Brent114

TCC is a wonderful addition to downtown Norfolk. I installed their playground (used for childhood development classes) about 8-9 years ago. The school adds so much life to the area and the buildings and landscaping are all really attractive. One would think that JSR would want to emulate that with their Richmond campus but alas, they seem to have zero interest in building anything meaningful downtown (the parham road campus is nice though, not TCC nice but nice). I installed the playgrounds at TCC Chesapeake, VA Beach and Portsmouth locations too. All of their campuses are extremely nice.

You should really visit the cities that you keep bringing up. They are meh and aren’t really growing in the meaningful way that you think they are. You would be overwhelmingly disappointed with Raleigh in particular. More people spread out in larger vinyl-sided apartment complexes doesn’t make a place more attractive. A single high-rise nestled in pine trees doesn’t make a place feel bigger. It just makes a place bloated and boring. On paper RDU is amazing. After ten minutes there you’re looking for someone to punch for making you invest so much energy following their development. Roanoke has a better, more vibrant downtown. One more time for those in the back: Richmond isn’t the kind of place that is attractive to people seeking low rent and office work. It just isn’t. It will continue to be a place for single, introverted people. The old building stock is already overbuilt for the population. There isn’t that high-rise in the pine trees because there are blocks and blocks (and blocks and blocks) of houses, apartments and converted industrial sites already here. The five story building built on the vacant lot between two established blocks does more to make the city complete and vibrant than one or two 30 floor towers beside a rancher.

There has been zero activity at the silos site. Manchester has been nothing but heartbreak lately. The Plant Zero site has been demolished for like a year now. A ground cover was planted in the fall and the fence is covered in a lovely climbing weed (it’s purple blooms at least proving some interest). The old Sampson Paint site has been cleared for a few months too. There is real construction fencing (banner advertising various partners, sidewalks closed off with barricades in the streets creating a walkway etc) but there hasn’t been any activity in 2-3 months.

Americans are undertaxed. Period. Taxes are lower now than at any time since before the Depression. everything is crumbling around us and before the ink even dries on the stimulus and rebate checks that we receive, under every administration since I’ve been alive, people are beotching about being overtaxed. “High” tax states fare better by every single metric. NC and TN are crap holes, unless you love inequality, crime, divorce , trailers, unhealthy and dumb people.

Yeah. That list is dumb…but so is the South. It’s full of my least favorite places in the USA. I’m currently in Quebec City (and just spent a few days in Montreal). Everywhere I travel I continue to see that old and cosmopolitan are NOT mutually exclusive. That’s why I get cranky when we try to compare ourselves to metros south of Richmond. They are some of the most bland and uninspired places on the planet. I get that they are “good places to raise a family” but I couldn’t care less about that. Give me sexy commuters that are lean, quick and worldly (not that I’m any of those things). Richmond should strive to be more urban, walkable and chic. I don’t care if it repels the average American. I’ve no interest in making Richmond more average

The construction fence got a makeover too. Real work is happening!

That’s a nice CVS, insofar as the selections of beauty and health products are solidly middle to upper middle class. The inside is clean and always newly renovated (over my 30+ years in Richmond). I’ve never understood why that intersection attracts so many desperate people on the sidewalks. They clearly cannot afford to live any where near this intersection. The McDonald’s get renovated every 3-4 years it seems and the lots is nicely maintained but the customer base is so beaten down. I don’t know what attracts that crowd (a methadone clinic nearby? homeless services? SS office?).

Dominion is blue 90% of the time (it’s their logo color). The old Wachovia /Wells Fargo building (three rings of neon) has been blue for a while now (months if not a year, it does change with holidays like Dominion though). It looks good in blue. I hope it stays that way The skyline has been looking good at night these days. The lights are actually working and on with consistency.

Entire family histories were wiped out through the slave trade, the missions and colonization that followed in the 17th and 18th century nearly finished off the indigenous cultures.

It’s actually looking even better. This photos seems to be a few weeks old. The parking deck in the back corner is much farther along. There is an apartment building out of view too that is already maybe 4 floors tall (it may be topped out by now, haven’t been past there in about a week or so).

I added this one to the Reddit thread yesterday… I’m surprise my google search worked lol. I was looking for “ancient African cities” not whatever word that is in the search bar lol

It’s great, but not surprising, to see Richmond the top . I'm thrilled and surprised to see Norfolk in the 4th spot though. That’s a great spot for a city that didn’t even have Amtrak service until fairly recently.

The townhomes across from Valero on Semmes sold very quickly. They were the same price, maybe more.

I actually like the design of the museum. Perhaps it may be condescending but it certainly looks “African” in design. Lots of ancient cities there have dwellings that look like this. The condescending part is that all things “African American museum” in this country have the same aesthetic. It isn’t inappropriate per se, but it is kinda weird IMO.

I’m happy with this turn of events. I’d like more people but this provides just as much structural density, looks better and is a good barometer for the neighborhood. That they think they can sell 40 units at $400-500k is very encouraging. A summer start date is encouraging too. As I reported a few weeks back, the existing buildings at the site have already been razed.

I would think that people travel to Phoenix in the cooler months. The consistent 115 degree days isn’t very appealing for East Coast folk. Does the city empty out in the summer months? Business travel may slow over the summer (like with NYC and pretty much every big city). I’m not sure what season is best for the Gand Canyon. Maybe it isn’t as hot there in the summer, but even there I think spring and fall would be peak season.

Agreed. I don’t know why they are trying to run it down Hull or Midlothian. The population is just as spread out along those routes (the housing is really far off of Midlothian in particular). Running it down Richmond Hwy makes more sense to me. There’s the space and the lots of property along the route that could be redevelop. The neighborhood between Richmond Hwy and 95 is quickly gentrifying too. Last spring I looked at a 900 sq foot house that was literally missing the floor (walls were miraculously suspended by the ceiling). The sellers were asking $120k! A stop at Hull or Bainbridge is enough to serve Manchester and Swansboro. They could add a stop at Semmes for rush hour. At the other end, the intersection of Chippenham and Route 1 is perfect for a park and ride.

Yeah. We’re gonna get a new nicer stadium but it is going to feel more small town than the Diamond. Approaching from the South it will be mostly hidden too

Well then, this is very exciting!

It was my impression that the 12 floors were in another property that they owned west of this location on Main Street. I assumed it was one of this bank building conversions but they are taller than 12 floors so I found it all very confusing. I read it at 6 am while snoozing between alarms. 12 additional floors on the Branch building would be neat, I doubt they city would allow that though. I guess with the right setback it wouldn’t look like a building in one of the countries that ends in “stan”.

Banditos is neither trendy nor expensive but it is themed. That theme being salty fillings wrapped in tortillas. I’m just glad this isn’t some lame oyster bar or tapas rip off place. Can a fella get some string beans in Richmond?!?

I like this location. This area of town could use some food that isn’t trendy and expensive. it should be very lively on Saturday mornings (like Moore Street but with patio seating ).

Perhaps. Overseas travel should be mandatory for every American

It’s a shame that this was voted down. The people in the area may not like it but that’s where the elected officials fail for not educating them. Instead of this nice, compact development there will be 290 individual lots cleared across that part of the county. If you want to keep your country green/pastoral you should support areas of dense development. It spares so much more wildness in the end. That’s how every city in pretty much every country that isn’t the US of A does it.

Y’all are talking about “overpowering” the will of the majority of Richmonders. I was disappointed with both votes too but I do believe that the opinions of the people that actually live here trump the wishes of those who made their homes elsewhere. And their opinion is certainly more valid than people from the future. It’s a good thing that the people have a voice here. It is the city leaders that screwed the casino deal by making it look like a vote on an economic /incentives package instead of what it was, a simple yes or no if gambling should be legal here. Remind the public that Christian segregationists wrote the laws forbidding gambling and that the law is condescending and maybe progressives would have fallen in line. Instead nearly everyone that voted no thought that voting yes meant handing over hundreds of millions of dollars to an out of state operator.