journiyin

Yes, while chewing my filet mignon at the Businessman of the Year reception dinner... for me:)

Thankfully you were never the only person who thought that...

Or it could be that the architectural plans arent approved by the city as of yet. That is the only transparency oppurtunity that I could see... someone could call the city to see about the submission.

Yup the bullets keep flying and the drugs are really starting to flow... So I contacted the non-emergency police line and let them know to start looking in certain places...

This is partially off topic, so rather than crowd the actual thread this belongs in with an opinion piece... I thought I would put it here... Yesterday while going home to get something during lunch (still live in Berry Burk) I parked under the John Marshall canopy since all the close spots were gone. I have had to do this on a few occassions and no one ever seems to care. Well... someone finally did. When I returned to my car I found a hand-written note saying how on the next violation my car would be towed. I looked around and noticed 5 other cars in the area, a guy walking to his car, and no other notes. I preceded to say 'whatever', throw the note on the ground and open my car. Well, I should have guessed. That guy was the one who wrote the note. He must have seen me chuck it. He preceded to come right up to me and get into my face. He told me not to park there any more. I asked him on who's authority. Apparently John Marshall now has a parking attendant. A not-so-nice parking attendant. I told him politely that I wouldnt do it anymore. He obviously didn't hear that because he said back to me that I 'should appreciate the historic nature of the building and not defile it with parking.' Well, that was about it. So I told him that if he appreciated the building so much he should tell his boss to hurry up and develop it. He should also get the police to patrol his building to curb the budding drug trade and vagrancy problem that is occurring inside of it. And he should also fire his parking attendant. I was late for work as it was, so I got in my car and drove off at that point. Now, I know this pertains to the John Marshall, but it is more an aggravated response. As an aside... I noticed when I got home, people where moving furniture out of the hotel itself. That might be a positive sign, aside from the fact that they are all of a sudden concerned about people parking on their property (maybe this project is alive suddenly????)

Well if the building is done in 2-3 years, that means the market could be booming again... so, maybe they will build it without too much speculation?

You would be correct, and there isnt much room on the back side to work with because of the parking lot in the back. They are giving themselves an alley so to speak with which to bring in heavier equipment and not worry about damaging their neighbors.

Can anyone find a website for fallout? I am at a loss on finding one... Burt... Ill see if the rend. footprint has increased or not...

before this gets lost... i have seen some people going in and out lately, but not construction types. I have no idea what this signifies... but obviously the project is moving somewhere.

best place to get old maps is the county tax assessors office. they maintain all the oldest records. Just ask them what they have stocked away and to peruse it if possible. They may even let you scan them if they are in good enough condition.

Just a quick update on this... they have placed wheel stops on the gravelled lot and are now parking cars here. here's hoping that the money gets approved quickly, we don't need another surface lot!

Yup, since those 3 buildings next door are still in use. So I think I am reading all this correctly (and I know the theory is sound also, having had it pounded in my head) that there is a 192,000 sf parking garage going in on the base of this... and it has a 22,000 sf footprint. That would be a 8 or 9 story or so parking deck, then the office and residential. With ground floor retail, you could be looking at the deck ending up at the 10th story. That isnt unusual in places with high water tables. Does anyone know if there is plans to go further down under the existing buildings and bury some more levels of the parking? That would make the most sense to me... if you have to either drive up or down 4 floors, as opposed to up 8. Going further with this... if you look at the rendering there is a significant architectural break at about the 10th story... this could be consistent with the end of the parking deck and the beginning of the 'usable' floor space. As far as the parking ratios go, in a shared parking situation you can occassionally get away with 1 space per 400sf (office or retail) when the businesses close at 5. Leaving only restuarants open. In that case, there are parking decks in the area which are entirely empty after 5... hence why Capital Ale is allowed the full use of the deck next door after a certain point in the day. If Centennial has worked out a similar deal, then they could provide parking elsewhere and reduce their needed expense on a parking deck.

Id say they are right on schedule then (how rare for a government project) and they are 95% done with the demo. They only have to remove some minor trash and any equipment leftover.

The marriot that they did in VB was a substantial project... it had an attached mixed-use parking garage and shop part attached. The way that property is set up, the could have the entrance to the parking deck along 6th st, and still get 3 or 4 stories of parking before you hit a ground level entrance at the highest point of main st. Almost a 30 foot drop off from one corner to the to the other (in a caddy corner kind of way).

Im doing my part... one beer and one apartment at a time... incidently, I do 98% of my shopping within downtowns limits...

Bush Economy = Credit Crunch.... caused by: Spending Home Equity Lines Credit Cards Housing boom... All ways for us to be doing brisk business at the more expensive sections of town

There are really only two vineyards in New Kent... one I cant remember the name (and I do believe it is the one you are thinking of) and the other is Farms of New Kent.

That and all the dignitaries coming into town to open the 1 billion in new construction going on. Thanks BRAC

Bruce Smith's proejct is in the Town Center, the Hilton is at 31st Street, where I used to go to the beach, so the answer is yes, that is what I meant

Im impressed that he actually backed off of something.

Ill get in touch with the city planner responsible for this project and get us an update then. Quite possible it was deferred.

try this on for size... and if you dont love the place I would be shocked... it is an experience unto itself... http://www.silverdiner.com/ Blue Plate specials are back in STYLE!

Oh if we could only get that diner to go closer to downtown... it has all the classics. I will gladly dish rave reviews about that place once it opens. (I have desired one here for ages, seeing as how I used to practically live in the one in Virginia Beach)

Though it does make me wonder where the 'bad' is being smoked out to....

Woop for one more construction site within a block of me... ill keep my eyes peeled for that fence. Lord knows I have groaned every time I walk by this site and see nothing going on.