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The Future

JWCJ

By JWCJ
in Richmond

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journiyin Hamlet

journiyin

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Good thinking, Tommy. But I do like Major's idea of the B&N in one of the old furniture stores in the gallery district.

Perhaps the club venues you mention could center on the north side of Broad from the Coca Cola sign at first, thence east on Broad; down both sides of 2nd to Marshall, and continue east on Broad to 3rd. Some existing buildings might lend themselves to conversion while the facades of others could be saved. Wouldn't it be neat to have a line-up of all the ones you have listed plus B.B. Kings and Planet Hollywood? A one-thousand room hotel could span the south frontage of Broad between 3rd and 5th, bridging over 4th Street. And if the State Legislature approves TV horse-race gambling, Colonial Downs could establish another Off Track Betting parlor (Richmond already has two) among the clubs. Hahaha. Richmond could be the Vegas of the MidAtlantic. :yahoo:

I'm not too fond of the aquarium at the gas works, though. Can't you think of a better site for that?

I was just raving on a subject that parallels this one on the issue of the 6th St city owned property closing... if a developer was bold... any one of these uses could be plugged in here... ESPECIALLY with the available parking.

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Cadeho City

Cadeho

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I'm not too fond of the aquarium at the gas works, though. Can't you think of a better site for that?

ECHO HARBOUR

The best use of the land does not mean towers and cutting off the view.

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ric75 Hamlet

ric75

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I took a few minutes to go through the Department of Public Works proposals and saw nothing addressing the road and sidewalk conditions in Shockoe Bottom. The only thing I saw was streetscape improvements for the Tobacco Row area (I hope they mean the Main Street side or just the areas where new construction is going on). For those of you who have driven east on Cary St. you know that as soon as you cross over 14th, you wish you had a Humvee to navigate that poor excuse for a road. Cary St. here is traveled by folks seeking access to the Bottom's more popular locations such as Europa, the Hard Shell, BW3's, Stool Pigeon's, Relish, Bottom's Up Pizza, and the Canal Walk so you would think the city would be inclined to make the roads and sidewalks through here nice if not passable at the very least. Instead we've been stuck for years with these pothole laden roads that have to have an affect on people's perception of the area. I love going down there but it still bothers me so I know newcomers have to be affected negatively. Also, for those of us trying to go to the Farmer's Market, taking a left on 17th off of Cary presents similar challenges.

My question is this... why is it that the Bottom remains off of the radar when it comes to such simple yet highly effective fixes like this? Do the business owners not hold enough sway in City Hall? Does it get ignored because the challenges of handling a sprawling and diverse district are simply too much for our council representative? Or do they honestly think the flood damaged roads of Shockoe Bottom are fine?

I hope that the resurfacing of these streets is in the boooks somewhere and that I'm just not looking in the right place. To have such a poor road going by our brand spanking new Main Street Station Parking Plaza would be a travesty. Sorry for the rant but this has been a pet-peeve of mine for quite some time and to see apparently no action being taken by the city was the last straw. I know the city has a lot on its plate but you think they'd be willing to support one of its economic engines and a very important piece to the quickly filling puzzle of downtown Richmond.

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Ric75, bumpy as it is, I can go along esthetically with the cobblestoned condition of East Cary Street from 12th to 15th street. But from there to the hole in the floodwall, I agree that drastic attention has to be paid to the cobblestone roadway and sidewalks.

Isn't Cathedral Walk beautification near Main Street Station supposed to extend across Cary to Dock Street? That should include walkway improvements, shouldn't it? Last I was in Richmond, the road in front of Edgeworth was not complete, but I like Cary Street in front of Tobacco Row (The Holocaust Museum with its railcar is a permissable exception.)

I've often ranted about the condition of Richmond's downtwon east/west and north/west streets. For example, the new beautified section of Broad between 5th and 7th is quite nice, but a continued landscaped median of same dimensions should extend all the way from Belvidere to 14th Street, as well as smooth pavement the entire length, IMO.

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Here's a wish for the future:

To start with, I don't see much coming along on an eastern extention of the canal walk. Certainly nothing is being done to encourage boat traffic or a unique idea like a row of ship shops.

I suggest a rail line carrying vintage trolleys beginning at Rocketts Landing, passing the docks and Echo Harbor to Great Ship Lock; thence continuing along Dock Street under the train trestle thru the hole in the flood wall to Dock and 14th Street. At that point, it would swerve a short distance up 14th, turn left by the turning basin, left again across the Virginia Street bridge. From that point it could follow a Right of Way thru Alcoa's parking lot and the next hole in the flood wall to 12th street. Then, some deep thought would have to be given to its route, but perhaps tracks could be hacked out of the hill on the north side of Haxall Canal to a termination of the line near the foot of 5th Street.

Hey! If we can't have boats connecting Richmond's waterways, why not a trolley?

Thoughts?

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ric75 Hamlet

ric75

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Here's a wish for the future:

To start with, I don't see much coming along on an eastern extention of the canal walk. Certainly nothing is being done to encourage boat traffic or a unique idea like a row of ship shops.

I suggest a rail line carrying vintage trolleys beginning at Rocketts Landing, passing the docks and Echo Harbor to Great Ship Lock; thence continuing along Dock Street under the train trestle thru the hole in the flood wall to Dock and 14th Street. At that point, it would swerve a short distance up 14th, turn left by the turning basin, left again across the Virginia Street bridge. From that point it could follow a Right of Waythru Alcoa's parking lot and the next hole in the flood wall to 12th street. Then, some deep thought would have to be given to its route, but perhaps tracks could be hacked out of the hill on the north side of Haxall Canal to a termination of the line near the foot of 5th Street.

Hey! If we can't have boats connecting Richmond's waterways, why not a trolley?

Thoughts?

I did notice that the Virginia Capitol Trail Phase 1 is in the listing of Capital Projects Under Design by the city with a target construction start date for 8/10/07 and a budget of a little more than $2 million. Check out this map to see where potential projects will be taking place.

Upcoming Capital Improvement Projects Map

Upcoming Capital Improvement Projects Listing

The grey line underneath 942 appears to be a direct extension of the Canal Walk and extends down to Pear St at the end of Tobacco Row.

As far as boat traffic is concerned, once Rockett's is completed I think we will see a big increase since I'm sure many of the folks moving there are boaters taking advantage of the slips they will offer. Are there plans for Rockettt's Landing to eventually take over the Intermediate Terminal or does the City have plans for it? It would be nice to start filling in that desolate area between Tobacco Row and Rockett's. It's only a matter of time I'm sure but most of us are impatient and don't want to wait around a decade before things change down there ;)

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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I did notice that the Virginia Capitol Trail Phase 1 is in the listing of Capital Projects Under Design by the city with a target construction start date for 8/10/07 and a budget of a little more than $2 million. Check out this map to see where potential projects will be taking place.

Upcoming Capital Improvement Projects Map

Upcoming Capital Improvement Projects Listing

The grey line underneath 942 appears to be a direct extension of the Canal Walk and extends down to Pear St at the end of Tobacco Row.

As far as boat traffic is concerned, once Rockett's is completed I think we will see a big increase since I'm sure many of the folks moving there are boaters taking advantage of the slips they will offer. Are there plans for Rockettt's Landing to eventually take over the Intermediate Terminal or does the City have plans for it? It would be nice to start filling in that desolate area between Tobacco Row and Rockett's. It's only a matter of time I'm sure but most of us are impatient and don't want to wait around a decade before things change down there ;)

Especially when you're near the end of the line. :cry: I want some action before I go!

There will be more boat activity after Rocketts in Henrico and Richmond is finished. But it's not likely the Great Ship Lock will open to canal traffic. Norfolk Southern would have to do something to repair its Bastile bridge that blocks the way, and I haven't noticed anyone having much success in convincing the railroad to cooperate.

A story today says the Capital Trail eastward from Tree Hill Farm will parallel Route 5 rather than Osborne Turnpike.

I still like my trolley idea! :)

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burt Megalopolis

burt

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Burt you are not near the end of the line... besides, at the end of the line, the ride repeats again in the other direction!

If you're referring to my trolley, yes it does have two end points -- Somewhere in Rocketts Landing and at Tredegar Civil War Museum. If the present rail goes beyond Rocketts, that's great; then there's room for expansion of the ride when more of Rocketts opens. New rail would have to be installed west from Great Ship Lock. And of course, it would have to have an overhead power line the entire distance.

It could serve as a commuter route but primarily it would be an attraction along the canal walk which is ill equipped to carry other transportation for its full length.

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journiyin Hamlet

journiyin

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Especially when you're near the end of the line. :cry: I want some action before I go!

There will be more boat activity after Rocketts in Henrico and Richmond is finished. But it's not likely the Great Ship Lock will open to canal traffic. Norfolk Southern would have to do something to repair its Bastile bridge that blocks the way, and I haven't noticed anyone having much success in convincing the railroad to cooperate.

A story today says the Capital Trail eastward from Tree Hill Farm will parallel Route 5 rather than Osborne Turnpike.

I still like my trolley idea! :)

Route 5 Trail should tie into James City Counties trail at some point along Rt 5 linking Williamsburg and Richmond... thus the monoker Capital to Capital Trail that has been given to the project. The have only recently finished the James City portion just before Jamestown 2007... I can prove it because the thing went right through my backyard in Williamsburg when I lived there.

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  • 2 months later...
wrldcoupe4 Metropolitan Area

wrldcoupe4

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Posted

2010 E Main St was sold recently... I wonder if an adaptive re-use project is in the works?

Answering my own question:

Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield is pleased to announce the sale of 2010 & 2026 East Main Street in Richmond, Virginia. HD Medical, LC purchased the 25,571 sq.ft. building from Progressive Manufacturing Corp. for $1,315,000 as an investment and plans to develop a mixed use project including retail, office and residential.

http://thalhimer.com/releases.php?artID=661

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