Former Resident of HR

I'm sure if push comes to shove, Norfolk will get the LR where it wants it. But the whole idea of NSU not wanting LR near the campus brings up an issue that has troubled me from the beginning. As it stands now, HRT is a complete and total nightmare. Rude drivers, inconsistent service, etc. If the Tide will work, they have to be on top of it like the DC metro. Compare that to the metro/LR systems in Philly and Baltimore and see what I mean. If the latter two are any indication, then NSU has every right to be worried.

To throw my 2c in... that place has never been on my list of places to shop and I live about a ten minute walk away. Weird hours, overpriced and just dingy overall. I was really surprised that they managed to stay open as long as they did. Not trying to kick someone who is down and on the way out, but to stay in the game, you have to adapt. They have done nothing different that I can see that would draw anyone in since farm Fresh opened.

What makes Pelham Place any less deserving of standing than the Guild House? It's an old structure and actually kind of neat inside the courtyard. It needs work, but I would rather see it stand than see the wrecking ball to be replaced by a huge glass box. I think the bottom line is that churches are so much holier than thou that they can do whatever they want. They pay no taxes. And usually make bad neighbors if you are not a member of the congregation. It's too bad that the Guild House is gone but from the first time that I read about the church's plans, I knew that it was fait accompli.

Oh wow I think the sky just fell! Or was that the US economy? Anyway, now we're all going to die because the gridlock is going to be so bad that we won't ever be able to get to the store and buy food now! And think of all the gridlocked ambulances! OMG! People may actually get out of their cars and walk somewhere! Seriously, what difference will it make if they build the roads in one big batch or if it takes them a million years? I have driven in LA, NYC, San Fran, Seattle and DC. All of them have traffic that is worse than our worst nightmare scenarios. All of them have much more dynamic economies than us. Traffic here is awful in a few places and I have not noticed that it has gotten worse or better over the years to be honest. It gets worse from Memorial day to Labor Day. So throw up tolls that are low for commuters ($1-2) and $3-5 for a one-time pop. Cancel the third crossing and make an extra set of reversing tubes at the HRBT/MMBT and put that tunnel linking the two and charge some toll for that. Yeah everyone hates tolls, but what options do we have?

Or maybe it is was because we had this whole discussion when El Pollo Loco was supposed to open in August or so and have a Janaf location. Where the Citgo gas car wash is from what I recall... hence the topic being on here.

Well considering how spread out we are here, this area of Monticello is not far from Colley/Princess Anne/21st Street corridors. Maybe not a nice walk at night but that is why they need a 1000 space garage. No one walks in Hampton Roads silly! Maybe with all these extra apartments (rather than extra EMPTY condos), they will have a need for more shops on 21st/22nd. They have plenty of room to expand. As for the library site, they are probably hoping to either keep that for themselves or develop it into something more commercial (and at a higher profit).

The reality is probably that the chains that want to be in dt Norfolk are there (at Waterside and Macarthur). So the stupid building owners will probably end up killing the goose that lays the golden egg by charging higher rents and chasing out businesses. Typical Norfolk mentality for you.

What chains are moving into Granby? The only action I am seeing there is more and more "for rent" signs in the windows. Most of the places left are unique in name if not concept. Drove past the "new" Pizza Hut which is actually just a take-out place in some really crappy looking mini-mall across from the U-Haul lot. The old one on 21st could be something cool considering the location. If Granby/Ghent were struggling to fill space when the economy was "good", I hate to think about the next few years ahead as things slow down.

Or a not so high paying job that you actually enjoy going to every day...

Try doing grad school there... Let me just say I could be driving a very nice German sedan for the amount that I owe to the US government via ODU.

OK a few observances here, nothing new... The Village is coming along very well. Too bad Norfolk couldn't have pushed for more of this type of development before the bubble popped. This would be a good way to work retail/housing into the Fort Norfolk area. But... the book store is a big let down. It's small and feels like a two story Waldenbooks. Nothing that would attract non-ODU students, alumni (myself) or even students for that matter (too expensive when the cheaper one is right down the street). TCC bagged the better deal with B&N. Maglev is up and running soon? LOL. I won't even start to think about how long ago it was supposed to be up and running. I think that I was still an undergrad and I graduated with my master's 2.5 years ago, yikes. Well if it beats the Tide into operation, I would be shocked. On that note, has ODU thought of doing some express bus routes with HRT that meet up with light rail? Or better yet, shuttles that offer regular service to DT via Ghent that don't go through the slums and don't take 1 hour? I always wondered why they didn't do some express routes to that Silverlake (?) station in VB either. Seems like it would be cheaper than building so many garages. Finally, I am disappointed that the grocery will be a Farm Fresh. I stopped by a Bloom in Chesapeake and was very impressed. Farm Fresh at Harbour Heights is barely on par with that... Too bad that Bloom won't be on the west side of Norfolk but I guess that it boils down to where the Food Lions were. Farm Fresh is just tired and lame. Maybe they can back out and get another store in there.

Pizza Hut wanted to demolish its current building and rebuild years ago (we're talking late 90's) but the restrictive building codes would have meant that it would have to be up to the curb and fit in with the overall design of Ghent. PH wanted more of a parking lot or something like that. The strip mall next door somehow got around that (maybe because it was a pre-existing structure being added on to?). I share your concerns about the empty space. 21st Street seems to be having a lot more trouble keeping businesses in the past couple of years. The new development behind The Palace Shops is still mostly vacant. I don't think that this corner will stay empty for long, but I didn't think the old Farm Fresh would still be vacant all these years later either. I like the uniqueness of Ghent, but even a few chains would be better than so many empty storefronts.

SCM... Norfolk is a big retirement area for military and a lot of NY/NJ people. The attractions are the nicer than New England winters, cheaper (comparatively speaking) housing prices, the Atlantic Ocean (duh), etc. But what I meant is that the city leaders' vision for Norfolk is about as exciting as plans for the latest retirement home tend to be. They love anything colonial, bland, vanilla, etc. Now as for the after hours bars that are able to run, don't they run under the pretense of being a "private club" (like the Elk's Lodge, etc.)? I think in that case, you have to be sponsored by someone and you are a "member". Wow it has been years since I stepped into Bugatti's so I don't quite remember how it works. Can you also bring your own hard liquor in and store it on the premises?

Portland was the armpit of the west for most of the 50's-70's. As someone from the West Coast, I grew up with stories of how filthy and terrible Portland was. It took some vision and some political power to change things around. It was only in the 80's that it started looking up and only since the mid 90's has it been such a "hot spot". Norfolk has a great location, good climate and could reap the benefits of some of that. However, I think that our backwards looking city council/mayor who want to redevelop Norfolk in a 60's fashion (tear everything down and push everyone out) will continue to be our biggest liability. They do not want modern projects, they do not want modern solutions and they do not want a modern city. What I really suspect that they want is for Norfolk to become the world's largest retirement home.

I am sure that the Farm Fresh will blossom in due time. I think it is a nice mix (but yes, the salad bar is pretty lame) of things. I am very happy that there is not a Whole Foods there as they are way overpriced. Trader Joe's owner (Aldi) is cheap and would not put a store in an area like that (high rent prices...). As for the Farm Fresh conspiracy theory, I am sure that it is like that wherever you go. Farm Fresh held the lease up on the building that houses Harris Teeter for YEARS (and I am talking like 6-8) to stop competition. They are owned by Richfood which is one of the top three grocers in the nation (owns Albertson's and Jewel as well). As for them being able to keep out Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, I think it is more market forces (or lack thereof) that keep these stores from locating here.

What do you mean "yeah it's a supertarget"? It's not even built yet... You have info or ??

There was an article today in the road warrior's column about Red Mills Commons and how it has no sidewalks. It's actually one of the worst new put together strip malls in my opinion. It just looks cheap and like they cut every corner they could. I guess that they have a captive audience so who cares? Anyway, there was a blurb at the end of the article about how there is going to be a new Target going up there. Kind of interesting. Anyone know any details? Maybe a Supertarget to go toe to toe with the Super Walmart? Here's the link: http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?...&ran=124595 OK update here... so digging a little deeper I see that Red Mill Commons has won design awards and was voted "best of the beach" in 06. Must have been because it was new. Not that I am a fan of strip malls, but I think there nicer looking places in VB by far. Even the Haygood Center's facelift includes bricks and sidewalks through the parking lot. Maybe I am on another planet but I have always thought that RMC looks like some cheap stucco strip mall you would find in So Cal or Florida. This is Virginia, where are all the bricks???

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?...6&ran=92808 Interesting story about the vacant Irish Pub on Granby. It's too bad that the owners of the building don't have a "vacancy clause" or that the city can pass a "vacancy ordinance". Buildings should not be left to sit and rot (especially on Granby which is chock full of empty and emptying businesses). His lease runs out in 2014? And there is nothing the ownders can do? Or maybe there is nothing that they care to do because of the fact that someone is paying rent? And also, about the Prince's Book Store... big giant yawn. I live within walking distance and rarely set foot in that place. It's actually less of an exciting book store for me than Barnes & Noble. I wish them luck as an independent business, but Marco757 is right about the place. It could be more but it is just... blah.

I think they both are crap. Fast-casual Mexican is... bleah But on another note, I saw the Target at Hilltop tonight and it looks like they are doing a massive overhaul. Does anyone have any info on whether or not it will be a SuperTarget or is it just going to be a huge Target?

I saw that tha Baja Fresh near Lynnhaven Mall is now closed down. Any info on that?

Uhm... they jury is still out on this for me. What I see happening in the near future is more and more "bottom dollar" (read: dumpy, sparce) and "Harris Teeter" (read: overpriced) groceries pushing out the middle market stores. However warm and fuzzy HT makes me feel, I still feel ripped off on my way out he door. And no matter how much I save at WalMart, the awful service and overall scuzziness usually makes me feel cheated out of my money as well.

Express busses... would you use them? http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?...7&ran=91054 I think that it would catch on if the tolls were imposed on the tunnels. I can't really do the bus thing because my job involves driving around many days out of the week. Nice concept and we'll see if it catches on. I just don't know why they are making it silver and black when they plan on having the LR be the white/blue/green colors (like the busses).

Before that remodel it was a great place. I know someone who worked there and I guess that the man who owned it married another woman after his wife's death. The new wife did not want Bazemore's nor did she want the Larchmont Shop and helped in their demise. I went in there after the remodel and it looked eerie, with empty shelves and limited selection. What would be nice is if the owners of the building would really court something small, like a Trader Joe's or something. It is a nice building and a wasted retail space.

Looks like Bottom Dollar is wiping out the west side Food Lions in Norfolk... http://www.dailypress.com/business/local/d...ness-localheads I'm more interested in the Bloom stores, but looks like that is a VB/Chesapeake thing only. OK, update: I had to go past the Colley Village Food Lion and saw all this orange everywhere in the parking lot, so I stopped in. It's under renovation now, looks like they took out the bakery and deli, widened the aisles and have all these "closeout prices" on tons of stuff (I'm assuming things that won't be carried at the Bottom Dollar). Actually, it doesn't look that bad. I am sure that it will appeal to the Park Place and starving student crowd. I never liked Food Lion anyway, but from what the posters and stuff say, it looks a little better than the sterile white/blue design of Food Lion.

Although I too am sad to see Relative Theory and Lambda Rising go from the area, I think they both left a lot to be desired. The conceptual idea was good, but both places were always dead. Relative Theory had a very limited selection as well. Neither were places that were cool to just hang out in and I am not sure how a place gets to that level. What is sad to me is that two more indies are now gone and we are left with more vacant retail space. DT still has way too much vacant space and Ghent is getting there.