Helium3

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/norfolk/norfolk-moves-forward-with-improving-neon-district/291-184bf04a-7cb1-4996-b5fc-182b6822a522

I realize that this is at least partly tongue-in-cheek , and I do agree that this proposal goes overboard with the copious amounts of green-space, but sea-level rise is a thing that Norfolk should be concerned about. It's going to happen whether we want to talk about it or not, and it's something that should be taken into consideration with every major development in Norfolk going forward. Otherwise we're just creating more problems for the next generation to solve. And given all of the problems left to us by the previous generation that we're still scrambling to fix (location of public housing, reestablishing street grids, I-264 cutting through downtown, loss of urban character through urban renewal, etc.), we'd be wise not to repeat the current-day versions of their mistakes. If that means relegating certain areas of the city to green-space (but like I said, not this much) to help mitigate flooding, then I say so be it.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/Two-Constitution-Dr-Virginia-Beach-VA/15420617/ Looks like this is the latest rendering for the project. It's from a LoopNet page for that was created on 3/12/19. It's basically exactly what you'd expect for an apartment building with ground floor retail/office space in this area. The projected opening date is September 2020.

Looks like the proposed new barcade Circuit Social submitted an application to make some exterior changes to 258 Granby St. There are a few more renderings in the final pages of the document. https://www.norfolk.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/4554?fileID=9133

I just mean these types of lamps: Granby on the other side of Brambleton (plus most of Downtown) already has them. They recently installed some on Olney too. I just think having them up and down Granby would make the district seem a lot more attractive.

Are there any plans to improve streetscaping in the district? Olney is looking a lot better now, but new sidewalks along that main stretch of Granby would do wonders for the NEON. It looks they haven’t had any serious attention in a couple of decades. Lots of cracks and differently-aged blocks of concrete. Pedestrian-scale lighting and trees along Granby would be a huge improvement as well.

No one is trying to say that this region’s problems don’t exist. I’m sure that most of the people here are well aware of them. The more productive response in this situation would be to, yes, first identify the region’s problems. But then to also work towards ways to address and rectify them. Maybe give attention to the many things that are working in this region and how those assets could be utilized to help deal with these issues. Instead you see a lot of people immediately shifting towards a “woe is us” mentality and never moving past it. Saying that this is “just a dying region that doesn’t know it yet” accomplishes absolutely nothing. It makes us look worse off than we are and it encourages apathy, which in turn leads to further stagnation. I think that might have been what vdogg was getting at with his comment.

Norfolk has plenty going on as well. New EVMS Education building, the Sentara Expansion at Norfolk General, River Tower, increased demand at ORF, the Military Circle/ORF light rail extension, new apartments in renovated historic buildings (The Savoy included), the proposed office tower next to city hall, Sentara’s new state-of-the-art cancer center, the ODU Stadium expansion, etc. Let’s not start belittling one city just to make another one look good. We all know that both Norfolk and Virginia Beach could be doing a lot of things better.

Looks like Phoebus is experiencing a bit of a resurgence. The article mentions a new 162-unit urban apartment complex planned for Melen St. Anyone have any additional information about that? http://www.dailypress.com/business/dp-tidewaterbiz-phoebus-20180402-story.html

Why not both? The only way to bring Norfolk's line into Chesapeake without going through VB is to build an Elizabeth River crossing. If the crossing is built somewhere near Harbor Park or Campostella Rd, I could easily see the line being able to service South Norfolk as it moves south to Greenbrier. It'd help spur development throughout an overlooked area of the city and it'd connect Greenbrier/Dollar Tree's urban development to DT Norfolk. Two birds with one stone. Of course that means Norfolk would have to cooperate with Chesapeake by building a stretch of the line through Berkley. But I still think that'd be less of a hassle than convincing VB to build a small portion through their city.

Not development-related, but here's a funny Onion-esque article I saw making the rounds. It satirizes Portsmouth's image problem in relation to Norfolk and the rest of the region. It gave me a little chuckle. https://thepeedmont.com/2018/03/18/norfolk-man-discovers-portsmouth-still-exists/

Not sure if this has been posted yet (I didn't see anything), but three Ghent-adjacent apartment projects were quietly completed over the past few months by Richmond-based Monument Companies. Feels like momentum is building in the area with all the vacant buildings around the railroad tracks. First Colony Flats, a renovation of the historic First Colony Coffee and Tea site on 204 W. 22nd St. The building has 79 Units/5 Stories. Linde Lofts, a renovation of the historic Linde Air Products building on 2219 Colonial Ave. The Brightleaf Building, a renovation of the old tobacco warehouse on 200 E. 22nd Street. I think this might've previously been known as "Atlas Flats"? 127 Units/3 Stories

That particular block marked for future development doesn't have any historic homes. It's a fairly suburban-looking apartment complex wrapped around a parking lot. It doesn't seem any older than maybe 2 or 3 decades old.

The colloquial definition of Downtown is probably a bit different from what the city officially recognizes as Downtown. I know a lot of people that consider Freemason to be Downtown and I'm sure the same goes for Fort Norfolk/EVMS. I don't think the average person really cares too much about the official boundaries.

I definitely think an exterior makeover would do well in prolonging the life of Macarthur. With pedestrian activity on the rise in Downtown, it would be nice if the mall didn't seem so completely cut off from everything else. A modern exterior design featuring glass and large transparent windows would do wonders in making the mall seem more inviting.