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Downtown Norfolk Progress


varider

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I agree 100% ^^ and I think that LR expansion to ODU and the Naval Base will be the greatest factor in that critical mass. One would think all the improvements you listed would result in a more attractive location for business relocations/ start-ups. Norfolk has to be the only city with this many amenities and no professional sports team.

Edited by varider
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I agree. The other place that we're starting to see some change is with the city having a healthy respect for the so-called "creative class." They've been the ones bringing up all of the issues that build a city's culture (public art, street festivals, food trucks, small business assistance) and have been challenging city council to make them happen. Council is starting to see that there are some younger folks who have great ideas and that there are indeed inexpensive ways to create vibrancy in your city. It's exciting times in Norfolk. Tonight's street festival should be fun too.

Edited by Ghentite
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I agree 100% ^^ and I think that LR expansion to ODU and the Naval Base will be the greatest factor in that critical mass. One would think all the improvements you listed would result in a more attractive location for business relocations/ start-ups. Norfolk has to be the only city with this many amenities and no professional sports team.

Norfolk gets compared to Charlotte every so often, but it really looks like it's coming into its own and finally realizing its potential. I'd still like to see a large arena development downtown, but that appears to be VB's project. But yes, Norfolk is definitely coming into its own, and is offering a lot of options (even the rehashed Waterside). In addition to pro sports, I'd like to see another Fortune 500 company build a 30 story tower downtown in the next 5-10 years. Something with a signature design.

 

However, I was doing some digging around, and apparently Jacksonville is considering LRT. Their local outlets have used Norfolk as a bit of a case study, and paint a great picture of the city. This article is from 6 years ago, but it offers a great review, and the comments are overwhelmingly praising of Norfolk. Meanwhile, this one is from late 2011, and the reaction is about the same. And this is a smaller market with an NFL team. We're doing something right here!

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Funny you mention Ft. Norfolk, there is a draft package for updating the ordinances and zoning downtown focused on creating the Arts district, but it also ear marks other specific areas of the city including Ft Norfolk and updating the zoning (from industrial to potential mixed use) there as well.

 

However, apparently there is a Va Beach resident that owns most of the waterfront property there.  He has business partners in it (who are minority owners) and apparently they're driving a hard bargain for all of that property (can't say I blame them) preventing the city from just taking it on the cheap and developing it.

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I used to work in that part of town...across from my former job along the Elizabeth River, used to be warehouses, which were torn down 5 or 6 years ago. There's also a concrete walkway right on the water, which would work great for a town center type of setup. I always thought a few restaurants and mid-rise apartment buildings and businesses (anywhere from 6-10 stories, along the lines of the medical building overlooking Brambleton) would work very well there, esp. with that walkway...you could call it the "Fort Norfolk Riverwalk".

 

However, I'd love to see a return to the Fort Norfolk of the 50s, which kinda reminds me of Huntersville, with its mix of houses and businesses (mostly corner shops). I kinda wish Norfolk had revitalized that part of town the way they did with Ghent in the 60s and 70s...

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  • 4 weeks later...

I used to work in that part of town...across from my former job along the Elizabeth River, used to be warehouses, which were torn down 5 or 6 years ago. There's also a concrete walkway right on the water, which would work great for a town center type of setup. I always thought a few restaurants and mid-rise apartment buildings and businesses (anywhere from 6-10 stories, along the lines of the medical building overlooking Brambleton) would work very well there, esp. with that walkway...you could call it the "Fort Norfolk Riverwalk".

 

However, I'd love to see a return to the Fort Norfolk of the 50s, which kinda reminds me of Huntersville, with its mix of houses and businesses (mostly corner shops). I kinda wish Norfolk had revitalized that part of town the way they did with Ghent in the 60s and 70s...

I was born in Huntersville, that area did not have the chance Ghent had during that era or like era.  Which is a shame, because they do not build homes like that anymore anywhere.  Its rare to find a home with a backstair case inside the home. That is how my grandmother's home was, lots of rooms, lots of closets, things were sectioned off, everything had a place.  My mom never wanted to sell the home, but she was over ruled by her brothers and sisters.  What you have in that area now is a bunch of people who were left homes and/or the homes are now rented to people who do not care.  The people who appreciated those homes died off a long time ago and you are kind of left with decents there of..  That was a working class area when I was little kid, now its filled with a bunch of renters and people who own homes by their mothers and fathers who do not appreciate what they have.

 

But you are right, the small streets, the homes, that urbanized suburia feel would have been a nice addition today.

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http://hamptonroads.com/2013/05/hampton-roads-apartment-market-getting-overbuilt

 

 

 



 

Bulldozers are making room for new high-end apartments and retail space on Granby and Freemason streets and across the alley on Boush Street in downtown Norfolk.

Buddy Gadams, the developer behind the yet-to-be-named project, is building 136 luxury apartments from the ground up, and he isn’t stopping there. He plans to develop three more apartment projects downtown in the next 18 months, but he isn’t ready to discuss details.

All that is in addition to the Gadams-owned Wainwright Building downtown, which he is converting from offices to apartments. He’s developing apartments in Norfolk’s East Beach community, too.

 

 

 

 

 

By the way, I was downtown a couple times this weekend and its definitely becoming more crowded and looking like a bigger city. I cant believe were hoping for even more new developments in the future. 

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I was there for Beer Fest. Afterward, you actually saw people walking Granby and Monticello...this was around 6:30 pm. Encouraging to see our little downtown getting a little more traffic. I'd love to see it on a weekday, esp. if City Council can make up its mind on food trucks and Waterside 3.0.

 

ETA: Maybe they are allowing it after all...from "Hungry for Food Trucks in Norfolk"'s Facebook page:

 

 

Come to tomorrow's Norfolk City Council meeting @ 7pm to hear about the ordinance change allowing (yes, we said allowing) food trucks in downtown. Here's a snippet from the published agenda, and you can click through for more detail on tomorrow's session:

Letter from the City Manager and an Ordinance entitled, “An Ordinance to amend and reordain Chapter 42, Article 1-A of the Code of the City of Norfolk, Virginia, 1979, entitled “Vendors”, SO AS TO accommodate the operation of food trucks and pushcarts in designated areas and to update other regulations,” will be introduced in writing and read by its title." –http://ow.ly/lde0E

 

This sounds promising...

Edited by BFG
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Too early to tell but most of the land is already developed.  Most likely, the old, empty storefronts down there will start to be filled (as seen during better block).  Before this vote, landlords of those buildings were restricted from allowing most small business owners from renting those spaces because of the zoning restraints.  Now they're allowed to accept most of those business proposals and rent their spaces out to them.

 

For example, if 2 years ago someone came to the Texaco building owner (one of the iconic buildings of that area) and proposed a brewery for that building, they wouldn't be allowed by the city under the former zoning, so the owner would have to reject them.  Now they can say yes and it's completely legal.

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Once that part of town is cleaned up a little more, I'd love to see at least the top two floors of the Texaco building converted to affordable living. Rents not exceeding $1,000 and/or condos not rising above the mid-to-upper-100s.

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Once that part of town is cleaned up a little more, I'd love to see at least the top two floors of the Texaco building converted to affordable living. Rents not exceeding $1,000 and/or condos not rising above the mid-to-upper-100s.

yeah, even if it is only small studio apts. We need options for the young professional or single person.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone willing/able to get a few pictures of some of the on-going construction downtown? :)

I do not have any of construction, but I do have pictures of DT at night I would like display, but i'm  not seeing how to do it on this site. It seems the only way is to link it from somewhere else..

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