Kevin Cheph Randall

I believe most places in America are to the point it can no longer be ignored. Affordable housing can no longer be an afterthought, most Americans can't afford rent on a single income. Norfolk(Hampton Roads too) can't afford to build only with profit in mind, our area doesn't have the economy or industries to combat high rent. Larger & Richer cities are already forcing the issue, Norfolk needs to be on the forefront our area just doesn't offer enough to also be EXTEMELY EXPENSIVE. Portsmouth was literally voted best city for 1st time buyers for this reason.... ITS CHEAP we need to make Hampton Roads cheap as cheap as possible to stay relevant

I actually think the mall will fine in time, its a lot of residential development is coming, people will need a place to congregate and shop. It will also be within walking distance of a lot of Norfolk's new development. Crime will be coming down fast as well with the demolition of the housing projects. I cant see why it wouldn't survive it will be within walking distance of a couple thousand people no other local mall is within walking distance of a couple hundred. Norfolk can use more local culture, Selden Arcade is what Macarthur should go for IMO, more local shops, more actual local culture/ arts. Or maybe a indoor amusement park, you have a lot of cruise ship tourist gives them a perfect location to spend a day. Get rid of 3/4 of the parking decks, build more apartments.

Let's have some fun, what is your favorite urban street in the metro? Like other members have stated we need to talk, get excited about the area. Maybe that will get others interested as well. Newport News: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0331775,-76.4619886,3a,75y,165.43h,76.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr0kELCCxYqNIvGGEMF3MDQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Hampton: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0258185,-76.3433307,3a,75y,162.14h,95.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sTgCo9BDA6cNsPrUnHzRfjw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en-US Suffolk: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.728428,-76.5838534,3a,75y,263.07h,81.68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ssgij-YSHNpqfVu8MI0V2Pg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Chesapeake: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8173574,-76.275631,3a,75y,265.29h,74.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1syAO22HWv9S5h9GV7gemfQg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Virginia Beach: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8611844,-75.9786495,3a,75y,351.21h,92.08t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3Yf9OvmiYUTsZvSy4w2UGg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Norfolk: https://www.google.com/maps/@36.849043,-76.2909592,3a,75y,38.75h,86.17t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0e4aVJ9dJxQM87R9gqEOgQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Norfolk:https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8685758,-76.2893196,3a,75y,133.61h,78.43t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swZAfmtxn3y5RxzvN1PKfvA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Norfolk:https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8682941,-76.2977192,3a,75y,21.08h,75.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_r5GIXKUB8ZPTOWLo2Vrsg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US Portsmouth:https://www.google.com/maps/@36.8353798,-76.3003551,3a,75y,103.91h,85.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqBVNqbafMA7QaKIHsij-hg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-US If I missed any feel free to add , I'm going with my home team High St is my fav urban street in the area if Portsmouth can find a way to extend the storefronts and shaded sidewalks it'd wouldn't be close for me. Granby in DT Norfolk and Atlantic Ave is also nice.

This!!! Portsmouth is very good about staying out of the way of development, it has to be. Our council just seem to always fight each other, and make a mockery of the city every 6 months. Norfolk needs to learn a thing a from Portsmouth..... Just like Portsmouth it doesn't really have the luxury of continually being such a hard place to build. Norfolk has taken/is taking some huge L's lately and its bad especially for the area. Just painful to witness especially with cities Like Richmond, and Arlington starting to really kick ass. Like sheesh Hampton Roads get it together.......

It's maddening but VA Beach doesn't want it, and it has more to do with Norfolk's Demographics if you know what I mean.

No lol Cordish got done dirty. But it is what it is. It's not just a random neighborhood it's an area of the city that was undeveloped for like the last 20+ yrs. My issue is Portsmouth choose the better location, why? Because Rivers will anchor a new entertainment district in the city, Downtown will also get an added amenity with Headwaters is just a ferry ride away so it's a win win honestly. Now Portsmouth can do other things with it's waterfront like build more residential.

5 miles isn't much when tourist will stay in both Norfolk and or Portsmouth and drive as far away as Williamsburg or the Oceanfront. A casino within 5 miles of Downtown Norfolk is a major win for the city until Headwaters comes along. And HR is a Regular area with Regular people, it's not far fetched that the Regular casino would be favored by our rather Regular locals. A resort casino would seem to be more pushed toward tourist to me, so the lion share should go to Rivers probably. The jail will be moved they wouldn't move it without a second location ready, per the sheriff request. Btw it's no way in Hell that area of Portsmouth could support a casino of this size, and please show me a Walmart that looks like Rivers I'll wait ........ Most casinos are large flat building so I'm not sure where tf the Walmart reference is coming from.

Norfolk deserves to fail it undercut Cordish and is the only casino without a national conglomerate to back it. Norfolk casino just seems like a fu*k you to Portsmouth and it rushed everything to one up a city in it's region. Alot of money is also going into shoring up the waterfront how much of the 500 million will be eaten by that alone. Considering that land has sat vacant for 20+yrs I'm sure it won't be cheap. I don't have any inside info other than what I see. And what I've seen is bothersome, had Rivers been this slow I would have the same energy. I've been on these type development forums for quite some time,anytime something is moving slow or not at all it's not a good sign. I can't recall any project being delayed and still living up to expectations and Headwaters is probably no exception. Honestly I'm only returning the energy you'll have for Rivers you all would hate for Rivers to be better because it in Portsmouth and that would sting your Norfolk ego the most. If I'm not mistaken Bristol also will have a temporary location in an effort to be the 1st in Virginia obviously these casinos need skin in the game before Rivers open. The only real casino in Virginia for at least a year or more will be Rivers. In fact Norfolk was so ready to beat out Portsmouth they were going to sell the Indian Tribe land within the city. Land that the tribe would control completely that how greedy Norfolk looks to me and yes it pisses me off that the city operates like that. Like I said yesterday Norfolk could do alot more to be relevant

We'll see Pamunkey also had no plans to build anything in Norfolk until everything and everywhere else fell thru. Im also not to keen on only '1' billionaire backing it, so it would only take for him to back out to turn Headwaters into a tailspin. Facts are headwaters should have started by now and it's not. I'm not buying 500 million either consider all the other larger casinos are investing much less. Pamunkey dropping 500 million dollar on it's 1st casino seems a bit pipe dreamish.

Well she has been pushing for a casinos for 22 yrs, she brought the players together to make it happen. Norfolk voted for a casino that is why they'll be building one, Lucas made that vote possible in the 1st place. Btw River's knew Headwaters was coming as well they seemed to not be swayed either, in fact they dropped the hotel from their plans. People are coming to gamble, not a resort in Norfolk , a tiny resort at that. A resort that will need the amenities of the area to be relevant. And hot mess how?? Because of Confederate Monuments thing?.... You suggesting they should have stood, she also beat all charges. So Lucas was on the right side of history my friend, Lucas also had a hand in Portsmouth Unity Festival, Lucas is the type of politician HR needs someone not afraid to take risk. Even if it means Norfolk get benefited too. I'm not buying the explanation for the temporary casino. Either they're opening a temporary casino because Rivers has such a headstart it could established itself as not only the region but the State's best casino for a couple years or they will delay this project for some time until the economy recovers.

How so? This is the tribal mentality Hampton Roads have to let go of like now. Who care if Norfolk has the best in the area. You understand Rivers is already a win for Norfolk and the region. Norfolk hotels can and will say it's a casino 5 miles from Downtown. The casino adds an amenity this area doesn't have it's a huge positive for the hospitality industry in Norfolk. Especially considering Rivers will be a better entertainment option than anything Norfolk has to offer now. Norfolk or any other city in HR shouldn't feel they deserve better than the next city. This area should only be one city and anything done to help the region should be championed by the region and not force into unnecessary competition and toxicity. That's why SITW left completely, no one area really deserves it because we aren't unified.

Lucas is responsible for all the casino in this state, not just the Portsmouth casino. How do you have no doubts about Headwaters??. They're already trying to put a temporary casino in Harbor Park, that a totally new wrench. It's those decision that you all should be more in tuned with. Why hasn't Pamunkey started building and how long of a temporary casino will they need? So until Headwaters builds and opens I'm sure Rivers will be far superior to it, and that's based in fact. .

Ok let's put this thing into perspective, this is Pamunkey 1st casino, it went from a 700 million dollar investment to 300 million, the footprint is smaller,the tower is shorter. We're on the cusp of a recession, building cost are also higher. Pamunkey has been nearly dead silent since announcing the plan to start this spring. Summer is 2 weeks away. Danville casino who has the backing of a much larger company is already delayed....... And Pamunkey has yet to start. You guys speak as if its a done deal, by state law they could build an even smaller casino at 200 million dollar. I don't care what you all believe Pamunkey will bring, this thing still has no traction. And you believe it'll be better than Rivers ?? , a proven company How? I wouldn't hang my hat on a couple of renderings, or what's on paper. It's starting to look like Headwaters will change again. All the while Rivers is just moving along as planned, so we'll see. That remains to be seen and you guys are getting way ahead of yourself for a project yet to even be started. Headwaters could still end up being just a regular casino.

I also base my opinion on my time in the hotel industry. It wasn't uncommon to have tourists stay in Norfolk or Portsmouth but drive to the Oceanfront or Williamsburg 25 and 45 mins away from DT Norfolk and Portsmouth. People are willing to travel for a good time and considering DT Norfolk is only 10 mins from Rivers that's an easy drive and a abundance of hotel rooms. Portsmouth isn't Danville or Bristol, it actually places to stay already within 15 mins of the casino.

I don't believe seeing Dover or Ocean Downs with a hotel, and those places stay packed with buses all year long. I think your over estimating the importance of a hotel, especially in the case of Headwaters they literally are in walking distance of 6+ hotels. And I can't believe that the quality of Headwaters is going to be that much better, they haven't even started building and want to put a temporary casino on Harbor park. That's the kind of decision that will have people not too excited to even come back let alone visit. Where exactly are you guys getting this local casino thing from.... The area is big and a casino is only an added amenity I'm sure thousands of tourist will come just to make the vacation more exciting. Norfolk done some underhanded buisness to get this casino. Cordish should have had the opportunity to build 1st. The fact that Norfolk didn't go about this in good nature could come back to bite the city. I believe Danville casino is being delayed and considering Pamunkey is a tribe casino things may not go as planned. Plus cordish probably has deeper pocket and access to better developers than Pamunkey. I just feel like Norfolk is picking up leftovers, everywhere else Pamunkey wanted to build didn't want them including their native territorial lands. And considering Richmond literally courted 5 different companies and Norfolk just took the 1st opportunity is worrying too. Norfolk should of had more competition for this casino especially considering the national casinos willing to open in Richmond. But in the ever going one up attitude in Hampton Roads, Norfolk needed a casino because Portsmouth was getting theirs. I honestly hope it bits them in the ass so the area can stop doing redundant sh*t. I hate to keep comparing to Richmond but look at what that city is doing with it baseball stadium, and arena. Norfolk competes with Portsmouth and that just sad, considering it so much more Norfolk could focus on to keep it relevant. Rant over

Sorry to tell you all Norfolk casino probably will NOT be better than Portsmouth casino, and if Richmond votes Yes for their casino then I believe they'll have the premier casino in the state. Rivers casino being the 1st in the state is huge, especially now when 2-3 casino are starting in a temporary location. I think Rivers is betting on cashing in early, and often. Also I can only imagine rooms in the area will start to see more traffic in 2023 due to Rivers, so it's kind of an area win they aren't building the hotel now. I can imagine a courtyard or some smaller hotel chain may build in the area of the casino soon, it's alot of open land. Rivers will also be a concert venue. Norfolk casino isn't moving fast and honestly whenever a project moves slow the more likely it will be changed, and usually changes comes at a negative for the overall project. I really wanted Norfolk to get a big name casino in the area like Caesar or MGM I believe those companies have the means to have built Norfolk casino quicker. If Rivers becomes established as a good casino, Headwaters will have a hard time trying to catch up, I'm almost sure that's why all these companies want a temporary location to establish some footing before Rivers becomes the state ONLY fully operational casino.

Mexican white sauce was created in Norfolk, Planter's peanuts was founded in Suffolk, Yock was 1st made in Portsmouth, Edwards and Smithfield ham, T.O Williams Virginia red sausages(Portsmouth), also alot of early American cuisine started with slave traditions. So alot of food has roots in and around this area we just aren't credited for it. Watch the video below, if I'm not mistaken he has other videos on YouTube explaining vinegar based BBQ, we're developed in Virginia and there are recipes quite old written by slaves. Btw I'm a chef so I know a lil bit about food lol. There is also a local dish called Crab Norfolk, don't know how known it is tho.

My thought behind the comment wasn't a shot at Norfolk. But more of a nuclear option that cities should start to weigh. I agree with you wholeheartedly that Norfolk is established and has a history that stretches back to the 1600s. It's also Norfolk's established history that would supersede any municipal title. What I'm trying to say is Norfolk is Norfolk period. The town of Norfolk, The district of Norfolk, The Burrough of Norfolk, the City of Norfolk wouldn't matter because of Norfolk's established history. Core Norfolk wouldn't lose it's identity ,with that said Norfolk's population is far too great it exceeds 50,000 people so it's not possible for Norfolk to revert to town status. Not to be rude either, the stance you took is misguided. Your first reaction was to defend Norfolk's border as if being an independent city has help Norfolk, or Portsmouth at all. But your stance is one that many Virginian's take, the sense of identity supercede rationality. If Norfolk could lose it's borders right now, it wouldn't lose any identity locally, and the benefits would far outweigh the negatives. I personally wouldn't care what they called the area, as long as we can unite as one.

I think it would be good to actually get these issues back into the courts, it's time for Virginia to right the wrongs of it's past.

Btw I didn't know Norfolk's airport was 75yrs old. Over 1 million people have moved to the area in that time, and still relying on a 75 yr old airport is.....not the way

Maybe I over spoke I wouldn't say peeked but let's say plateaued. There are somethings to be very excited about for sure, but all in all Norfolk has no pull. That's not just a Norfolk problem but a Hampton Roads problem no city has it's "THING" figured out. The area as a whole just doesn't seem to do anything remotely progressive, we're always on the outside looking in. While I remain optimistic it's hard to overlook the facts, we're not doing anything different than what we did before. So I would suggest we just do something different. After some research the fiscal stress is above average to high in all of south Hampton Roads cities, only VB has below average fiscal stress. I propose all cities revert to towns, since there are no counties is Hampton Roads it would throw a wrench in the system and force the state and area to find a better solution. Or maybe Chesapeake, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Portsmouth all revert to towns allowing a larger county to be created. From Virginiaplaces.org One threat to counties is the disappearance of independent cities when they shift to "town" status. The county gains property tax and sales tax revenue from the area that used to be an independent city, but the additional costs of providing education and social services to former city residents will exceed the additional tax revenue.

On the idea of merger or annexation, technically Richmond could revert to a town. Transferring all taxes base over to Henrico, it's actually a real threat to counties literally the only threat. Richmond is one of the few cities that could just give up it's city status. What will change?? I say this as a resident of Hampton Roads this is the only way out of this independent city pickle. One threat to counties is the disappearance of independent cities when they shift to "town" status. The county gains property tax and sales tax revenue from the area that used to be an independent city, but the additional costs of providing education and social services to former city residents will exceed the additional tax revenue.

Sorry for the rant also cities like Greenville and other Sunbelt cities aren't held down or in competition with any other city locally. I'm sure the county and cities are in lock step and understand how one hand washes the other. Norfolk a city of only 55 square miles still houses the International Airport???? The airport doesn't even have the land it need to become a major airport someday and no area anywhere can have success without a very large and very busy airport. That is just another example of Norfolk expected too or totally footing the bill for South Hampton Roads. It's issues like these that let you know Hampton Roads has a very long way to go. A LOOONNG way lol. In our current state I think Hampton Roads has reached its maximum potential, now the real question becomes how do we exceed that, and those questions aren't even on the table yet....

I agree with this 100% but Norfolk can't do it alone and that's my biggest gripe with VA Beach and Chesapeake. Those are the cities with the land the money and they do little to nothing to attract businesses into the area. This area absolutely depends and prey upon Norfolk and Portsmouth willingness for industrial, naval, and port buisness. Its's ridiculous and all the while the two smallest cities with the largest tax burden have to shoulder an unfair amount of economic activity including tolls. While the 2 largest cities reap the benefits of homing the blue collar work force, collection taxes on businesses and industries those respective cities don't want!!! That's why the Hampton Roads has been doomed since the 60s, when these large cities started to appear. ATL doesn't have to compete with it's border counties, they understand that Atlanta is the primary city. Around here in Hampton Roads, VA Beach believe it's the primary city and that's where the biggest problem lie. VA Beach doesn't have anything that would make it a primary city they depend on Norfolk to still be the driving force to bringing business and people to the area. So honestly speaking if Hampton Roads wants to move forward our larger cities need to do more or just support Norfolk fully because it is the true primary city. And obviously population doesn't matter because VA Beach is just as large population wise as ATL (the city) but can not compete in any way. Annexation laws in VA literally poisoned this area and continue to do so. I'll point to both Norva and Richmond for example those areas are exploding. Norva counties and cities aren't competing but complementing each other. The same is happening in Richmond and that area has potential to surpass HR very soon. If our elected officials can't come together and do what's right by HR I'm afraid it's little to no hope for the area.

https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/portsmouth/vb-delegate-moves-to-kill-bills-making-it-harder-for-portsmouth-council-members-to-be-removed-from-office/ This is typical VB behavior smh, the infighting of HR spill over into State politics that really p*sses me off. The fact that VB has so much to say about what is happening in Portsmouth is very concerning. A VB council-person wanted to stop Portsmouth Casino. It's things like this that make me believe politicians elected in those areas would actively handicap Portsmouth and Norfolk for what?? How did Republican politicians from HR vote on Portsmouth/Norfolk tolls, actively handicapping the core?? Handicapping HR as a whole. These are also the people who run companies like HRT, so it's also not surprising to see why things continue to fail for HR.