The Row at Ghent/Bristol at Ghent progress

[lil-bear]

I have to admit that i am somewhat disappointed with the details of this project.

I think that it is a wonderful addition to both Granby Street and Monticello Avenue.

It does seem to look a little cheap, but it fills a massive void in that part of town.

It does have a demanding presence.

[Padman]

Well, it's a major presence, and it looks pretty welcoming from the Granby Street side, but a parking garage extending two blocks along Monticello is an oppressive sight, and not much of an improvement over what was there before. Trees can only soften that monster so much, and the colors and textures don't help either. I think of these kinds of projects as "unfinished."

[lammius]

There's a garage 2 blocks long facing Monticello?!?!?! What a horrible idea! Monticello should be a commercial corridor targeted for revitalization. It shouldn't be turned into (or rather remain) a dead street.

[vdogg]

Well, it's a major presence, and it looks pretty welcoming from the Granby Street side, but a parking garage extending two blocks along Monticello is an oppressive sight, and not much of an improvement over what was there before. Trees can only soften that monster so much, and the colors and textures don't help either. I think of these kinds of projects as "unfinished."

Did I miss something? I could've sworn on the original plans the garage was suppoed to be on the interior and surrounded by the facade on all sides. Other than that I still think it's a nice project and it really commands your attention from whichever direction you approach.

[urbanvb]

That's exactly what I was thinking (and typed) about the parking being inside but my computer timed out before it was posted.

[Telmnstr]

Anyone else dissapointed with the finished product here? Looks kind of cheap almost "dorm" like. I guess I was expecting too much. I guess this a huge step forward though for that area though.

Yea... it looks like something out of Disneyland. The real question is how bad will it look in 5 years.

What are the asking rents and asking purchase price?

The buildings look like they are super thick though, and there are cave apartments with no windows inside. Of course there is a courtyard I would imagine.

More rental inventory for downtown to compete against these other people. That is good! Can't let Cavilear Land and Crooke & Neff get too greedy.

[mistermetaj]

Yea... it looks like something out of Disneyland. The real question is how bad will it look in 5 years.

What are the asking rents and asking purchase price?

The buildings look like they are super thick though, and there are cave apartments with no windows inside. Of course there is a courtyard I would imagine.

More rental inventory for downtown to compete against these other people. That is good! Can't let Cavilear Land and Crooke & Neff get too greedy.

Disneyland has been around longer than 5 years and it still looks good.

[lammius]

I have a few problems with the design of this thing.

1. The exterior building materials look cheap & schmaltzy.

2. Half-attempt to make these look like rowhouses. They use different colors and setbacks for the different sections but the color is patterned and the rooflines lead the eye to the center where there's a spire! That has a real unifying effect, so rather than seperate rowhouses this looks like one clunky building painted in vertical stripes. The highest rooftops should be on the ends or scattered about randomly--not in the center.

3. Ground floor is on the ground. There's no step-up to the first floor of this building.

4. Color. I'm all about seeing bright new colors on homes and buildings. This building wants to look like many buildings but it recycles the same colors over and over. The bright yellow is bold and fun but it shouldn't be on every 3rd "rowhouse."

[vtfan18]

Overall, I think the project is horrible. It really does look cheap and construction quality lacks. They really "threw" the project up in record time. Doesn't mean they can't build quality projects fast but this on doesn't fit the bill! Also, I've always had a problem with design that tries to produce exact replicas of the past. It never quite works out the way they planned.

[rusthebuss]

I don't think the project is that bad! One minute you guys were excited about it and then you are bashing it? Come on guys

[vdogg]

I'm not bashing anything. I really do like the project, i'm just confused about the garage portion. I could've sworn it wasn't like that in the original plans and if they had done something more "disguising" that would probably take care of most of the complaints you hear in this thread.

[rusthebuss]

I'm not bashing anything. I really do like the project, i'm just confused about the garage portion. I could've sworn it wasn't like that in the original plans and if they had done something more "disguising" that would probably take care of most of the complaints you hear in this thread.

I wasn't referring to you. You usually don't make too many negative comments.

[vtfan18]

I'm all for infill projects and was excited to see this project go up but the closer it came to completion, the more a few of us realized that its not that great of a project. If a project is bad in my opinion, I won't hold back in sharing my thoughts. I would expect the same from everyone on this forum. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about the project and for me, it just didn't come close to meeting my expectations.

[spiker3]

There's a piece on hamptonroads.tv about this complex....

A Peek inside Norfolk's Big Dollar Apartments

84% leased, 74% occupied, price range from $940 - 1800/month. These are for the apartments, not the condos. It discusses the market with the large quantity of condos comin onto the market, but doesn't get into it much. Decent piece for what it is, promotional propoganda

[PeninsulaKiddo]

There's a piece on hamptonroads.tv about this complex....

A Peek inside Norfolk's Big Dollar Apartments

84% leased, 74% occupied, price range from $940 - 1800/month. These are for the apartments, not the condos. It discusses the market with the large quantity of condos comin onto the market, but doesn't get into it much. Decent piece for what it is, promotional propoganda