krdarden

Hopefully, a new tall can go up in the empty parking lot next to the courts complex, then a couple more high-rises on the present courts property and then a town-center type development in the plaza-quadrant. I can remember saying a couple years ago that we had the smallest downtown for an area our size in the country; however, in 10 years, I may be saying that we have the most dense and most impressive skyline for a region our size in the nation! If we throw in P-town for good measure, or better yet, merge with them and add 100,000 people to our population and consolidate city services and build a massive transportation hub for city buses, light-rail, trailways, and car-rental services to go along with our new cruise terminal.

I was listening to Jack Ankerson on the Tony Mecurio radio show and he believes that the city should construct a 20,000 seat arena and that the NBA would be our best shot at professional sports and that would probably also be a team relocationing instead of expansion which should come as no surprise. I am wondering if the city ever received the results of the study done to determine whether to build a new arena and where it should be located. I believe that they paid a company(HOK) or something like that, in Kansas City for the service. The city has been using tax revenue from hotels and other functions specifically for that purpose.

Our cruise terminal will be a success with our downtown location. We may actually become a favorite of the cruise industry in five years once all our exciting developments are complete! I can see us one day becoming a destination of our own especially if the beach can improve it's appeal to tourists and establish itself which will indeed give our region more to offer cruise travelers in a package deal!

I heard on the news that Donald Trump is looking at some property in the area and Fort Monroe was mentioned as a potential site for development by him! This could be an interesting situation!

Hey V-dogg, I work at the Coast Guard base in Portsmouth and as I was driving home today, I noticed something missing and saw something amazing at the same time! What is missing is hundreds of trees, and what is now visible is the terminals at Craney Island! The cranes looked just awesome from the new entrance to the terminals and it allows another view of downtown Norfolk which is going to be awesome when the new buildings come on-line. By the way, this is the same area where they found that body a few weeks ago that has been missing nearly 10 years. I can actually see the skyline on base but only from the parking lot near ISC and it's not as good as coming onto Pinners Point because it can only be seen on a cloudless day. I kinda miss the trees and wildlife though, I haven't seen any deer or foxes in weeks. At least they spared half the trees on that side of the boulevard and the other side is still left in tact. Finally, I wonder what effect it will have on the mosquitos. I swear those blood-suckers are gigantic!

WOW! 'nuff said!

Virginia Beach is becoming a mini-Vegas with all the construction plans! Can you imagine the explosive growth the beach would see if the approved casinos in the city? This will probably never happen in this conservative state but the oceanfront would have developers lining up to build casino hotels and condos would be going up in every direction. I think that I would like to see casinos come to da beach but only after we lay the foundation for other projects! Perhaps they could create a gambling district and still be able to have smart development too!

I can see downtown Portsmouth building an office tower around 16-18 floors along with a condo tower around 27 floors. Once the old city hall is torn down, I can see a couple of mid-sized condo buildings around 10-12 floors in it's place. Finally, I can see another hotel around 12 stories replacing the old holiday inn and if Portsmouth is smart, the would build a mini-town center project with a mixed-use tower around 15-17 floors along with some more residential housing around 5-8 floors in height. I really don't see too many tall buildings here but the skyline would still be very impressive given the population of P-town and if the ever become part of Norfolk, look out!

Happy Birthday! I hope that your season produce many more victories too.

I think that we should put it to a vote and let the citizens decide what we want! I vote YEA! I can't see any reason not to merge the two cities other than some jobs will be lost by council members who long to hold on to their positions of power! We could consoladate all our jail and corrections facilities at one location while both waterfronts are freed up for prime development. I really don't know why Norfolk and Portsmouth both have it's jails on sites which are vital to each city. A good start would be combining services and evaluating the results of this action.

I have always thought that if we had an arena large enough, we could lobby the ACC for a chance to host their prestigious ACC tournament by pitching it as the perfect location with no home court advantange for the teams participating. I am sure that we could put on a great show for the entire country and make a ton of money for all the cities of Hampton Roads! I think that it would have been something if we had an arena in place by 2007 so we could tie in this proposal with the upcoming 400th anniversity of our nation and if for nothing else, maybe they would feel the patriotic need to do something in spirit to show America that the ACC is all about the American dream....of course, we all know that the American dream is in reality to make them tons of $$$$ for the exposure that this event will bring with the media and public interest,

Let's hope that Richmond has seen the light! I love the oldness of the city but I wouldn't mind seeing some new trendy high rises complimenting what they now have. Richmond is very unique and has lots of character and can be proud of that! It will be very interesting to see how the blend of old and new towers compliment each other in the future.

Just look at what happen with Louisville, Kentucky and have faith my friend!

Hey Russ, Norfolk will become great and cities like Charlotte will have nothing on us by the year 2020! We have so much potential as a city but I am really excited about the potential merger with Portsmouth in the future. I think that it's not a question of if but rather of when the two cities will become one.

I became interested in downtown Norfolk when I was a student at TCC when they held classes in the old SMA building back in 1993. I remember talking to fellow students that downtown Norfolk would be special! I worked inside the Monticello Arcade in the continuing education office for TCC while attending classes. I had the chance to work with and meet many prominent members of our region including major Fraim. I knew then that I was hooked on developmental issues when I talked to him and his passion for the city rubbed off on me I guess. Anyways, I went on to graduate from ODU in 96 and work now for the Coast Guard after a few years of non profit work. I am very happy to see that my passion for Hampton Roads is shared with so many other great people such as yourselves. Hey Lammius, we need to get another topic going on pilotonline just rile up the NIMBY crowd!

I wish that Hampton and NewPort News would get in on the high rise condominium craze! The views from a high rise condo in Hampton would be spectacular because you could practically look out and see the skylines of NewPort News, Norfolk, and VaBeach during good weather! The best views would be of the naval base and the the activities on the water with ships coming in and out of port.