DowntownCoruscant

Drive-thu Sheetz coming to Regency, but I can only imagine Scott’s Walk gave it the old college try to bring it there.

A minor point, but the Starbucks already in existence is set up perfectly. The entrance and exit to the drive-thru is a little used side street parallel to AA Blvd. Cuts down on excessive traffic on AA and for lack of a better term feels “urban.”

Yeah, this is crap.

These kinds of things can get closer to Broad - there’s stretches on both the east and west sides of Staples Mill - but not TOO much closer realistically without disrupting a lot. Anthem has a big complex on the east side, and the Crossroads art gallery/Bremo Pharmacy shopping center is nestled behind some longstanding local businesses like Bill Crumpton Tire & Pedal Power bicycles. At any rate, these developments may tie into the neighboring Staples Mill Transportation Corridor, which ends at 64 or so. I watched the virtual presentation about it a few weeks ago, and one of the presenters did allude to “dedicated travel lanes” on Staples Mill, albeit not part of the Pulse line.

Ok, this is awesome news. The Libbie Mill and Willow Lawn areas should be popping with these sorts of things. It’s a convenient location filled with outdated buildings and parking lots.

I drove through Manchester this morning with my wife because both of us had an hour to kill. All the construction is impressive. There are three blocks on 7th (I believe) that are straight up construction. The area is really taking shape - at least a new shape. Incidentally, here’s a recommendation for Cafe Zata, located just off Bainbridge (where my wife’s dad grew up way back in the 1920s). We had breakfast there. Husband-and-wife run operation. Nice, friendly service.

Every RedWolves fan-made helmet/jersey I saw online was simply incredible and so much better than what they selected. I get the honor-the-military sentiment, but based on a sample size of one, my friend who’s a former Army Ranger, they missed the mark. He says the commanders are the “lost souls in the field” everyone else has to keep safe. The whole naming process was all a show, of course. They didn’t listen to fan input because Snyder decided on the name long ago.

I’ve got no skin in any debate over there, but it looks like one dude dominating the discussion. At any rate, progress can be painful. Every development out there means a fairly beautiful untouched area is no longer. I get it, and I have no meaningful objection to it. But that scene of quaint Sunday drives is long just a memory, never to return. /wistfulness

Within that story is confirmation the Gayton Road interchange with I-64 will be happening. That’s good news. Also, I don’t think this is feasible anymore but it sure would be nice if I-295 terminated with local access rather than onto 64. Would definitely relieve some traffic constraints.

This is quite likely THE most “Urban Planet Richmond” comment ever to grace this forum.

Totally forgot to mention the Renegades! Thank you for the addition!

Yes, the Coliseum is an ugly trash heap. Yes, it’s been an ugly trash heap since at least the Waterworld game between UVA and Michigan State two decades ago. No, I won’t shed a tear when it’s torn down. BUT…. Oh man, so many memories there. The circus. The Harlem Globetrotters. Doctor J doing a windmill dunk 20 feet away from me during an exhibition game against the Pacers. Graduations. NCAA tournament games. Darvin Hamm shattering the backboard. Lots of CAA tournament games. Lowly Navy stunning Lefty & JMU in 1990. Curtis Blair going coast to coast to win the semifinal on 1991, Jim Shields having the game of his life in the final. UNC winning the women’s championship at the buzzer. WWF wrestling. Better rasslin (Jim Crockett Promotions) more often. Dusty Rhodes, Junk Yard Dog, the Road Warriors, Magnum TA. Truck and tractor pulls and monster trucks. So much time spent there - and my memories of the place begin about 10 years after it opened.

Translation: Sloooooooooooow news days on RBS. :-) (I do see Grit Coffee is opening a second RVA location. Grit’s ok. Nothing beats Sefton.)

No, I really can’t. Just a total guess. Public knowledge = just based on what little I can glean as an outsider.. I have no way of knowing anything more than that. No clue what’s being bandied about. Here’s some photos of the Norfolk courthouse rotunda as an example. Adds a bit of height. I know it’s a popular space (or was pre-pandemic) to hold gatherings and, apparently, wedding receptions. https://leighskaggsphotography.net/wedding-photography/tanja-jc-norfolk-courthouse-wedding/

Same in Willow Lawn area. Perhaps I’m weird but I felt a little insulted they found nothing worth taking.

Total WAG based on just public knowledge would be 9 floors, equivalent to 10. That’s based on the current Supreme Court being 6 floors but more like 7 because there’s a mezzanine between ground and second, as the courtroom’s ceiling is very high. From two up the building is more like an office building with various IT and court administration, etc. Also, I would guess this building will hold the Court of Appeals, which occupies the Rose & Lafoon building (2 floors plus a basement) that is more or less attached. Presumably the Court of Appeals would have its own dedicated courtroom and take up a couple floors, maybe three, given it just expanded from 11 to 17 judges (not all of whom are based on Richmond, of course). The wild card might be whether an upper floor rotunda is planned, which is kind of the trend in court buildings these days.

“You’ve been nominated for Who’s Who Among World Cities! Act now to appear in this year’s edition!”

Don’t get me wrong - I don’t know much at all. I’m certainly not in the industry. If you’re a simpleton, then I’m a sub-simpleton. That said, the suggestion is there should be a law that if a developer submits plans and the city doesn’t respond/counter within a specified period of time, then the city waives any objection and the plans “pass to adoption.” If this were to become law, then it would be up to the General Assembly as a law of general application, not just enforceable on the City of Richmond. And my guess is the local government lobby would fight such a law and at least ensure it has a safe harbor. Otherwise you could have a less than desirable plan proceed without alteration based on nothing other than the passage of time. So let’s say there’s an exception for the local government’s delayed response on the ground there was good cause for the delay, i.e., we’re being diligent but just can’t meet the deadline for some reason. And then let’s say the developer says there’s no good cause, you guys are just gumming up the works for no good reason. Who decides whether or not there’s good cause? A court or arbiter. Which means the parties are spending money on attorneys to litigate the matter, which could take a good bit of time. I’m not sure whose interest that would promote.

The two problems with such a grant-of-rights/waiver scenario that I can see are a) it’s always going to have a exception for good cause, and b) what constitutes good cause is going to get litigated, causing further delay and legal expenses.

They picked a superb week (weather-wise) to do this. Every single person looked miserable!

Great picture. And agreed. Also, the building with the Emrock & Kikduff signage looks good at night.

It’s a nice looking building so far. Setting these things right on Broad makes a big difference. Case in point is the Summit building, especially when lit up at night.

Yeah, salt the earth on Kanawha Plaza for all I care. It’s still not a welcoming space despite the work done on it a few years ago. As previously noted, I was referring to the James Center. Apologies if that was unclear. I’ve seen people here dump on plaza space every now and then, but they’re kind of nice for office worker mental health. Fifteen or more years ago, when I worked at Main Street Centre, the plaza was really nice. They’d have lunchtime concerts in the spring - Jimmy Smooth & the Fun Time Band was a favorite. I think the construction of the state parking deck killed that mood to some degree.

Developing the plaza areas would be an incredibly unpopular move. Those have been valuable lunchtime meeting or relaxation areas, especially for the food truck crowd.

If you can believe it, another original announcer from a 1969 MLB expansion team is still active (Denny Mathews of the Royals).