The Future

[burt]

Unless City Council and the Administration are taking actions unknown to the public, somebody had better start making some concrete plans to improve the city's infrastructure and its attractions.

Half a million visitors are expected to descend on Richmond during a two-week period in September of 2015 for the World Champion Bicycle races.

From today's Richmond dot com:

http://www2.richmond...ont-ar-1742700/

[burt]

Comcast Spectator and Live Nation Entertainment are in serious discussions with Virginia Beach officials over a proposed 18,000-seat arena adjacent to that city's convention center near the oceanfront. Major League basketball and/or hockey are the lures and The Sacramento Kings are a piece of the bait.

Cost of the building, estimated at $350 Million, would be absorbed by Comcast; Live Nation; the major league team(s); the state, and the city.

The proposal suggest that Metro Richmond, with its 1,260,000 population, would swell the combined markets to over 3,000,000.

Michael Paul Williams, writing in today's RTD, hints that the corporations should investigate Richmond as their site if Virginia Beach declines the offer.

Why not?

http://www2.timesdis...ena-ar-2175654/

[Wahoo 07]

For my first substantive post, I thought that I would share a few of my "wishlist" ideas for Richmond.  Some are feasible in short time while others are more like aspirations.

 

1. Transportation -- restore the streetcar system.  Create a downtown/Manchester loop, Main Street/Cary Street line, and a boulevard line (broad may be better served by light rail, otherwise I would include it).  Also, convince Henrico, Hanover, Petersburg, and Colonial Heights to join GRTC so that transportation can be addressed regionally.

 

2. Nightlife -- allow bars and clubs to remain open until 3 AM and repeal the requirement that bars get a certain percentage of their revenue from food.

 

3. Uncover cobblestones wherever feasible.

 

4. Use the Museum of the Confederacy's collection to form the nucleus of a world class museum on the American South.  While the Civil War is the most important single event in Southern (and American for that matter) history, this museum would go beyond one four year event.  Literature, music, arts, Jim Crow/Civil Rights, and the long overdue National Slavery Museum could all be incorporated into it.  It could be linked to the other historic sites in town and would serve as a major attraction.  Perhaps it could work with the VMFA regarding Southern art and artists.

 

5. Replace the coliseum with a new 18,500 seat arena capable of attracting national acts, the NCAA tournament's first and second rounds, and the ACC tournament.  The size leaves the door open to a major league team relocating to Richmond (stranger things have happened -- look at Memphis, Salt Lake City, and Oklahoma City).

 

6. Branding -- both in terms of neighborhoods and the city as a whole.  The fan presently does this, but I like the idea of having distinct street signs for different parts of the city.  It could foster a stronger sense of identity and would serve as an advertisement for it.  Richmond should take up a national marketing campaign showcasing itself as the great place that it is to live, visit, and do business.

[540_804]

Random thought: Wouldn't it be cool if they ever followed through with the additional 6 floors on 3 James Center that the building was originally engineered to allow?

I wonder if any building technologies have been developed in the 25+ years that might allow them to add even more floors than that? What if they could add 8-10 floors and bring it to 22-24 total?

 

Second thought: The James Monroe and the James Madison buildings east of the State Capitol complex may be among downtown's worst offenders when it comes to destroying the 'urbanity' of the area, with giant towering parking structures set far back on the lot from the sidewalks. Despite being high rises, they're certainly more suburban in nature as compared to the traditional urban streetscape.

 

But I don't think they're beyond rehabilitation. What if, for instance, the giant parking structure at the base of the James Monroe Building was wrapped with small 1 or 2 story retail buildings on the 14th and Franklin streets sides? There certainly appears to be plenty of room on the lot. Perhaps a few small eateries or coffee shops. If that tower is anywhere near full, it seems there would be enough people to support a couple of small lunch spots. [Also, it would be kind of cool to see the second tower built and maybe the first one refurbished with new glass. The top deck of the parking structure could become a really cool (and huge) green roof park for the employees!]

 

The same could be said for the Madison building across the street. The single building, placed awkwardly on the lot, manages to take up an entire large city block and completely kills any walk-ability that particular section of downtown may have had.

[wrldcoupe4]

Thoughts on your random though - I was under the impression that Three James Center could support 10 or more additional floors. The biggest challenge is the disruption to existing tenants... can be done but not ideal.

[540_804]

Thoughts on your random though - I was under the impression that Three James Center could support 10 or more additional floors. The biggest challenge is the disruption to existing tenants... can be done but not ideal.

 

I guess we would probably not see a vertical expansion any time soon simply because it would probably be cheaper to build another building than expand upwards. Until the cost of land in downtown Richmond gets prohibitively expensive (which is probably decades away), it's probably just no financially preferable.

 

Of course, I want to see it expanded upwards for my own selfish reasons (because it would look cool!). It would be nice to watch it grow like teh BCBS Tower in Chicago did a few years back: http://www.ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/FeaturedTallBuildings/Archive2010/BlueCrossBlueShieldTowerChicago/tabid/3472/language/en-US/Default.aspx