BeagleAccountant

The former Bold Mariner space is now an EVMS building. While this development has pretty standard suburban strip mall offerings, it has improved the curb appeal of this area in a major way and I really appreciate how loyal they stayed to the original renderings despite missing out on that bowling alley business. Keep building/renovating between Hampton and Colley, and before you know it ODU and Ghent will feel like one community.

I agree bout it being a waste but it's hard to see the argument against it. This use is consistent with that side of Monticello.

Went to District Apizza the other night. It was pretty good and they did a nice job with the space. Definitely worth a visit. And since parking is so bad in that area, it gave me an even better appreciation for how much that area has changed. From Granby to Colonial, those few blocks have been totally remade over the last 5 to 10 years with warehouse apartments and a lot of restaurants. It's great to see. However, the parking in that area is only going to get worse with more apartments going up, more business going in and Norfolk only requiring 1 space per unit. There is a need for a public garage or two in that general area and they should get ahead of the issue before the property costs catch up to all that development

Chrysler has aged much better than the Scope. But with a renovation, they could improve concessions, ingress/egress, bathrooms and add some more high end amenities.

It's priced competitively for Norfolk. And yes, rent is high everywhere.

Apologies if this has been mentioned already but I don't remember seeing anything about it on here recently. On the agenda for the March 28th Planning Commission meeting is the following under new business: TWG PHASE A, LLC, Development Certificate for St. Paul’s Blocks 9, 10, 16 You can view the agenda here: https://norfolkcityva.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=2540&Inline=True

This development was successful in keeping the original design and has come through in being a majorly positive beautification project. Still sucks we didnt get the bowling alley but this is a great thing for the area.

They are renovating or building multiple stadiums currently. And they know how to promote. Hopefully they can fix the concession lines. Even when it’s not a packed crowd, you end up missing a bunch of baseball standing in line.

The city of Norfolk has secured its first federal grant to help offset the cost of building a 20-plus acre park in the St. Paul’s neighborhood that will double as a flooding mitigation tool: https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/10/02/large-park-part-of-norfolks-st-pauls-redevelopment-receives-federal-funding/ Total cost of the project is $40 million. This grant is for $4mil and they have applied for a total of $35 mil in grants that would require up to a $25 mil match. The article also notes that no matter how the grants fall, they have budgeted for the entire cost.

The Pilot has an article on this development. Late in the piece it notes that it will include an unannounced entertainment restaurant. Anyone want to guess which chain moves in? Personally, I feel like a Cinema Cafe would work well there especially with the unsure future of Regal at MacArthur. https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/09/12/heres-how-the-40-million-lamberts-point-development-is-progressing-in-norfolk/

Hopefully this inspires others to do the same. Build up!

Anyone’s guess at this point. But I hope we can re-start the process, put it out for RFP and get a casino that can give us the high end casino we were promised without all these headaches. Norfolk is partly to blame for not standing up earlier but a lot of the decisions Head Waters has made just feels cheap and makes one think they don’t have the funds to make this happen, despite the billionaire in their corner.

The phased approach was mapped out by Chip Filer to the Pamunkey/Headwaters. It’s good to see that the new city manager is being consistent in his messaging that this won’t be allowed. https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/08/05/norfolk-casino-will-likely-be-built-in-one-phase-newly-obtained-letters-shed-light/?fbclid=IwAR0VtgT7LeRBan4JzddLL3mrfcJqwhgsayIAopqpL9uwbtk3bZa6yjrTV9A_aem_AaD9pZjGwQqlH4Mgotim9Cn3s_b6hbmejgQ7xMrukYaX1rnrjLDnNnrXogBS-avuyMQ&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Im confused by your comment on the railyard district. The majority of development in that area has been turning old warehouses into apartments where there were none before. There are at least 6 apartment complexes that are a reuse that I can think of built over the last few years. Are you talking about the Railyard, a development in Lamberts Point?

Get out of the deal, put it out for RFP and let's restart the process to do it right with a partner who can follow through.

Norfolk beginning negotiations with Dillard's on a purchase of their space. https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/07/14/norfolk-negotiating-purchase-of-dillards-in-downtown-macarthur-center/

Apparently Norfolk is considering opening up the process to other casino operators.

A lot of positive developments going on in the Riverview portion of Granby Street. The Riverview Theater will be turned into an events space, LeGrand moved from North Colley to the former location of Crackers, Lo Mo Pizzeria takes over where Blanca Cafe was and Pittie Dog Grill fills the former Subway/Capn Crabby space. https://www.pilotonline.com/2023/07/05/riverview-revival-new-development-in-norfolk-neighborhood-includes-former-theater/

Sounds like Kenny needs to work on communication inside city hall before calling others out: "However, in a March letter sent by the city to the casino developers, the city requested only conceptual details for the future phases of development, while requesting details such as architectural renderings, building elevations and a site layout for the first phase, all of which were provided by the development team."

So if the timeline is right, they were awarded the grant after they purchased the building. Given that, what real risk was there of them leaving the region for a different offer?

Bayport Credit Union is on the agenda for the July 10 Architectural Review Board meeting. They are applying for some exterior renovations to the building at 2014 Granby Street, which was previously a Wells Fargo next to Taco Bell and near Doumars. You can see more details here: http://norfolkcityva.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2340&Inline=True

A new Staybridge Suites at 1581 Premium Outlets Boulevard is on the Architectural Review Board agenda for July 10th. This is the lot directly adjacent to the small strip mall that includes Fat Burger and sandwiched between the street and the Tru hotel. There are more details at the agenda link: http://norfolkcityva.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=2340&Inline=True

Better off not awarding it at all and stocking up for an actual win.

Seems like a weird way to spend that grant, right? They already are doing business locally, so most employees wont need to relocate. And they have zero need to find new businesses in the area to deal with since they are already entrenched here. All you're really left with are the taxes the business pays, perhaps more business towards local businesses who serve the employees (gas and food) and the rent they'll pay towards the city. It could take a while for VB to recoup the grant they received. So it really is hard to find any tangible downstream impact or benefit of awarding this economic development incentive to another local business.

It’s right there in the headline, they got a nice grant from VB to move. If Norfolk isn’t bringing a competitive offer, the business leaves simple as that.