Richmond Coffee House

[I miss RVA]

What's with the hemorrhaging of people at City Hall?  Does anyone else find this a bit troubling?

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/news/richmond-budget-director-leaving-city-for-hanover-following-other-recent-top-level-departures/article_990c2888-f2b8-5ba2-bbde-ab02de2a1a7c.html

 

[eandslee]

7 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

What's with the hemorrhaging of people at City Hall?  Does anyone else find this a bit troubling?

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/news/richmond-budget-director-leaving-city-for-hanover-following-other-recent-top-level-departures/article_990c2888-f2b8-5ba2-bbde-ab02de2a1a7c.html

 

Don’t want to get into a political discussion here, but I wonder if it would be any different if there was a Republican administration in place?  We know that Democrats have been corrupt in this city for decades and it probably won’t change (what is the definition of insanity again?  Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting  different results - i.e. we keep electing Democrats to lead the city and we keep getting the same results).  Perhaps a Republican administration would be the same, but at this point, I’d be willing to try something different.  This sort of thing is making our city look like a complete clown show!

Edited May 7, 2021 by eandslee

[Wahoo 07]

29 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Don’t want to get into a political discussion here, but I wonder if it would be any different if there was a Republican administration in place?  We know that Democrats have been corrupt in this city for decades and it probably won’t change (what is the definition of insanity again?  Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting the different results - i.e. we keep electing Democrats to lead the city and we keep getting the same results).  Perhaps a Republican administration would be the same, but at this point, I’d be willing to try something different.  This sort of thing is making our city look like a complete clown show!

I would like to see a competent, honest city government whose primary objective is to make Richmond the best place in the United States to do business.  If this happens, a lot of other chronic, seemingly unsolvable problems will be solved.

[CitiWalker]

Like anything in life change is incremental.  I see the city moving in a positive direction.  You cant undo decades of inefficiency overnight. All locals have their problems but usually what ever issues the city has always gets highlighted more than most. Part of it is a culture of complaining and knuckle dragging both by leaders and citizens alike. We need more forward thinking people to move the city in a forward direction. The biggest problem has always been resistance to change .

[DalWill]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Don’t want to get into a political discussion here, but I wonder if it would be any different if there was a Republican administration in place?  We know that Democrats have been corrupt in this city for decades and it probably won’t change (what is the definition of insanity again?  Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting  different results - i.e. we keep electing Democrats to lead the city and we keep getting the same results).  Perhaps a Republican administration would be the same, but at this point, I’d be willing to try something different.  This sort of thing is making our city look like a complete clown show!

It'll all be same. Common sense, fresh blood and fresh ideas is needed in government period. We have people in game changing positions who is pretty much a roadblock (as far development is concerned). A shakeup is always needed whenever things get stale.

[Icetera]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Don’t want to get into a political discussion here, but I wonder if it would be any different if there was a Republican administration in place?  We know that Democrats have been corrupt in this city for decades and it probably won’t change (what is the definition of insanity again?  Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting  different results - i.e. we keep electing Democrats to lead the city and we keep getting the same results).  Perhaps a Republican administration would be the same, but at this point, I’d be willing to try something different.  This sort of thing is making our city look like a complete clown show!

Honestly, I do not think the two political parties are particularly relevant at a local level and most city government officials tend to be independent.  Regardless, and I say this as someone who typically leans Conservative, Republicans in city government are rare and the party's values do not really work for cities.  Overall, the parties have become more split on Urban vs Rural rather than any true ideological differences so I do not see that changing any time soon.

[wrldcoupe4]

I don't think party is really relevant. It's culture and competence. I think we can all find faults in both political parties on those fronts. Plus reality is Richmond is extremely blue... a republican would never be elected mayor. At the end of the day it's about administrators being able to execute better blocking and tackling to improve deficiencies at City Hall. There's low hanging fruit.

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, CitiWalker said:

We need more forward thinking people to move the city in a forward direction. The biggest problem has always been resistance to change .

Very well said. I 100% agree. Sadly, from a mindset and cultural perspective, Richmond has for decades been extremely change-averse. That mindset has improved some over the last 10 or so years -- witness the explosive economic development and rapid population growth the city has been and continues to enjoy. Even in the best overall economic times, this kind of growth would have been extremely difficult to manifest, much less sustain, in decades past. There is a more progressive spirit in RVA - unfortunately it seems to stop at the doors to many of the offices located inside City Hall.

I hope that as the city continues to grow - and as the population increases - that more progressive mindset will start to really take hold in a more manifest way. Like you said - change is incremental - and it will take time. We are moving in the right direction - and we need to sustain this momentum. Good things are happening in spite of - and not because of - City Hall. Here's hoping City Hall will catch up with the rest of us sooner rather than later.

2 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

I don't think party is really relevant. It's culture and competence. I think we can all find faults in both political parties on those fronts. Plus reality is Richmond is extremely blue... a republican would never be elected mayor. At the end of the day it's about administrators being able to execute better blocking and tackling to improve deficiencies at City Hall. There's low hanging fruit.

Very well said, Coupe - and I agree with you 100%. Politics really is irrelevant. If we don't change the culture - and that is a painfully slow process that really can only happen organically - and the level of competence - also slow, but with the right people in key positions can be fixed more quickly and more broadly. Nuts and bolts issues must - and can - be addressed. As you said - low-hanging fruit.

[123fakestreet]

The city has been set up to fail for decades by packing the poor into a small area with little tax base.  People with money left, the state prevented any further annexation of land to grow the tax base, and the city withered.  Even great leadership can not overcome those limitations, but  no good public servants even wanted to take the risk and ruin their career, so on top of that you had incompetent and corrupt leadership for years.  It's like that in many cities across the country.

The past 10-15 years we are finally digging out from under that.  We're not there yet and will probably never fully be "there" with all our problems solved and everything well funded and running like a well oiled machine, but we are heading the right direction. It just takes time.

[I miss RVA]

On 5/8/2021 at 2:59 PM, 123fakestreet said:

The city has been set up to fail for decades by packing the poor into a small area with little tax base.  People with money left, the state prevented any further annexation of land to grow the tax base, and the city withered.  Even great leadership can not overcome those limitations, but  no good public servants even wanted to take the risk and ruin their career, so on top of that you had incompetent and corrupt leadership for years.  It's like that in many cities across the country.

The past 10-15 years we are finally digging out from under that.  We're not there yet and will probably never fully be "there" with all our problems solved and everything well funded and running like a well oiled machine, but we are heading the right direction. It just takes time.

I've followed Richmond politics and economic development since the early 1970s - and began doing so in earnest when I was in high school in the late '70s. I took a lot of add-on classes in undergrad - and in doing so used my electives where possible to follow an urban planning track (even though journalism was my major) - the annexation fight and subsequent moratorium imposed by the state all but killed Richmond, particularly given the virulent racial animus that divided the city, especially in the late '70s. Multiple City Councils fumbled away tremendous opportunities for Richmond to stem the tide of huge population loss (white flight fueled Chesterfield & Henrico's population booms while the city essentially bled to death for the next 30-35 years. As you stated correctly - incompetent and corrupt leadership - and a LOT of good people were jettisoned from the administration in those days because they didn't meet the 'agenda' of the day.

Regardless of the continued ineptitude of the city government - and let's make no mistake, it's not much better today than it was 30 or 40 years ago - the city is growing almost in spite of the city government - certainly the Council and the mayor's office. It's so gratifying to see on the RVA/Reddit site post after post after post from people who are moving to Richmond from all over the country - getting on the subreddits there to ask about good neighborhoods, the food and beverage scene, stuff to do. And the vast majority of them are moving to the CITY - not the suburbs - and they already have done their homework and ask questions about living the Fan, the Museum District, Manchester, Scott's Addition, Carytown... This is backed up by a phenomenal 14.8% growth in the CITY population since 2010 (based on 2021 estimates) ... one of the largest organic growth rates in the city's history - and putting Richmond in the category of one of the faster/fastest growing mid-size/second-tier cities in the country.

Somehow, RVA has become a red-hot destination city in which to work and live. Developers are flocking here to build housing -- and they either can't keep up with or can barely keep up with demand as people move to the city in droves. Just looking at the RVA/Reddit - folks are coming from places in the Northeast, the South, the Ohio Valley, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest. Who would have thought this would be possible even 10 years ago?

If the city is doing this in spite of the failures of the city government, imagine how much more it could do with a better functioning government in place?

With all of the growth happening now - I can't wait to see how this wonderful city will be in 5... 10.... 15 years...  I can't help but believe that, once we are in a post-pandemic world, the best is yet to come.

[CitiWalker]

16 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

I've followed Richmond politics and economic development since the early 1970s - and began doing so in earnest when I was in high school in the late '70s. I took a lot of add-on classes in undergrad - and in doing so used my electives where possible to follow an urban planning track (even though journalism was my major) - the annexation fight and subsequent moratorium imposed by the state all but killed Richmond, particularly given the virulent racial animus that divided the city, especially in the late '70s. Multiple City Councils fumbled away tremendous opportunities for Richmond to stem the tide of huge population loss (white flight fueled Chesterfield & Henrico's population booms while the city essentially bled to death for the next 30-35 years. As you stated correctly - incompetent and corrupt leadership - and a LOT of good people were jettisoned from the administration in those days because they didn't meet the 'agenda' of the day.

Regardless of the continued ineptitude of the city government - and let's make no mistake, it's not much better today than it was 30 or 40 years ago - the city is growing almost in spite of the city government - certainly the Council and the mayor's office. It's so gratifying to see on the RVA/Reddit site post after post after post from people who are moving to Richmond from all over the country - getting on the subreddits there to ask about good neighborhoods, the food and beverage scene, stuff to do. And the vast majority of them are moving to the CITY - not the suburbs - and they already have done their homework and ask questions about living the Fan, the Museum District, Manchester, Scott's Addition, Carytown... This is backed up by a phenomenal 14.8% growth in the CITY population since 2010 (based on 2021 estimates) ... one of the largest organic growth rates in the city's history - and putting Richmond in the category of one of the faster/fastest growing mid-size/second-tier cities in the country.

Somehow, RVA has become a red-hot destination city in which to work and live. Developers are flocking here to build housing -- and they either can't keep up with or can barely keep up with demand as people move to the city in droves. Just looking at the RVA/Reddit - folks are coming from places in the Northeast, the South, the Ohio Valley, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest. Who would have thought this would be possible even 10 years ago?

If the city is doing this in spite of the failures of the city government, imagine how much more it could do with a better functioning government in place?

With all of the growth happening now - I can't wait to see how this wonderful city will be in 5... 10.... 15 years...  I can't help but believe that, once we are in a post-pandemic world, the best is yet to come.

I agree with you on about 85% of what you say. I would say this , in my opinion there are some better pieces in place via Mayor   to help move the city forward.  Is Stoney perfect...no... however I believe that he is more forward thinking  and more aware of the situation at hand when it comes to moving the city forward. Kim Gray who is gone now was  a thorn in the side of the city when it came to development. Part of what we see  in this city is a buy in from businesses and citizens. It is not just the government that has to be competent but also having the support of citizens who have a broader perspective on  the importance of development and tax growth.  I said this before, the thing that has always hog tied the city is people being stuck in the past and not wanting change. Council people will buckle to their constituency every time in order to stay in office. Too many NIMBYS plain and simple. However IMHO we have seen  younger people come into the city with fresh perspectives, newer ideas, and quite frankly energy. Business understand that . Look at what Costar is about to do in terms of bringing in even more jobs for example.  Good paying jobs for well educated people  translates to  higher rents  and developers seeking to cash in. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by CitiWalker

[123fakestreet]

15 hours ago, CitiWalker said:

I agree with you on about 85% of what you say. I would say this , in my opinion there are some better pieces in place via Mayor   to help move the city forward.  Is Stoney perfect...no... however I believe that he is more forward thinking  and more aware of the situation at hand when it comes to moving the city forward. Kim Gray who is gone now was  a thorn in the side of the city when it came to development. Part of what we see  in this city is a buy in from businesses and citizens. It is not just the government that has to be competent but also having the support of citizens who have a broader perspective on  the importance of development and tax growth.  I said this before, the thing that has always hog tied the city is people being stuck in the past and not wanting change. Council people will buckle to their constituency every time in order to stay in office. Too many NIMBYS plain and simple. However IMHO we have seen  younger people come into the city with fresh perspectives, newer ideas, and quite frankly energy. Business understand that . Look at what Costar is about to do in terms of bringing in even more jobs for example.  Good paying jobs for well educated people  translates to  higher rents  and developers seeking to cash in. 

Was going to say the same thing, say what you want about Stoney, he's head and shoulders above what we've had in the past.  The mere fact someone with greater political ambition now sees Richmond mayor as a stepping stone instead of a career killer says something.  

City Council is still largely incompetent and has a complete lack of vision for this city as they cater to all the NIMBYs. But they are still an improvement over the Gwen Hedgpeth and Chuck Richardson days.

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

Was going to say the same thing, say what you want about Stoney, he's head and shoulders above what we've had in the past.  The mere fact someone with greater political ambition now sees Richmond mayor as a stepping stone instead of a career killer says something.  

City Council is still largely incompetent and has a complete lack of vision for this city as they cater to all the NIMBYs. But they are still an improvement over the Gwen Hedgpeth and Chuck Richardson days.

...don't forget also the improvement over Sa'ad El-Amin!  Oh man....

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

...don't forget also the improvement over Sa'ad El-Amin!  Oh man....

Jesus - don't remind me! 

[whw53]

In other city Council news, the process to begin amending the zoning districts to remove parking minimum requirements has been removed. Big win here for market urbanism.

https://richmondva.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4924978&GUID=2A397EBC-948E-48BF-BCAD-84644575DD1F&Options=&Search=

[whw53]

Alright yal - who's clenching the 4th Dem primary?  I know some of yal are following this. Taking them awhile to count the votes - could be indicative of a close race. 

[HRVA]

4 hours ago, whw53 said:

Alright yal - who's clenching the 4th Dem primary?  I know some of yal are following this. Taking them awhile to count the votes - could be indicative of a close race. 

Jennifer McClellen - it’d be an upset if she doesn’t. It’s a hand count. That’s why it’s taking so long. 

[Hike]

[HRVA]

1 hour ago, Hike said:

Dang, so concerns Bagby would of been a spoiler turned out to be wrong. Pretty strong turnout too. In line with last year’s regularly scheduled congressional primaries. 

[I miss RVA]

12 hours ago, whw53 said:

Alright yal - who's clenching the 4th Dem primary?  I know some of yal are following this. Taking them awhile to count the votes - could be indicative of a close race. 

Sorry mate - particularly being that I'm in Chicagoland, Virginia elections are not something I'm following at all. My personal focus is on RVA growth, and not Virginia politics. But that's just me looking through a lens from 875 miles away. 

[wrldcoupe4]

There’s so much going on in Richmond these days…. We all have favorites… what is your favorite thing going on in Richmond right now? Could be a project, a restaurant, a stat, policy, etc.  

[eandslee]

33 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

There’s so much going on in Richmond these days…. We all have favorites… what is your favorite thing going on in Richmond right now? Could be a project, a restaurant, a stat, policy, etc.  

For me the one project that really gets me excited is the CoStar project, but a really close second (if not tied for first place in my opinion) is the growth that's happening at the airport!  I would have never imagined that RIC would have nonstop flights to SFO, LAX, PHX, and LAS.  I always dreamed it would happen, but did not have a lot of faith it would happen...yet here we are!  So exciting to see...and the airport continues to break passenger count records!

[I miss RVA]

4 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

There’s so much going on in Richmond these days…. We all have favorites… what is your favorite thing going on in Richmond right now? Could be a project, a restaurant, a stat, policy, etc.  

Wowzers - that's a good one, Coupe. To be honest - it's challenging to choose just one thing. 

If I had to try to nail it down to one thing, it's that everything that is happening is UNPRECEDENTED in the modern history of Richmond (and for sure, in my lifetime). More on that in a minute.

If I had to look at some specific components, they would be as follows:

Projects: There are two that stand out, one is under construction (CoStar) and one is in the pipeline (hopefully to be started soon) - the Avery Hall towers. Both are "big city" projects that RVA lacked for far too long, but are now becoming more frequent and more regular - and CoStar carries with it a FUN FACT: When the (now) Truist building was completed in 1983, it surpassed the Federal Reserve building as the second-tallest skyscraper in Richmond, behind only the Monroe Tower. The Truist building held that title for 36 years - until it was surpassed in 2019 by the Dominion Tower. The Dominion building will hold that title (second-tallest in the city) for just six years - as it will be surpassed by the CoStar tower when it opens in 2025. That, to me, is quite telling.

Transformation: It's the ongoing transformation of Scott's and Manchester into red-hot, legit "big city" neighborhoods that are easily 180-degree polar opposites of what they were 20 years ago.

Potential: It's the promise of Manchester's burgeoning skyline, and the even greater promise of downtown's potential boom from the riverfront to City Center.

Growth A: It's the dramatic reversal of nearly four decades of population hemorrhage with the city rebounding at a decent clip, and now metro RVA leading the state in population growth.

Growth B: It's the explosive (by Richmond standards) growth of RIC - fueled by the impact of Breeze setting up what is beginning to at least LOOK like an unofficial, unnamed but defacto "mini-hub" here - bringing markets that until now had long been only a dream for direct service to/from RIC (as @eandsleementioned -- in particular -- all of the West Coast and western U.S. destinations that have become a big part of the RIC roster). It's the potential that is lurking within the incredible, ongoing growth in traffic that could well push the airport to a level of passenger volume that could see further expansion of BOTH concourses within a decade that would bring the airport to 44 gates - a number that a scant 10 or 15 years ago would have seemed laughable but now is looking to be not just realistic and achievable but quite necessary. This is the stuff of bigger, more established airports in much bigger markets.

Growth C : It's how Richmond has grown in terms of gaining national prominence -- being at or near the top of important list after important list across a multitude of sectors, all of which keep putting RVA on potentially huge radar screens, garnering tremendously good national pub for the city/metro/region and growing the city's reputation and national name recognition far above what it was even just a decade ago -- all of which have made something like landing LEGO's billion-dollar factory not just possible - but a reality.

I could go on listing components - but the throughline (as stated above, at the beginning of this post) comes back to one single word: UNPRECEDENTED. What we are seeing and enjoying in Richmond is 100% UNPRECEDENTED not just in my lifetime (and I'm 60 as you all know) - but in the city's modern history (meaning at least the past 100-120 years), if not even longer.

What Richmond is now doing is what Charlotte has spent the last 35-40 years doing. It's what Raleigh has spent the last 25-30 years doing. It's what Austin and Nashville have spent the last 25 or more years doing. It's what a PLETHORA of other cities from coast-to-coast have spent years - decades - doing. And what makes it all the more dramatic is that -- until 10-ish - 15 at most? - years ago -- and in earnest more like just within the last 8 to 10 years -- Richmond not only WASN'T doing this. It was doing the exact OPPOSITE! It was laying fallow- dying on the vine - withering away, beset by huge population losses, high crime, a troubled past (putting it charitably), loss of economic opportunity, stagnated development. The city was DYING for close to 40 years.

And now? There have been -- and are -- and continue to be -- more projects that we can even remotely track properly. EVERY SECTOR of this city (not to mention the suburbs) has been BOOMING. Doesn't matter where you look - there's new construction -and LOTS of it. From Westhampton and Westwood to Rockett's and Fulton. From the Northside to the Southside. From Scott's Addition to Carver to the Museum District to the Fan to VCU to downtown to Manchester to Westover Hills. Cranes dot the city and have done so continuously in something of an unbroken chain now for at least five, six, maybe seven years. From Hanover to the farthest reaches of southern and southwest Chesterfield. From Short Pump to Sandston. From Mechanicsville to Midlothian. From Goochland to New Kent. Not to mention the I-295 and Route 288 beltway corridors. 

It is simply UNPRECEDENTED.

And THAT, my dear friends, is what I find most exciting about all of this. I never thought I'd ever live to see the day that even a PORTION of this would happen - much less the very high - and sustained -- levels we're seeing and enjoying today - and I've been following this city's/metro's/region's growth and development since I was roughly 10 years old or a tad younger even - so at least 50 years.  It may have come 30 or 40 -- or heck -- even closer to 50 years later than I wanted it to occur - but it's happening - and for me, it's a dream come true.

I think Phil Collins' famous line from his iconic classic "In the Air Tonight" sums it up best for how I feel about what Richmond is doing now:

"And I've been waiting for this moment... for all my life... oh Lord... oh Lord!"

(and don't laugh, guys - I actually have tears welling up as I write all of this...)

 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

"25 degrees of separation"

Or - 25 things that keep me up here in the Windy City and preclude me from moving back home - all rolled into one.

It's a VERY comfortable (for me, anyway), cloudy, cool day here. I just got back from walking through the neighborhood and grabbing a few groceries - and absolutely loved it. Oh - what are the 25 degrees of separation? The difference in the current temperature.

I just checked the weather: current conditions in RVA - 82 degree. 

Current conditions here in The Chi? 57 degrees. 

YEAH!! MY KIND OF WEATHER! (And oh BTW, I went walking in shirt sleeves - like Phil Collins said - "no jackets required."

THIS - probably more than anything - is what keeps me up in this part of the country. I'll take 57 degrees in the middle of the day in mid-June over 82 degrees any and every day of the week.

[Shakman]

Me too!  I prefer cold over hot temperatures.