CitiWalker

I alluded to this similarly in suggesting that there is an unwritten biased against the city in whatever it does. Anytime there is a proposal to do anything ( I mean picking up a raisin off the street) in Richmond and the first thing people do particularly those that don't live in the city look for a reason to find something negative to say. When any of the counties pick up the same raisin it is viewed as the greatest thing since sliced bread. "Look how smart we are to pick up the raisin. "By the way picking up the raisin was a dumb thing for the city to do". No matter who gets upset the truth of the matter is there is a aura of people in the county somehow feeling that they are better. Even if not directly stated , the proof lies in the continual bashing of the city whenever an opportunity presents itself. The counties have plenty of problems which very seldom are spoken about. The counties have always had the luxury of sitting back and letting the city experiment. The counties have always had the luxury of having more land, The county has always had the luxury of less dense infrastructure to maintain. Sixth Street was an attempt to tie in existing retail and form new retail. Richmond went through what all other downtowns in the entire United States went through in the mid 80s and early 90s. What happed to 6th Street was not an anomaly. Similarly the same thing happened to Waterside in Norfolk. Everyone started building indoor malls and the counties benefitted from that trend, however indoor malls are not a thing anymore. People are returning to the city because they realize the value of proximity. In my opinion some people want the city to fail just so they can feel better about themselves. That is my observation living in this area over 50 years. Because of this type of mindset our regionalism has been very slow to develop although I can see some cooperation starting to happen.

Yep, a lot of wasted potential. I too remember Richmond being in prime position to be dominant but it never happened. Before the decline of the downtown in the late 80s and early 90s I would put our downtown up against any city our size. It was not only the city leaders who dropped the ball but lack of regional cooperation. Everyone retreating to their own corners and thinking only about their specific locality, lacking vision on what the entire region could be. Can you say blown Delta Airlines deal? That my friend sums up why we could not move forward in a lot of instances. It is all too easy to blame the administration of Richmond for not having regional cooperation ( blaming it on the cities ineptness as to why counties did not cooperate) rather blame it on the singular agenda of surrounding counties. The we are better and cant be associated with them crowd (which in my opinion still exist today) that has hurt the region the most. I hear people talk about how much better run the counties are but it is a lot easier to do things when you have land to expand and increase population thus more tax dollars to work with and don't have as dense a infrastructure to keep going. The City has to keep the street lights going and have sidewalks to maintain , things not found in the county which cost money. Charlotte blew past Richmond simply because they had help period. The integration of revenue from county and city gives a definite leg up for them. I am not hating just stating a fact. Richmond has always been on an island surrounded by those who would benefit from the cities' existence but reluctant to contribute to the cities growth. The NIMBYism runs deep in this region. It is only up until now that the light bulb is going comin on . Some of the old guard has been shed and fresh new ideas and ways of thinking abound. Additionally the people in this area just out right had a stale way of thinking. Stuck in the past , wanting to preserve every snippet of history and not understanding that cities are amorphous . I believe that this city is finally moving in the right directions. The question is for how long. In addition a lot depends on forward thinking from the counties and a desire to have regional cooperation in understanding the complete picture in this thing called Regionalism. More tech companies with young, fresh, innovative , and forward thinking minds would take this region a heck of lot further. We need to learn to maximize the limited space in the city because we literally have nowhen to go but up.

This is great! The youth are our future and this sends a very inspirational message as the city continues to change and move forward.

The photo shows the site looking from the existing Costar building towards New Market and Tredegar. It is showing the upper part of the parcel . The lower part would be to the left not shown in the photo. For orientation the photo is pointing westward.

Someone sent this pick to me from Costar building site. Any idea what this could mean?

I live near that area. I saw them clearing the land a couple of weeks back.

This is exactly the point I wanted to make. There is a chance to use One a a fuse to ignite the entire area. Commerce Rd directly branches into Richmond Hwy which in itself can be a whole other topic. Even if One wanted to keep everything on site, people by our curious nature will venture out to see what else they can discover. We can have multiple districts with their own distinct identity. Richmond already has a variety of neighborhoods. Why not have multiple districts showing different levels of inclusion and diversity. SATELLITE-CITY... I can see that and I would love that. Fuse that with a downtown near Innsbrook and we can have urban areas within urban areas, cities within counties and a much broader urban landscape in The Greater Richmond Region. Isn't it fun to be able to even be on this forum talking about such things. Richmond has a bright future.

There seems to be a lot of opinions which is a good thing for productive healthy debate. If Richmond is to morph into a complete city (meaning having various options throughout the city) we cannot afford to have all of our eggs in one basket and rely on one area of the city to provide everything. I was not totally against the Cordish proposal but the Urban One makes more sense. It is speculation to say that the development in no way would have an effect on future development and optimism for the area. As far as other casinos go Richmond has a chance to be a forerunner instead of an also ran. VISION. It has been what citizens have been lacking. If you go after nothing then you get nothing. The citizens in Scotts Edition did not want the casino there and they were heard. NO GUARANTEES. In life as we all know you cant guarantee a thing. Southside is on fire right now and it makes sense to capitalize on momentum and stop the knuckle dragging and second guessing that has shackled Richmond's development for decades. There is a huge assumption that the Richmond Hwy corridor is just going to stay the same. I see prime real estate with a built in connector linking Manchester to northern Chesterfield. Before I95 was built that route was a major artery through the city. It now has a shot at a second life and a new purpose. Does anyone really think that in 10 years that major connector would not be utilized and repurposed by development? As developers start to look outside the periphery of the Manchester Area they are going to look to engage in new opportunities to expand and grow from the successes we are now seeing. It is more than exciting to understand the potential of expansion and development of The Richmond Hwy Corridor. No one ever talks about this major connector. There was once a major grocery store along this route. I can see that coming back. I can see newer retail and dinning locations popping up. Yes the Radio one is situated in an industrial area but it will be surrounded by existing hotels and could be a beacon for more hotel development seeking to seize the revenue of those who come from the outside to visit the casino, take advantage of the shows. and production facilities. Everyone is not just going want to eat at the casino. There is room for more dinning options and shopping options. The potential for residual income is there for the taking.

I still say it is a win win for the City. The biggest thing being traffic flow and accessibility. You have several hotels in the vicinity. Coming down 95 going north seeing a nice sized hotel is going set the stage as you enter the city limits. It will also be a catalyst for other developments that hope to benefit from the casino clients . Plus they are going to have a studio and entertainment venue. It is a great way to infill unused land . Most of all the citizens who it would affect the most in terms of placement welcome them there. That area of the city can use something to draw extra business and development. I said it in a previous post Richmond Hwy is not going to look the same10 years from now. We have already seen to beginning of the conversion of The Model Tobacco Company Apartments start to take shape at one end. Having a casino at the other end will only promote development between the two along that valuable stretch of road. IMHO I am happy with the choice.

All I can say is, from a common sense perspective you don't speed 20 million dollars on land without a purpose. If something is to be built of significant size I would think they would have their ducks in a row before announcing anything. We will see. I would rather wait and see a real proposal than have someone talking a big game and only to be dissapointed. Being a real estate analytics company I just can't see making a huge purchase without having something down the pipe. Of course these things take time. Lets not forget the bureaucracy that comes with something of this proposed scale. I know everyone wants to have something to talk about including myself. I just don't want to get my hopes to high too soon. IMHO I believe eventually we will be happy with whatever happens.

From what I heard from a couple of people who work for the company the CEO does not half step when he does things. Usually he tries to go big or does not go at all. I think if we are patient big things will come.

Here is a thought...Could Dominion be playing chicken and waiting to see how tall Costar will build and then announce that they have re-evaluated things and try to build a even taller tower. Just wishful thinking on my part.....But...what if?

IMHO Radio One will get the nod. Too much opposition to Cordish. The old Jeff Davis now Richmond Hwy is going to look different in the next 10 years. Logistically the placement makes sense. The corridor stretching from The Lee Bridge to Dupont is ripe for the picking in terms of development potential. I can see Radio Ones casino helping to be a catalyst . As more and more space gets absorbed on the southside it only makes sense that Richmond Hwy will be an extension of the momentum. Traditionally leadership in Richmond takes the path of least resistance. Radio One is a win win for the city. Logistically sound location, minority ownership, support from the community, willingness to modify and adopt. I am not against Cordish but they are not going to make it to the gate. I think we all know how this plays out in the end. Additionally Radio One has the power of the Media. They can broadcast all day and all night all across the country through their network of radio stations. Unlimited marketing basically. No huge cost because they own the stations. If I sank that much money in an investment there would be no way I would not take advantage of my media power to insure ROI.

I agree with you on about 85% of what you say. I would say this , in my opinion there are some better pieces in place via Mayor to help move the city forward. Is Stoney perfect...no... however I believe that he is more forward thinking and more aware of the situation at hand when it comes to moving the city forward. Kim Gray who is gone now was a thorn in the side of the city when it came to development. Part of what we see in this city is a buy in from businesses and citizens. It is not just the government that has to be competent but also having the support of citizens who have a broader perspective on the importance of development and tax growth. I said this before, the thing that has always hog tied the city is people being stuck in the past and not wanting change. Council people will buckle to their constituency every time in order to stay in office. Too many NIMBYS plain and simple. However IMHO we have seen younger people come into the city with fresh perspectives, newer ideas, and quite frankly energy. Business understand that . Look at what Costar is about to do in terms of bringing in even more jobs for example. Good paying jobs for well educated people translates to higher rents and developers seeking to cash in.

Like anything in life change is incremental. I see the city moving in a positive direction. You cant undo decades of inefficiency overnight. All locals have their problems but usually what ever issues the city has always gets highlighted more than most. Part of it is a culture of complaining and knuckle dragging both by leaders and citizens alike. We need more forward thinking people to move the city in a forward direction. The biggest problem has always been resistance to change .

Agreed! Tired played out argument. it is like a old leisure suit that sits in the closet never to be worn again. Some people are just stuck in the past looking in the rear and cant see what is in front of them.

Anyone have an update on the proposed 20 plus story residential building on Broad. I saw a rendering and it looks amazing!

Well 20 million is a lot to spend on a piece of land and not maximize its potential. Costar is growing by leaps and bounds and their world research headquarters is in the current building. I could see a tower with a mixed use theme. Just hoping and speculating at this point. who knows, maybe the prospect of a tower taller than their HQ might prompt Dominion to go higher with the second tower. I could only wish.

A reliable source advised me that there is a plan to build another office building on the acquired land. I don't know what the plans are for height.

I have to agree that Gray would have set this city backwards. We need to keep a forward thinking mindset to continue to grow this city. Too many NIMBYS.

Thanks. That makes sense.

Does anyone know what is going on with the holes? I was just wondering because they have been poking holes for about a month.

We know that the city does not move fast as far as developments is concerned. However this does look to be promising. In my view some movement is better than no movement. Bureaucracy in any jurisdiction will always slow the wheels o progress. In this particular case a decision on the use of the land is less than 90 days away. I believe the city will make the right choice. Keep in mind there are always a lot of moving parts that have to align for things to work out. I am optimistic and excited!

Watching the progress of South Falls , The Current, and cleared space for what appears to be McRae & Lacey townhome development.

Just some more perspective this morning. The crane adds height.