Hilton Norfolk at The Main

[Dulcinea]

Ethan brings balance to the force.

The rendering and article in the paper has brought a smile to my small-town face. Not complaining about the way our new hotel is (hopefully) going to look, but I'd add some trees on top of the bricked roof ledge.

[brikkman]

It should have some nice views to the west and south....

[urbanvb]

Love the latest image from Pilotonline. Looks so urban and majestic. Gotta love it.

[cpeakesqr]

Ethan brings balance to the force.

The rendering and article in the paper has brought a smile to my small-town face. Not complaining about the way our new hotel is (hopefully) going to look, but I'd add some trees on top of the bricked roof ledge.

I believe one of the original renderings had tree's there... might still be in the plans.

[rusthebuss]

Man the comments from the pilot are just stupid. Someone complains about parking but the idiots didn't read that there is a parking garage with the hotel. I'm at the point that most people that read the pilot are complete morons. One person was complaining about 2 Westins. Norfolk has a different market to attract and thats the cruise ship terminal and for business. I think that they just want something to complain about.

Ethan isn't really a bad guy. I think that he just likes to get people to argue with him. I hope that we can have another get together.

[Glassoul]

Man the comments from the pilot are just stupid. I think that they just want something to complain about.

Internet posts in order of quality. Cat runs across keyboard > Blogs > Networking sites > News media sites > Youtube > Anything to due with politics or governance. There is no point in responding to any of it, you're simply engaging in a futile exercise.

[vdogg]

This article says the the Westin will be downtowns second tallest building, thus confirming the height we see in the rendering. This will probably clock in at just a little taller than the BOA building. There is a video at this link as well. Also, it looks like 23 floors will be the minimum height due to all the condos having already been sold. This makes me breathe a little easier knowing that this won't shrink again.

That product is hotel rooms. 301 of them will be in the Westin alone. The building was initially approved to be 16 stories, but a recent artists rendering shows the new plan at 23 stories. That height makes it the second tallest building in Norfolk.The top six floors are residential condos that have already been pre-sold to the developer's families.

[stillill]

The people commenting on the pilot are absolute morons. Why do I keep punishing myself by going there and reading that inane crap?

Actually, the comments are at least two-sided. I am happy that the optimists have started posting. A year ago, all of the comments on the pilot were negative and one sided. The truth is, this building fills a need in downtown Norfolk and it is beautiful . It is pretty hard to bash it.

[Sky06]

Wow, I'm out of pocket one day and look what happens. I can't wait for this to get started. I think the design is excellent.

[Telmnstr]

*BLUSH* So much Ethan in this thread! I'm flattered everyone!

I like this building. From the rendering, hot stuff. Now if it was illuminated with networked computer controlled lights, slowly rotating shades of blue and green at night... I'd be happy. Hard Rock in Vegas had them, Martin's I think. Drool.

I'm all for private business doing their thing, and making money. My issue is when the small guy ends up footing the bill. And the other issue is say you have a small business that struggles. Then Jillians comes in tax free for a few years. It's not fair to the small business. I know many of the local flavor restaurants in Virginia Beach were hit hard by Town Center. But different topic.

Yes, I do "troll" sometimes. I tried going for the "the old people are ripping off the young people" aspect to see if it would ignite a huge war in the comment box. It failed. The notion of building a Wal*Mart in Ghent because those of us that live in downtown Norfolk could use one, was the only one that really ignited a 20+ post count. They didn't get the NIMBY poke.

As far as hotel rooms being filled, if the private business pays for it, it's their risk.

Don't forget downtown Hampton has ownership of a hotel they can't sell because it failed (from what I'm told). When public - private partnerships go bad!

And I do really believe in the bubble. That isn't a troll.

(I don't think Wachova looks bad either, but I *do* find it amusing the banks build these monumental buildings, but pay crappy rates compared to ING Direct, Emmigrant, etc.). I *LOVE* to point that out. Image is everything, the customer is nothing, etc.

[Glassoul]

I like this building. From the rendering, hot stuff. Now if it was illuminated with networked computer controlled lights, slowly rotating shades of blue and green at night... I'd be happy. Hard Rock in Vegas had them, Martin's I think. Drool.

I'm all for private business doing their thing, and making money. My issue is when the small guy ends up footing the bill. And the other issue is say you have a small business that struggles. Then Jillians comes in tax free for a few years. It's not fair to the small business. I know many of the local flavor restaurants in Virginia Beach were hit hard by Town Center. But different topic.

As far as hotel rooms being filled, if the private business pays for it, it's their risk.

And I do really believe in the bubble. That isn't a troll.

(I don't think Wachova looks bad either, but I *do* find it amusing the banks build these monumental buildings, but pay crappy rates compared to ING Direct, Emmigrant, etc.). I *LOVE* to point that out. Image is everything, the customer is nothing, etc.

It's unfortunate that small companies usually get left out of the huge subsidies that governments routinely hand out to private firms, but that's the way the world works. They employ lots of people, so they get lots of money cause politicians like to be re-elected, even if what they're giving to these firms is arguably against the greater public good (I'm generally against most forms of public subsidies). So yes, there are institutional challenges for any small business owner, but those who have are persistent and have a strong internal locus of control (ie don't blame everyone else when something goes wrong, there's some sort of injustice, etc.) are generally very successful and often end up becoming big companies themselves.

As for the rates on the savings accounts on a bank, only my grandma uses the bank as a savings instrument... Interest bearing bank accounts are about the worst place to earn a return, ING, Citigroup, whatever. You're tech savy, so I'm surprised you would even go this route at all, considering how easy it is to move money around these days over the internet to earn a return wayyy above and beyond a simple interest bank account. Anyway, as you have no doubt learned over the last 2 years, revenues from interest bearing accounts amount to very little of a bank's earnings, so the money for the gleaming towers comes from elsewhere.

As for the issue at hand, the tower looks very nice, reminds me a bit my building (the new business school at my university) that's being constructed. It does seem a little odd that 6 floors of condos have all been sold to family, maybe some of the condos are 2 floors, but whatever, if the families all want to live together, that should be *fun*.

[wrldcoupe4]

This design is much improved over previous ones... and family reunions should be pretty easy for these folks

[spiker3]

I don't have the link handy, but the Pilot did a full article profile on the heads of LTD and their families a few months ago, they came off as extremely close and strong-bonded family proud of their Indian (?) heritage. It added 6 stories to the building, and brings millions in household income to downtown. More power to em!

[lammius]

As happy and excited as I am about this, I saw this picture on City-data and it made me wanna cry.

http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc25829.php

[vdogg]

As happy and excited as I am about this, I saw this picture on City-data and it made me wanna cry.

http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc25829.php

None of the buildings in that pic have been or will be demolished. The one that was is off to the right not in that frame.

[lammius]

None of the buildings in that pic have been or will be demolished. The one that was is off to the right not in that frame.

Really? I thought I had seen different somewhere on this board. I'm very glad! Thanks for the correction. I can put the kleenex back on the shelf now.

[vdogg]

Really? I thought I had seen different somewhere on this board. I'm very glad! Thanks for the correction. I can put the kleenex back on the shelf now.

You can put the kleenex away. The ikon building was the only Granby street side building that was demolished. There were two other buildings in the footprint that were demolished but all the ones in the pic are still standing proud, and will be for the forseeable future.

[vdogg]

This is the building that was demolished.

[metalman]

...and the Decker Building, but it will be rebuilt into the facade of the Westin where the Ikon joined the rest of that block.

...right?

[vdogg]

...and the Decker Building, but it will be rebuilt into the facade of the Westin where the Ikon joined the rest of that block.

...right?

Yes, but Decker and Beecroft and Bull are not on the side of the street that lammius had pictured, and are not in the picture at all. I'm referring specifically to the buildings he was worried about in that pic, which have not been touched.

[norfnative]

:shades: Westin in Norfolk to be second-tallest downtown

[vdogg]

Yes, I can't believe it's been this long since someone replied! This is great news.

Rising to 315 feet, the Norfolk Westin and Conference Center will be downtown's second-tallest building when it opens in 2011.

The 26-story hotel will be three stories taller than officials originally announced for the project at the corner of Granby and Main streets.

[Jim Nasty]

Yes, I can't believe it's been this long since someone replied! This is great news.

From 23-26 stories. Very nice, indeed!

I don't like the idea of a Morton's Steakhouse in it though. We've already got two steakhouses downtown. I'd like to see a Catch 31 type joint there.

[willy]

From the pilot article:

"The region's two tallest buildings are in Virginia Beach."

Huh...come on pilot

[vdogg]

From the pilot article:

"The region's two tallest buildings are in Virginia Beach."

Huh...come on pilot

Actually they are. The Armada Toffler Tower is officially 396ft tall (yeah I know, it's a spire). The Westin is 508 (again with spire), so they are factually correct. Now, I personally feel that dominion is the second tallest because AH just doesn't look it, even with spire. That said, the official numbers are what they are.