only are these piss-poor-driving, totally oblivious, gas-guzzling, inconsiderate soccer mom's rude as hell, but they are dumb as a box of rocks for believing that a damn plane had crashed into a transmission shop!

Anyway, it is my feeling that they can have it. I don't want any parts of it. There is a heck of a lot of construction going on, lots of stores yet to open, and it is already impossible to navigate the roads, which are already widened as much as they can be. The entire area out there is a clusterfluck full of the seven deadly sins. Have at it Henrico-ites! You reap what you sow.

[Downtowner]

Amen DC. You said it well my friend.

[Cadeho]

It wasn't the soccer moms that fueled the growth out there, it was greedy developers and landowners. Who ordained this area to become the symbol of all that is wrong and bad with suburban growth and even worse the relationship between between RIchmond and Henrico? I blame Virgil Hazelett who we need to kick out of office somehow. Someone dig up a sermon by his preacher or an affair or something!

Careful DC, the last time I blasted soccer moms, I got banned.

[NYCJSW]

Sorry guys, but I hate to break it to you but this type of suburban development is going on all around the country. Why does it have to be a downtown vs Short Pump? The Short Pump area is good for the entire Richmond region. You are dreaming if you think these businesses would go downtown. The city cannot get out of its own way on many of the projects already planned for downtown. Perhaps you should focus your anger on fixing your own house = City of Richmond.

I don't understand why so many here are bitter about Short Pump and other suburban developments. Then to attack the people that live in that area? How about the people who live in the fan and drive Range Rovers that are all decked out like they are going on a safari (water tanks on the back etc). A lot of people who live in the suburbs at one time lived in the fan. To me it just comes across as a jealous envy type of thing. Where do you think the people who live in the city of Richmond shop = Short Pump. I don't live in Henrico but I think the Short Pump area represents us all. Get over it! As Dylan once said "the times they are a changing".

[ric75]

I don't understand why so many here are bitter about Short Pump and other suburban developments. Then to attack the people that live in that area? How about the people who live in the fan and drive Range Rovers that are all decked out like they are going on a safari (water tanks on the back etc). A lot of people who live in the suburbs at one time lived in the fan. To me it just comes across as a jealous envy type of thing. Where do you think the people who live in the city of Richmond shop = Short Pump. I don't live in Henrico but I think the Short Pump area represents us all. Get over it! As Dylan once said "the times they are a changing".

Wow, I just can't let this one slide... I can't speak for everyone here but you certainly won't see any envy from me. That area is hell incarnate and symbolizes everything truly wrong with our sheep-like consumer culture. It has no personality whatsoever... it's a carbon copy of every ugly, congested, unoriginal suburb out there. There is no connectivity so forget trying to get around on foot or by bike. I live in the City and I've never spent a dime there and never will. I have several shopping centers just down the street that serve me just fine thanks. And you have to be smoking something heavy to think that Short Pump represents us... if you want to be seen as a follower of ad campaigns and marketing gimmicks then by all means, embrace that area. I happily identify myself with the City of Richmond, problems and all. Unless Short Pump reroutes the James River, fixes its traffic problems, gets rid of all the surface lots, plants some trees, opens more Mom and Pop businesses, opens a few parks with amazing hiking and biking trails, builds the largest college in the state, develops an arts community, builds a couple quality music venues, starts a couple dozen festivals, and fabricates a 400 year history, Richmond has NOTHING to be jealous, envious, or concerned about.

[Cadeho]

Sorry guys, but I hate to break it to you but this type of suburban development is going on all around the country. Why does it have to be a downtown vs Short Pump? The Short Pump area is good for the entire Richmond region. You are dreaming if you think these businesses would go downtown. The city cannot get out of its own way on many of the projects already planned for downtown. Perhaps you should focus your anger on fixing your own house = City of Richmond.

I don't understand why so many here are bitter about Short Pump and other suburban developments. Then to attack the people that live in that area? How about the people who live in the fan and drive Range Rovers that are all decked out like they are going on a safari (water tanks on the back etc). A lot of people who live in the suburbs at one time lived in the fan. To me it just comes across as a jealous envy type of thing. Where do you think the people who live in the city of Richmond shop = Short Pump. I don't live in Henrico but I think the Short Pump area represents us all. Get over it! As Dylan once said "the times they are a changing".

No jealousy, pure hatred.

Short Pump doesn't represent the region, it is a cancer. They spent millions on destroying farms and forests to build a "new downtown" as was said 10 years ago which started my hatred for Short Pump. I hated Short Pump BEFORE ANYTHING WAS BUILT except the neighborhoods south of Broad. I found it disgusting they were planning to demolish and move their original buildings as far back as 1995. With all the money spent on that wasteland we could have had a stellar city in every facet which is more important to our collective image than having strip malls define us. The city of Richmond, nor Chesterfield, nor Hanover, nor Powhatan, New Kent, Charles City etc benefit from Short Pump. Only Henrico. If this were any other city outside of Va and RIchmond and Henrico were once again one in the same, then we'd benefit. If the other regions had a hand in it, they may benefit. This is Hazelett's vision of a perfect city. I will forever curse him and his wannabe city and hope it finds destruction soon. It will by design.

Btw, I still have those gift cards.

[TBurban]

Towne Center West has updated their website with a new plan for the residential above retail portion. Their plans called for a large amount of the yellow you see below to cover the area fronting Broad. They have since scaled back the mixed use portion to a row of buildings fronting restaurants along Broad, a wise choice on their part due to the housing market in general. Newly released renderings of the mixed use proposal and an updated site plan go into further detail.

New mixed use rendering:

New site plan:

yellow - mixed use (4 stories)

orange - restaurant/retail/office

purple - hotel

blue - fitness center (American Family)

red - under construction restaurant/retail/office

green - apartments

gray - separate development including 3 restaurant sites (one is Kan Pai; under construction) and a hotel site (a six story Holiday Inn)

[NYCJSW]

Cadeho and ric75,

Both your arguements are pretty silly. Everyone benefits from Short Pump. Do you really think that all the people that shop there and enjoy the mall only live in Henrico? Perhaps you should check the sales for the mall. So everyone benefits from having a top notch retail center in the area. Also, farmland was everywhere, even in parts of Richmond before it was built out = a real shocker! It is funny how so many people on this board cry about the need for regional cooperation but have such polarizing opinions of the areas where most people live in this metro area. Remember, both Henrico and Chesterfield have a great population than the city of Richmond. Cadeho, your arguements are not anywhere near reality. Go take some urban planning classes at VCU.

Ric75, the jealousy thing was in response to the badmouthing of Henrico and everyother area outside of Richmond. Why the need the tear down every other area around Richmond? It just sounds so silly. Plus, your arguments works against Henrico but how does it hold up to other cities like Washington DC or Baltimore? So why even go down that road. Why the need to tear down other areas just to build up Richmond. I see the entire area as being a great place to live. Each area offers something unique. This is what makes the Richmond metro area the total package.

[wrldcoupe4]

Sorry guys, but I hate to break it to you but this type of suburban development is going on all around the country. Why does it have to be a downtown vs Short Pump? The Short Pump area is good for the entire Richmond region. You are dreaming if you think these businesses would go downtown. The city cannot get out of its own way on many of the projects already planned for downtown. Perhaps you should focus your anger on fixing your own house = City of Richmond.

I don't understand why so many here are bitter about Short Pump and other suburban developments. Then to attack the people that live in that area? How about the people who live in the fan and drive Range Rovers that are all decked out like they are going on a safari (water tanks on the back etc). A lot of people who live in the suburbs at one time lived in the fan. To me it just comes across as a jealous envy type of thing. Where do you think the people who live in the city of Richmond shop = Short Pump. I don't live in Henrico but I think the Short Pump area represents us all. Get over it! As Dylan once said "the times they are a changing".

Just because it occurs everywhere doesn't mean it's right or a good thing in the long term. To clarify, I am hardly bitter or envious or jealous about sprawling parking lots, big boxes, and tract housing. Our super-sized suburban lifestyle simply isn't sustainable, nor is it good for the environment or our long term economic health. How much green space do we really need to pave over as we sprawl out in every direction? How big do our houses really need to be, consuming all of the energy it takes to heat and cool them? During the drought, I remember hearing that something like 30% of Chesterfield County's water consumption from spring to fall comes from the watering of suburban lawns! That's crazy! How does it make sense to have to drive to do ANYTHING, especially when gas prices are increasing? I'd be smiling if I lived in the Fan because I could walk or bike or take a bus to get most things done. Which leads me to public transit... even if there was better (or any!) public transit to places like Short Pump it would be difficult for it to succeed because everything is so spread out and disconnected. I'd pay someone the cost of their funeral to bike the gauntlet from somewhere like Wyndham to the strip malls along Broad Street. Thankfully, "the times they are a changing" as society begins to become reacquainted with urban planning through the rise of new urbanism... and while there's a good amount of "feaux" urbanism happening, the move in the right direction is taking place.

Regarding the fixing of one's house, if only it were so simple. Decades ago, white flight based on economic and racial prejudice plagued Richmond along with many other cities in this country. The white flight fueled the very suburban westward and southern expansion of developed area in our region flying past the city limit out to what is Powhatan, Goochland, Amelia, Hanover, and others today (the sheer expanse of sprawl is amazing and disappointing at the same time). Because of racism and classism, Richmond was left with a fast shrinking tax base, and a population which was much poorer. The perfect storm since the poor required more from a declining tax base. Virginia's peculiar Dillon Rule approach and its moratoriums on annexation only added fuel to the fire. It's a time where the automobile is king, public transit is viewed as something only poor blacks would use, and the American dream is the big house on a green lawn with a white picket fence, next to a big house on a green lawn with a white picket fence, next to a big house on a green lawn with a white picket fence... And the suburban trend of moving on to the newest and "best" place continued further and further outward as those in the counties looked down their noses at the city wondering why it just can't get it's act together. Corruption in city government over the years, a soaring crime rate, and a struggle with identity certainly didn't help much either. And so, here we are today. The city has stabilized itself. At the same time, suburbia continues to be suburbia (and prosper), as new strip centers, malls, neighborhoods, roads, etc are built further and further outward. Billions of dollars in new investment are pouring into the city all over the place. The city's crime rate is plummeting, the population is growing, investment continues... but there's still a long way to go. The status quo remains where it has been since white flight for the most part; the suburban localities want little to do with the city. If times truly were "a changin'," we'd see greater efforts at regionalism to tackle regional problems like water/sewer usage, transportation and expansion of public transit, crime, and others. I say crime because as the city's crime rate plummets, crime in the counties is rising. Utilizing the expertise of RPD in curbing crime would be of benefit to the counties. Consolidating water/sewer authority could bring significant cost savings to taxpayers in every participating locality, help us better weather droughts, and help clean up our rivers, streams, and Bay. Collectively working on transit issues will help curb our congestion through comprehensive planning, clean our air, and improve our sanity. I bring up things like crime, public utilities like water, and transit to show that regionalism isn't just something where the counties give and the city receives. By defining ourselves by invisible lines in the dirt (county/city here, county/county there, etc), we are weaker than if we were to come out of our shells and tackle the issues that affect us all in unity.

Thus, I agree we don't stand to benefit by bringing either the city or the counties down. Our region is a great one. My issue is with the poor planning principles which have been practiced for decades, which is something not exclusive to a Henrico or a Chesterfield, and our lack of regional cooperation which inhibits our ability to properly tackle the problems which transcend invisible borders.

Speaking of regionalism, a great resource for giving one a brief overview of the many forms of regional cooperation and their various pros and cons can be found here: http://www.nlc.org/resources_for_cities/pu...tions/1637.aspx , titled the Guide to Successful Local Government Collaboration in America's Regions (2006). A direct link to the .pdf (68 pages) can be found here: http://www.nlc.org/ASSETS/2381EA924E114002...ovtCollabor.pdf

[NYCJSW]

Dr Moser, is that you? I took a few urban planning classes in my time so I know exactly what you are talking about. I lived in Washington DC for many years and in the fan. I now prefer the suburban life to raise my family. As far as home sizes. I would say my new 7,000 sq ft home probably uses less energy to heat than most fan homes. I know my bills were lower than my friend who lives in the fan. But I don't understand this need to by so pissy about what other people are doing? Let other people live. You have several posts with people crying like babies about Short Pump and then they state they NEVER GO TO SHORT PUMP???? Why do you care so much about other people enjoying it if you don't go there??? Since when is a soccer mom equal to a crack whore????? This board is way outside of the mainstream. This is where the envy part comes in. People are out enjoying the American dream raising families, living the good live while some poor sap is probably living in a fan efficiency with pizza boxes everywhere pissing on Short Pump. There is a time and a place for everything. The city of Richmond has some wonderful places to live but once again, each area complements one another. It is not like flipping a coin where you have to take the city of Richmond or Henrico!

[ric75]

Dr Moser, is that you? I took a few urban planning classes in my time so I know exactly what you are talking about. I lived in Washington DC for many years and in the fan. I know prefer the suburban life to raise my family. As far as home sizes. I would say my new 7,000 sq ft home probably uses less energy to heat than most fan homes. I know my bills were lower than my friend who lives in the fan. But I don't understand this need to by so pissy about what other people are doing? Let other people live. You have several posts with people crying like babies about Short Pump and then they state they NEVER GO TO SHORT PUMP???? Why do you care so much about other people enjoying it if you don't go there??? Since when is a soccer mom equal to a crack whore????? This board is way outside of the mainstream.

And that's likely because people on this board are educated and understand the many drawbacks to suburban sprawl-style development. We here on the East Coast are running short on space and to forge forward like we continue to do in Henrico, Chesterfield, and Northern Virginia is an inefficient and arrogantly wasteful use of a precious resource. By and large that's where my interest in that area ends... unless of course someone comes on here with the ridiculous claim that this collection of strip malls and chain stores is the future of the area and represents Richmond. Trust me I understand the draw of moving there if you have kids... the school systems are much better funded for the reason wrldcoupe explained in his last post but the continuation of white flight is nothing to be proud of. And if you enjoy high profile chain stores and having to drive everywhere you go then more power to you... obviously this is what some people want. But I hope down the road the State and counties start looking back at the suburban wastelands that places like Short Pump leave behind when the flock and their money move on to the next "big thing" and see this isn't the way to go forward. Intelligent redevelopment of the dying interior suburbs and unused space in the City is what we should be focusing on instead of bulldozing more trees and leveling more barns.