OBXastronaut

I hope this does get shot down. I'm all for development if it's smart. I DON'T want to see Richmond become a carbon copy of NOVA.

A more cosmopolitan feel Mid-Atlantic does not us make. Regardless of how "diluted" your opinion on the region's Southernness is, it's still the prevailing culture IMO. We're a world away from NOVA, DC, Baltimore, and Philly, and I'd like to keep it that way.

Except it's pronounced f**k/fick

Most of Virginia, including Hampton Roads, is considered Southern, and not Mid-Atlantic. As a Hampton Roads native and a Southerner, it's equally frustrating to have people lump us together with the Mid-Atlantic, and by extension, the Northeast.

Not a fan of that idea. Just because it doesn't sound good to you (Redneck, really?) doesn't mean it doesn't sound good to the rest of us. I think Hampton Roads is more than a decent name for the region. It sounds unique. "Coastal Virginia" is as bland as it gets. If the name is not getting out there, it's probably not because of the name. Y'all said it yourselves. You see ads to visit Norfolk, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, but not Hampton Roads. Blame that on the advertisements (and respective cities) themselves instead of the name of the region.

No. Aside from the cheesy Simpsons reference, it makes no sense to have a well-performing system in place and create another just because it looks fancy. You would have to create a separate station to transfer people from system to system ---> A LOT OF MONEY- much more money that you would be spending with light rail. Light rail is perfect for Hampton Roads: you can start off small and then add more cars as the system gets more use.

It's just the Richmond regional HQ. Nothing to worry about.

http://pilotonline.com/news/government/local/virginia-beach-councilman-john-moss-urges-state-to-take-back/article_afb7dfa7-db4f-55cb-b55f-27a715ae11b1.html In other news, John Moss can stick it where the sun don't shine.

Here's the map from VBgov.com showing the vision for future light rail extension. Interesting how they called the proposed station at Town Center "Union Station".

To be perfectly honest, I think Richmond will end up adding more people than that. These population projections don't take anything other than current data into account, and there are a huge variety of different variables that contribute to increases in population growth. I think that as the mess up in Northern "faux" Virginia continues to build up, you'll start seeing a lot more "refugees" (as I like half-heartedly like to call them) move down here for cheaper housing and an overall better quality of life. Richmond's been the city with so much potential for years; I think it's only a matter of time before it becomes what Charlotte, Atlanta, and Raleigh are undergoing now- minus a lot of the unnecessary and unchecked sprawl. In regards to space for construction, Richmond has a much larger historic street grid than all of those cities. A big reason why these other cities are building all of these gargantuan projects in comparison to Central Virginia has to do with the fact that their historic city centres were demolished for them or they never were incredibly large in the first place. There are so many historic structures in Downtown Richmond that are just beginning to undergo extensive restoration attempts; once these are all finished, then I think you will see an incredible boom in new construction ie. Raleigh or Charlotte.

I'm genuinely surprised that both campuses are considered separate schools. Whatever the case, you really get the feeling that VCU is trying to break that mold of a mid-major school and is poised to be part of a Big-Three alongside VT and UVA in this state. The amount of growth in students, money, and prestige over the last few years has been incredible. If only my school could get a football team within the next few years.

Not a full walgreens, just a pharmacy. They didn't want to compete with the Marketplace next door, which is a shame; that place seems like a dump to me.

Of course it would be awesome if it was taller, but I think the important thing is that we're now starting to see these few blocks finally getting filled up. Height isn't necessarily important in a city (aesthetics aside); density is. Only a matter of time before the land opposite gets built up. Here is the link to the powerpoint online.

I'm a bit concerned about all the skyways being put in. It's a well-known fact that they limit pedestrian interactions on the street level, making them seem empty and cold. Not sure if that's what you want when building a new city from scratch. On the plus side, with all of the of the news coming out of Hampton Roads, it's a nice change of pace from the Charlotte-Nashville circle-jerk that this forum is sometimes.

To be honest, if any place is going to get a major professional sports team in Virginia, I'm almost certain that it's going to be Virginia Beach. The 18,000-seat arena that has been discussed for the Oceanfront is all but approved (the entire city-council - even some of the most well-known NIMBY's - are in favor of it). The harsh reality is that Richmond is sandwiched between two larger metro areas (DC and Hampton Roads), and even though Richmond is predicted to be next Charlotte and Raleigh in terms of growth, Hampton Roads is also predicted to be one of the faster-growing metro areas in the country. However, it's very well possible, and likely, for that matter, that the city will get something along the lines of an NBA D-League team or an ECHL hockey franchise in the next few years. The best chance of Richmond getting a major league franchise, I feel, rests with the Kickers and a potential entry into Major League Soccer. During the Men and Women's World Cup, Richmond's TV market was in the top 5 in the ratings. I've been a Kickers season ticket holder for several years now, and in the past season alone, there have been multiple games in which 5k plus showed up to see their third division soccer team. The Kickers have been harmlessly floating around stadium expansion/renovation and MLS before. Of course, MLS has been steadfast in getting new franchises in much larger markets (a second team in NY, LA, teams in Miami Minnesota, and recently San Antonio) as of late. If we had a multi-billionaire soccer fanatic in Richmond that cared, well, that would be awesome. At least I can dream about it, anyway...