I miss RVA

It's even higher across the board looking at 2020 estimates. All 3 localities (and I believe Hanover has grown at a pretty solid clip as well!) have done extremely well this past decade. Good to see!

Interestingly Chesterfield also has about 22,000 more residents than does Henrico. Both have slowed in terms of growth, though Henrico has dropped into single digits over 2010. Both counties have enjoyed large double-digit growth figures four the better part of five decades.

I vote for a bigger sign.

I did it for over a decade in Chicago. Live in the city - commute an hour out to the suburbs. It happens everywhere nowadays.

DalWill -- I agree 100% the counties should wake up and smell the brewing coffee. For the first time in decades, the city is far and away outpacing the counties in growth rate - and it doesn't appear to be slowing. If the city maintains this pace, it will once again become the largest individual jurisdiction by population in the metro area not that darn awful far down the road. Regional cooperation at a minimum (Nashville has made full-on regional government pretty successful) has been sorely needed -- and sorely lacking -- in the Richmond metro for decades now. Icetera -- excellent example with Libby Mill. Classic case in point. Other metros would have made it possible for this to work. NOVA for example. But good luck on EVER getting the primary players to ever seriously work together. Too many self interests at stake -- despite the clear and obvious fact that if they worked together the rising tide would life everyone's boats. I somehow doubt little has changed from back in the '70s when a Chesterfield resident who was in my mother's social circle once commented to my mom at a dinner party AT OUR HOUSE AND WE LIVED IN THE CITY about how glad she was that GRTC stopped at the city line -- "we don't want the riff-raff from Richmond" (coming into the county). What's funny is that I can recall my reaction to the story as a kid - that were I an adult at the time certainly would not be publishable here on this forum. As I recall my mother jettisoned this lady from her circle and had nothing more to do with her.

Fully agreed - I am worried as well about the slow start regarding the building at Lombardy and Broad. LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!! Time to get underway! TOTALLY agreed on the need for destinations downtown - and the need to make downtown THE location. I'm curious to see what happens - should the Richmond 300 plan not just be implemented but really guide development and a lot of the vision comes to pass, an area I see mushrooming into a "MUST BE THERE" location is that area north of Scott's Addition (where the Diamond is now) - from the bridge over Acca Yard to I-95. One of the "satellite downtowns" that a lot of cities have. I could definitely see it as a very trendy, very prestigious address if it builds out, builds up and becomes filled with highrise offices, hotels, residential, lots of retail, dining. Could be one of those "wow" destinations in Richmond - at least as far as what the Richmond 300 plan shows us. I also agree that we need to keep hitting home runs. But given all I have witnessed regarding governmental ineptitude, NIMBY interference, small-town small-mindedness, and sheer stupidity regarding progressively growing Richmond, at least now we're consistently hitting singles and doubles - where as before it was nothing but infield popups, strike outs and double plays. Here's hoping that the singles and doubles begets home runs - and that the strikeouts and popouts are long a thing of the past!

Agreed 100% Well said!

These are extremely important points to remember. It leads to another thought regarding Richmond's current trend of major construction projects: Major office tower construction -- and other commercial projects such as major hotels -- tends to happen in bursts -- with a flurry of construction followed by quiet periods. This also happens in larger cities and isn't just a "Richmond problem". HOWEVER -- what the bigger cities have always (especially over, say, the last 50 years or so) had - is a generally constant stream of major residential construction projects, high-density, often high-rise -- of various sizes, shapes, etc. Richmond has been enjoying this trend for a while now - and it seems to continue building momentum. Every time we see a new major residential project - whether the 15-story tower on W. Grace St. downtown - or the twin 11-story towers soon to rise in Manchester - or the 12-story building at Lombardy and Broad - and even the 5, 6, 7-story buildings that are popping up like mushrooms all over Scott's Addition - we should remember that THIS is what happens in the bigger cities. And while we are ALL pulling for CoStar (and whoever they may team up with) to build something epic on the riverfront, we all must be heartened by every residential project we see announced/proposed/approved/ground-broken/rising. Look at all the 10-plus story residential buildings that have gone up, are rising, have been approved or at a minimum announced over the last several years. THIS momentum -- keeping it rolling - getting more and more of these high-density and, preferably high-rise residential buildings - is what will ultimately get us those 60-story office buildings we're dreaming of downtown. If the last 5-to-10 years is any indication, things are really looking "up" for Richmond!

VERY well said!! That's been my lament for the past 50 years. The NIMBYs want to halt EVERYTHING in terms of growth because THEY will lose "THEIR" Richmond ... and you hit the nail on the head regarding the city government. I could write a multi-volume book series chronicling the level of sheer incompetence and selfishness of the city's government I have witnessed since 1970.

rjp212 - FANTASTIC & 100% spot-on analysis! You hit the economic differences squarely on the head - and being from Charlotte, you definitely have the background knowledge to properly compare differences in the economic growth situations of the two cities. Virginia's banking regulations put the kibosh on the kind of financial-center status Richmond might have had at the time Charlotte was taking off. And while I'll agree that US Air might not have been AS successful with a hub at RIC as it has been at CLT (again, with CLT being the only game in town for several hundred miles), I'd argue it still would have worked, being able to draw on ORF's market and maybe siphon off some of the DCA traffic. That's a hard one to speculate since it never came to pass. You hit on another fantastic point - that minus the annexation growth spurts that Richmond enjoyed several times during her history, this current 10-plus year ride is unquestionably the largest and fastest rate of population growth in the city's history. And being land locked because of the 1970s moratorium placed on annexation by the state, she's having to do it the old-fashioned way - density and verticality. Indeed, southern cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, Austin, Nashville, Jacksonville, among others, have relied on the tried-and-true method of annexation to boost population and the city tax base. Virginia's "independent city" setup, however, has always been a stumbling block. Charlotte has never had to worry about that, being that she is inherently "part" of Mecklenburg County. I stumbled across a Times-Dispatch article by Michael Paul Williams from 2016 lamenting the sorry state of Richmond's sports facilities - and he interviewed Dr. John Moeser, who was one of my professors in Urban Planning when I was in undergrad at VCU back in the early 80s. The discussion of not just the post-1970 annexation moratorium came up - but also Richmond's REAL failed opportunity that would have had huge ramifications even until today. Writes Williams: "A failed 1961 plan to consolidate Richmond and Henrico now looks like a lost opportunity. The plan was endorsed by a majority of Richmond voters but rejected in Henrico. Can you imagine what Richmond would look like today if the plan had gone through? A city of more than 300 square miles, with nearly 540,000 residents, might be weighing the benefits of a big league sports facility. Instead, we can’t muster the will or resources to build a minor league ballpark — a sorry state of affairs in a metropolitan area with our population, median income and corporate heft."1 Now - can you imagine had Henrico voters NOT voted down the merger nearly 60 years ago? And the estimation of a city population of 540,000 was based on 2016 numbers - in truth, it's very possible that being larger to begin with and with significantly more developable land (a la Charlotte, Jacksonville, etc.) that 540,000 might be closer to 650,000-700,000 - or more! One can only imagine how different Richmond would be had the merger taken place. I would suggest THIS failure was actually more damaging to the city's growth prospects than was the state-imposed annexation ban that has been extended multiple times by the General Assembly simply because Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover have sufficient voting power in the legislature that the city does not have. Nonetheless - for as much as I tend to lament, kvetch, complain about the preservationist nutjob NIMBYs and the devastating kicks to the nether-regions with which they have continued to assault Richmond's economic and population growth efforts, I must admit that I am enjoying the ride, watching Richmond start to take off DESPITE these nefarious forces who, as you and many others here have noted, operate out of self-interest with little concern for the overall good of the city or the region. For 50 years I have lamented the lack of progressive thinking and big-city mindset. I am thrilled to FINALLY see it emerging - Richmond 300 is a plan UNLIKE ANYTHING Richmond has had in my lifetime. The city's future -- I honestly believe -- is brighter than at any time I can remember. Success breed success - and it is gratifying to see Richmond FINALLY starting to do some of the things major cities actually do in terms of development. Cites like Philly, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago - they are land-locked. Annexation isn't a possibility simply because there are long-established suburban "cities" that immediately abut them (Richmond really doesn't have that). Their only path is vertical and high-density. So too, Richmond. She cannot expand outward like other southern cities. She can only go upward. To the sky. To the stars. THAT is where Richmond can really take off! 1 - Williams, Michael Paul - "Williams: Ballpark or no ballpark, Richmond's size is a strike against it", Richmond Times-Dispatch, column, January 4, 2016, https://richmond.com/news/local/williams-ballpark-or-no-ballpark-richmonds-size-is-a-strike-against-it/article_10ca777b-bfdc-5c8d-89a4-8e8ce5abb310.html I'm praying Stoney will win a second term for a variety of reasons - top of the list is that he is a progressive thinker regarding Richmond and economic and population growth. And - I fear a Gray administration will torpedo whatever it can and will kibosh the rest. She is far-and-away TOO old-school Richmond ... and I fear her election as mayor will set this city back 20-25 years.

SWEEEEEEEET!!!!

Part of it is different mindset - part of it is a different economic setup there. Charlotte has never been hung up on preserving its past. It's not old-building obsessed the way Richmond is. Mind you, Richmond DOES have considerably more history than does Charlotte. But so do Philadelphia and Boston - and nothing has stopped either of those two cities from building grand towers and embracing being a big city. Charlotte fully embraces being an up-and-coming big city. Richmond still has the Civil War shackles on & has only been dragged into the 21st century as a "mid-size" city kicking and screaming. The preservationist NIMBY factor is overwhelming here - where it's not so much as a gentle breeze in Charlotte. Then again, staunch Richmond NIMBY's would argue "Charlotte has no history". OK ... but that precludes Richmond from a 40 or 50 or 60 story tower downtown? I just hope and PRAY that successful implementation of the Richmond 300 plan will result in enormous economic and population growth for Richmond - and that the city will get its head out of its collective backside and do away with this insipid 4:1 height to setback ratio. This isn't Midtown Manhattan where setback regs would be helpful (and I don't see anyone stopping those 100-plus story residential buildings that have sheer vertical walls with few if any setbacks from being built all over Manhattan.) eandslee, I agree with you 100% and fully share your frustration. I am, admittedly, really enjoying this period of unprecedented growth - and have a feeling that if we get enough growth and enough density, both of people and larger buildings -- and get it quickly enough, we'll start to see a push from developers to build much taller buildings here. I cannot possibly imagine Richmond never EVER having a 40-story building (:or taller) on the skyline, especially if enough towers sprout up in the next decade or so. It HAS to happen SOMETIME... right???

Oh my these are gorgeous!!! Totally urban! You can just FEEL Brooklyn or Baltimore or South Philadelphia in this project. I hope this project gets replicated all over the East End and maybe in some infill spots in neighborhoods like Carver, Randolph, and the southern stretches of Manchester. Could you see the old neighborhoods with these REAL northeast row houses lining streets? Simply beautiful!

Man oh man - this is simply fantastic! This is exactly how big cities do things. Lots of projects. LOTS of them. All across town. All at the same time. I can recall how utterly dead development was in Richmond years ago - and believe me, more structures either burned down, were torn down or were abandoned and left to rot than were built. Anything like this going on in either Carver or Randolph? And if so, maybe a sub forum for those neighborhoods if things are on the move there? I recall when Randolph had pretty much been razed to the ground and really started to pick up some steam about 20 years ago - there were still a ton of undeveloped streets back then. Maybe most of it has been rebuilt by now. Just curious. Again, this is SO amazing to see! I love how there are new things popping up in the older neighborhoods - and at the same time, there are wholesale transformations of entire sections of town like Manchester, Scott's Addition, Fulton/Rocketts -- and I honestly am beginning to think that Monroe Ward is the next part of town to REALLLLLY ignite on the development front - and that could be huge!

Really good stuff!! So glad to see these neighborhoods starting to ignite now. If all the old housing projects in that part of town - Mosby, Creighton and Whitcomb all get redeveloped, a lot of good things can happen there. rjp212 I also am a proponent of mixed-income and mixed-use. Here's hoping there's plenty of opportunity in these neighborhoods as new housing stock starts to be developed.

Really gorgeous stuff. Hope they continue along these lines in that neighborhood. Am guessing there are other developable parcels nearby?

Good to see all the way around. Man, I LOVE that one at 30th and Q. Looking mighty good!

This is fantastic! Love to see projects transforming the older urban neighborhoods like this. Plus, it certainly looks like it's adding density. These kinds of projects in the various "less glamorous" neighborhoods (i.e. places other than Manchester, Scott's Addition, Monroe Ward, VCU area, Rocketts/Fulton) - are also an important part of how and why Richmond's population is growing at double-digit rates. Good to see!

Nice!! I love that the East End is getting in on the development activity now as well.

I actually like these! Gives it a neat urban feel - very New York or Baltimore. Much needed. Hope more such rowhouses get built in that part of town. Hoping they'd use brick and not siding - but still, I like the urban feel with actual stoops coming out to the sidewalk like in other big cities. The corner balconies look nice too. Great idea to set up sub forums for active East End neighorhoods.

Right - Brandt Hall is somewhere in the 18-20 story range isn't it? Indeed, the Gladdings rebuild added some nice height on the VCU campus as well - and here's hoping that the 12-story beauty at Lombardy and Broad gets underway and soon! A LOT of projects are rising in Manchester and Scott's Addition - maybe Monroe Ward and City Center are about to join the boom party! What is really impressing me the most is that almost ALL of the new highrise construction in Richmond (save a few specific projects) is residential. THAT'S what the bigger cities did years ago - suddenly taller, denser, bigger residential buildings began sprouting up all over in specific parts of town -- and that helped feed a cycle of rapid population growth. Since Richmond doesn't have it's own Mecklinburg County it can just gobble up like Charlotte did - it will have to do it the old fashioned way - build it vertically!! If all these highrises come to pass - and more are added in the coming years -- can you envision what Richmond will look like in 5 or 10 years? WOW!!!!

AMEN! It's a huge win for Richmond and for downtown. Replacing the sea of parking lots with a forest of 15-20-25 story buildings will dramatically transform downtown in a super positive way. AND ... if we DO get that forest of highrises - simple economics - supply and demand -- ultimately will push through the envelope and help break the barrier - and Richmond ultimately WILL get that 700 or 800 foot-tall building (or a few of them). It will take time - but this right here is a big step in the right direction. Paraphrasing legendary astronaut Neil Armstrong - this "one small step" for downtown will eventually lead to "one giant leap" for Richmond. It will happen if this momentum keeps going! Yes - at 17 stories, Vistas was the tallest residential building to rise in Richmond this century. One of the two South Falls towers is 14 stories - so it's nice to see that this new one is pushing past that 10, 11, 12-story residential model of recent years. Hopefully heights and densities will continue to increase. Let's hope! Maybe something in the 20-story range?! (hopeful!!)

While I'd love for it to be taller as well, I'm thrilled! This goes into the "BOOOOM!!!! HOME RUN!!!!" category as far as I'm concerned. Good reputable developer - great location - AND -- if you recall from one of the other threads, the 321 W. Grace parcel was one of the ones included in the change-up of parking requirements because the city was leaning in the direction of highrise residential development. Wonder if that means the other two parcels in the 100 block W. Grace may ALSO see some highrise residential buildings ready to sprout? Like mushrooms after a summer thunderstorm - let those highrises keep sprouting!! VERY good news indeed! BTW whw53 - thank you for creating the new separate sub forum for Monroe Ward/City Center. I've a feeling that this may be the focal point of a LOT of downtown development activity over the next decade. We should all stay tuned to this part of town. OK - I'm praying that I'll get that mini-Manhattan I've been wanting my whole life! BRING ON THE HIGH RISES!!!!

I wouldn't go as far as generalizing the Manchester sub forum as "Southside" - Manchester is it's own distinct part of town with it's own developing distinct urban vibe and flavor. Maybe going as far as "Manchester/Swansboro" might work - though I honestly think anything west of Cowardin Avenue -- as well as anything south of the Dinwiddie Avenue/Commerce Road axis -- should have their own sub forums or simply continue to be included in a general "Manchester". Technically a significant section of what we might consider "Manchester" is the old Blackwell neighborhood. Personally, I would prefer to see separate sub forums for "Manchester" "Swansboro" and "Southside" - where the first two are specific sections of Southside - and the third could be a catch-all for anything outside of Manchester and Swansboro.

FANTASTIC!! Loving this!