baobabs727

Sweet!

Right. I thought it very strange that Bruce was the one saying that she'd obtained an extension and then seemingly attributing that notion entirely to Ms. Kilmer absent independent verification or even an explanation of how that might possibly occur, legally. Bruce's only implied support for this statement appeared to be Ms. K's own rationale that she was awarded extra time because things had moved along so well, so quickly, and also because...well...they have a new...video rendering?!? As if that's proof of anything. But again, she didn't say it, he did. The word "extension" never left her mouth, nor did she even address the current financing status/situation beyond indicating the agreement was in excess of a thousand pages. Despite her goosebumps and Bruce's slick cheerleading, I found the whole story rather vague and not at all dispositive. Along with my floating of the theory related to the SBNation story, I believe that WAVY's news piece might possibly be part of a larger PR attempt to influence public opinion in a favorable manner toward this project in the event that she needs an extension vote from Council. Creating an air of inevitability is an old tactic in PR and in politics. "The arena will be in Virginia Beach. We will begin construction by the end of this year." --A. Kilmer

Yes! Maybe lammius will oblige us once again!

EXCLUSIVE ARENA UPDATE from WAVY 10: (Watch the video) https://www.google.com/amp/wavy.com/2017/08/11/only-on-10-first-look-of-proposed-virginia-beach-arena/amp/

Great point. I've heard nothing on that one for quite some time. These folks seem not to want to engage the press or the public. They never came forward for comment, and they have not been seen or heard from since the rezoning request.

I seem to recall that we had a mashup expert around here somewhere who might be able to show us what that intersection/area would look like once the three projects are completed.

Well, well, well. Just look at who's "picked up on" the buzz.

Hypothetically speaking of course, might it be within the realm of possibility that a developer of a large, high profile project whose financing arrangements are questionable or precarious might seek to improve the potential calculus of any investment therein by encouraging friendly media to promulgate highly suggestive, favorable buzz relative to said project?

I wouldn't read too much into this, but for what it's worth…. On Monday when vdogg posted re: the 30 day deadline mark, I sent emails to two people. One is an acquaintance who is a member of the local business media, and the other is a friend who has many contacts relevant to the universe of our discussions here. They don't always tell me something specific, but occasionally I get a tidbit here or there...or at the least a notion of an impending article or the progress of ongoing reportage. Well, this time one of them said they had "nothing for me," while the other never wrote back. The latter scenario is very unusual, though perhaps they're just super busy this week. Either way, I agree that silence is, more often than not, a bad sign in these types of deals.

Remember, the bankers hold all the cards.

I think they probably go by their own research rather than the opinions of various posters around the net. Also, they're from Virginia Beach. They've been very specific and emphatic in mentioning this as motivation in their talking points. Finally, this arena was conceived as self-sustaining in the absence of pro sports. Therefore, they would like to tie-in to the tourist market for various other types of events 365 days per year. There is no other sub-market around here as large as Virginia Beach for tourism (or for locals for that matter).

Nice.

I have very mixed suspicions on this matter. It could go either way. They've been telling us that there's nothing in their way besides final punctuation marks. Lol. They've been telling us that the financing partners are very excited about the project. They've been telling us that they're looking forward to getting started...early. And yet nothing has happened. It could be that they were overly optimistic. It could be they were spinning the facts as many people in public relations do as a matter of routine. However, it could also mean that they were being completely truthful and that there's nothing to this silence besides the signaling of a delay in their own rather optimistic predictions. Out of an uber abundance of caution, of course. All I know is that time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking....

Ok, from my understanding, nobody's trying to have a "redo" here and build public housing. But you do kinda have to think about where all these people are going to go, right? Some will be displaced voluntarily, some not so voluntarily, while others will choose to wait it out and stay. To that end, what's being proposed (preliminarily) is a modern, mixed-use community with some section 8 but majority market rents...plus offices, retail and restaurant. Hopefully there will be some residential above retail and mid-rise office, not just rows of single-family homes separated from commercial. What's so wrong with that plan? Is it simply the apparent absence of skyscrapers that bothers some?

I doubt it will stay. When they built a new one right around the corner from the original 7-11 @ Virginia Beach Courthouse, they closed the old one. Same thing happened @ Hilltop 35 some odd years ago as well. I'm sure there are other examples.

Correct. 7/11.

Norfolk to hold public hearings on the razing of public housing in the St. Paul's quadrant. https://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/norfolk-is-holding-forums-on-possible-demolition-of-public-housing/article_234c7335-d9ed-5202-9d9c-a30b7078c835.html

An interesting read and some nice photographs and renderings. I think perhaps we don't give them enough credit for this ongoing renovation. It is quite extensive. And stunning, visually. Truly gives a vastly improved first and last impression of our area. And there's something to be said for that. https://www.greshamsmith.com/showcase/projects/showcase-8/norfolk-comprehensive-airport-improvements

Not that I'm aware of. "Meet @ 3:19, LLC is a Virginia Domestic Limited-Liability Company filed on May 8, 2017 . The company's filing status is listed as 00 Active and its File Number is S680594-1. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Ray W King and is located at Leclairryan A Professional Corporation 999 Waterside Drive Ste 2100, Norfolk, VA 23510-0000. The company's principal address is 1033 North Shore Road, Norfolk, VA 23505-0000." Ray King is a long-time Norfolk attorney who works at LeClairRyan in the original Dominion Tower. https://www.bizapedia.com/va/meet-319-llc.html

I feel the exact same way. Yet sometimes I find myself raging, raging against the dying of the light. Truly, dreaming is fundamental.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas Pop. Growth 2010-2016: Austin +19.82% Raleigh +15.25% Nashville +11.63% Charlotte + 11.61% Jacksonville +9.86% Atlanta +9.5% NOVA +8.8% Richmond +6.09% --------------------- VB/ORF +2.99% This just continues the trends since the mid-1990s. Any thoughts? Any plans? Any hope? Does it matter?

If "they" decided tomorrow that they wanted to move the airport, how long do you think it would take to get the first airplane off the runway? If they could get approvals, that is. I'd say 20-25 years. Bruce Thompson would like to see a super-regional airport way out there in Wakefield or somewhere. He assumes Richmond would be interested, obviously. I'm not sure why they would be. PHF was likely a mistake. I think it split the market. Since the mid 2000's when we had more passenger traffic than Richmond, we've been mostly losing ground while they've been mostly gaining ground. RIC exceeds ORF in passenger count by over 10%. I believe that they have three commercially viable runways while we have only one. Ridiculous.

Possible eventual, temporary airport "shutdown" whilst lone, commercially-viable 9000 ft. runway replaced? https://pilotonline.com/inside-business/news/maritime-and-transportation/runway-rehabilitation-could-curtail-norfolk-airport-s-capacity/article_0b0d1109-2b51-5300-a004-3a0e9a4ccbb7.html

On Boush, I don't follow. Where's it going to go? The line runs thru the heart of downtown already, so not so much to ask of people to walk a block and a half. Llewellyn, with its tree lines and median, is the nicest looking secondary in that area besides Olney. The "damage" done by the bike path is only temporary, for they could yank out those wimpy little polls in a heartbeat. But tearing up the median? I don't think that will ever happen. As for 21st and 22nd, interesting idea, but the 21st St. business consortium folks would never let it even come up for a vote. As for Chesapeake, according to projections from UVA (below), they will be at 300,000 by 2040. (Virginia Beach at 500,000. Norfolk at 260,000.) I agree with you except for the Battlefield and Greenbrier corridors. They have density and will be getting denser. I believe that Mayor K. has expressed some future interest In LRT, but let's see how his constituents in Great Bridge feel about it. LOL. http://demographics.coopercenter.org/virginia-population-projections/ Awesome Chart, below! I've been saying this to everyone for years, but I could never find proof. Here it is! In 1990, we were told that the VB pop. would be_____ by 2000, 2010, etc. Now take a look at what could've been...but never was.

Clearly, Chesapeake. The Beach messed this thing up royally.