Richmond: Economy/Business/Real Estate

[DalWill]

1 hour ago, Icetera said:

Criticizing specific issues is absolutely valid, but many of us are also guilty of bashing our local government in a blanket manner.  There is certainly a difference from pointing out the councilmembers who do not have the city's interests at heart versus discrediting the council as a whole.  I bet the county governments have plenty of issues themselves but their organization and prominence keeps them from the spotlight.  Richmond's has always been front-and-center.

The annexation thing is a mixed bag.  While there were certainly desires to drown out black voices, there was also a need to acquire fresh tax revenue.  With white-flight and the existing lack of financial equality among minorities, the city was left with a majority poorer population that need much more support.  Note that housing projects were not built out in the counties where the tax base exists as support, leading to a overreliance on State and Federal revenues.  Had we not had the independent city systems that we have, growth could have been more organic without ever resorting to the ridiculousness of our annexation and unbalanced county-conversions (looking at you Queen Anne County).

Thank you for summarizing the city's cancerous issue! We need to take this to Virginia's congressional floors  ASAP. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by DalWill

[Brent114]

Well said coupe! 

It worked!
Sorry to wind y’all up and sorry to leave you hanging all day lol.  I typed out a response this morning while waiting on a tile contractor.  I typed it up in notes then tried to paste it here.  It looked crazy and when I tried to edit the format, UP wasn’t having it. 
 

Other people have already clarified my points and I think y’all get where I’m coming from.   Of course I don’t think any of you are racist. I wouldn’t spend so much time on a site with bad people lol. 

 

 

A section form this morning…

 

I’m accusing no one here of racism…but racism created the narrative that Richmond is a failed city and that’s the lenses through which even the people on this site (myself included) view Richmond.    Not many pages back you’ll find people lamenting the fact that Henrico isn’t running the city.  Henrico gets a pass for allowing the eastern part of the county to languish TODAY whereas people not even alive in the 80’s are still beotching about 6th Street Marketplace.  Find any positive press about Richmond on social media then read the reader comments.  Something more sinister is at play than a financial report being filed in an untimely manner. 

 

[CitiWalker]

15 hours ago, Brent114 said:

Well said coupe! 

It worked!
Sorry to wind y’all up and sorry to leave you hanging all day lol.  I typed out a response this morning while waiting on a tile contractor.  I typed it up in notes then tried to paste it here.  It looked crazy and when I tried to edit the format, UP wasn’t having it. 
 

Other people have already clarified my points and I think y’all get where I’m coming from.   Of course I don’t think any of you are racist. I wouldn’t spend so much time on a site with bad people lol. 

 

 

A section form this morning…

 

I’m accusing no one here of racism…but racism created the narrative that Richmond is a failed city and that’s the lenses through which even the people on this site (myself included) view Richmond.    Not many pages back you’ll find people lamenting the fact that Henrico isn’t running the city.  Henrico gets a pass for allowing the eastern part of the county to languish TODAY whereas people not even alive in the 80’s are still beotching about 6th Street Marketplace.  Find any positive press about Richmond on social media then read the reader comments.  Something more sinister is at play than a financial report being filed in an untimely manner. 

 

I  alluded to this  similarly in suggesting that there is an unwritten biased against the city in whatever it does. Anytime there is a proposal to do anything ( I mean picking up a raisin off the street) in  Richmond and the first thing people do particularly those that don't live in the city look for a reason to find something negative to say. When any of the counties pick up the same raisin it is viewed as the greatest thing since sliced bread. "Look how smart we are to pick up the raisin. "By the way picking up the raisin was a dumb thing for the city to do".  No matter who gets upset the truth of the matter is there is a aura of people in the county somehow feeling that they are better. Even if not directly stated  , the proof lies in the continual bashing of the city whenever an opportunity presents itself.  The counties have plenty of problems which very seldom are spoken about.  The counties have always had the luxury of sitting back and letting the city experiment. The counties have always had the luxury of having more land, The county has always had the luxury of less dense infrastructure to maintain. Sixth Street was an attempt to tie in existing retail  and form new retail. Richmond went through what all other downtowns in the entire United States went through in the mid 80s and early 90s. What happed to 6th Street was not an anomaly. Similarly the same thing happened to Waterside in Norfolk. Everyone started building indoor malls and the counties benefitted from that trend, however indoor malls are not a thing anymore. People  are returning to the city because they realize the value of proximity. In my opinion some people want the city to fail just so they can feel better about themselves. That is my observation living in this area over  50 years.  Because of this type of mindset our regionalism has been very slow to develop although I can see some cooperation starting to happen. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by CitiWalker

[Brent114]

Just today there was an article about new parking meters in Shockoe Bottom.   You wouldn’t believe (ok, we’d all believe) how toxic the reader comments are. 

[I miss RVA]

28 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

Just today there was an article about new parking meters in Shockoe Bottom.   You wouldn’t believe (ok, we’d all believe) how toxic the reader comments are. 

In the Times-Dispatch?  OMG - the reader commentary toxicity there gets absolutely insane -- much more so than it does at Richmond BizSense or even RVA/Reddit. (and it's bad enough at times on the Reddit site).

[Icetera]

33 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

In the Times-Dispatch?  OMG - the reader commentary toxicity there gets absolutely insane -- much more so than it does at Richmond BizSense or even RVA/Reddit. (and it's bad enough at times on the Reddit site).

If you think that is bad, then definitely stay off of the TV news sites.

[wrldcoupe4]

Better off to stay out of the media comments sections in general!

[Brent114]

14 minutes ago, Icetera said:

If you think that is bad, then definitely stay off of the TV news sites.

I think I saw it on the channel 8 or 6 site.  The worst of humanity is on full display. 

[I miss RVA]

55 minutes ago, Brent114 said:

I think I saw it on the channel 8 or 6 site.  The worst of humanity is on full display. 

Wow... that just boggles the mind sometimes. It really does.

[RiverYuppy]

RTD posted some cool graphs that show the RVA and area real estate markets.

The increase in real estate valuations has made it economical to renovate a lot of the abandoned houses in my area. It also helps pad the city's tax coffers and increase demand for local businesses in the neighborhood as the total expendable income increases from more people being in the area.

[Icetera]

4 minutes ago, RiverYuppy said:

RTD posted some cool graphs that show the RVA and area real estate markets.

The increase in real estate valuations has made it economical to renovate a lot of the abandoned houses in my area. It also helps pad the city's tax coffers and increase demand for local businesses in the neighborhood as the total expendable income increases from more people being in the area.

Unfortunately, the first graph is not just a typo but is actually displaying Richmond County rather than Richmond City.



 

Glad to see Richmond on the better end as far as businesses lost.  Surrounding counties are in the upper twenties and thirties:

[Wahoo 07]

Developers plan to build apartments in final two Locks buildings - Richmond BizSense

Last phase of the Locks.  Looks like a good project and several hundred more residents on the Canal Walk is a good thing.   The commercial aspect is nice.  Hopefully they will connect the canal segments too.

[Richmonopoly]

3 hours ago, Wahoo 07 said:

Developers plan to build apartments in final two Locks buildings - Richmond BizSense

Last phase of the Locks.  Looks like a good project and several hundred more residents on the Canal Walk is a good thing.   The commercial aspect is nice.  Hopefully they will connect the canal segments too.

Love this project so much:  I really wish they had incorporated a hotel into this for additional height and ped activity.  

[123fakestreet]

1 hour ago, Richmonopoly said:

Love this project so much:  I really wish they had incorporated a hotel into this for additional height and ped activity.  

Yeah came here for this, I thought at one time it was going to be a hotel? Regardless my biggest takeaway from this plan is they will be uncovering that section of the canal where it currently goes under the building.

 

Always thought it would be really cool if a hotel went there and they kept the current building footprint and had the canal going through the lobby.

[Icetera]

39 minutes ago, 123fakestreet said:

Yeah came here for this, I thought at one time it was going to be a hotel? Regardless my biggest takeaway from this plan is they will be uncovering that section of the canal where it currently goes under the building.

 

Always thought it would be really cool if a hotel went there and they kept the current building footprint and had the canal going through the lobby.

The idea of a canal going though the lobby would be awesome, but it would provide a challenge for public access.

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, 123fakestreet said:

Yeah came here for this, I thought at one time it was going to be a hotel? Regardless my biggest takeaway from this plan is they will be uncovering that section of the canal where it currently goes under the building.

 

Always thought it would be really cool if a hotel went there and they kept the current building footprint and had the canal going through the lobby.

Love this idea!!!  Somehow I don’t believe they will be connecting the canal though. Wonder if what they keep of the existing building will still divide the two canals.  That would suck. 

[Wahoo 07]

Even if the canals aren't physically connected, a seamless pedestrian connection would be a decent consolation prize.  For canal kayaks, canoes, etc., they should create an easy portage option.

[123fakestreet]

Does the canal connect? Right now the western part seemingly dead ends at the Newport Cross then goes down a little controlled waterfall back into the river. The eastern part goes under the referenced Reynolds building (still pedestrian accessible) to a set of locks behind the building next door, then...? under the road? Do they connect underground? Where is the source of the western portion of the canal?

[wrldcoupe4]

That’s right and these buildings are not really near that point. A project for a future day. 

[I miss RVA]

Nice to see that the RVA metro now has 45 of the fastest growing companies in the country for 2021 - up from 41 last year. This is a very good trend that merits monitoring every year, as it could ultimately lead to some really big things down the road for the area.

From the Times-Dispatch:

https://richmond.com/business/watch-now-45-richmond-area-businesses-make-this-years-inc-5000-list-of-the-nations/article_5b8f669d-c166-5e0f-981f-e6b6a960c6f6.html#tracking-source=home-breaking

[RiverYuppy]

I wonder who will take the old UPS building on Broad that was converted into an office.

It's for sale on LoopNet.  

There was a tech company that bought it and renovated it into a pretty cool office. They purchased it in 2015 for $812k.  I'm guessing they went completely remote and are trying to unload it.  At $5.1m it will be interesting to see who grabs it.

Edited August 19, 2021 by RiverYuppy

[wrldcoupe4]

It’s a massive number. Hope they get it but may be challenging 

[I miss RVA]

Interesting article in the Times-Dispatch about home values in the city - they're on the rise - but look at where assessments are going up. 

https://richmond.com/news/local/richmond-is-on-fire-new-assessments-show-average-richmond-home-value-leapt-13-7-see/article_45f29272-aa6b-5a8d-a61f-3180ed1a0e69.html#tracking-source=home-trending

[georgeglass]

2 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Interesting article in the Times-Dispatch about home values in the city - they're on the rise - but look at where assessments are going up. 

https://richmond.com/news/local/richmond-is-on-fire-new-assessments-show-average-richmond-home-value-leapt-13-7-see/article_45f29272-aa6b-5a8d-a61f-3180ed1a0e69.html#tracking-source=home-trending

Yeah, mine went up 23 percent

[I miss RVA]

34 minutes ago, georgeglass said:

Yeah, mine went up 23 percent

OUCH!! That's gotta hurt just a bit.