Some interesting numbers were released by the U.S Census in the December 2005 update...First of all Virginia Beach has the 4th HIGHEST median income in the country (Right behind San Francisco, Anchorage and Westchester County, NY. Check these numbers out for yourself...It was front page news in December...Also remember that Hampton Roads is a $ 62 BILLION dollar per year economy, and one that has not posted a negative RGDP (Regional gross Domestic Product) since the depression era...The military, military related companies and the port contribute over $400 million in steady / consistent spending power to the area which the U.S. Government terms the area as "nearly recession proof...The Ford plant and associated suppliers contribute (according to the HR Chamber of Commerce) nearly $200 million in local economic support. So, $200 million out of a $62 Billion local economy is hardly (at 4% or 5 %) an issue to be overly concerned about...The truth is, that this area is hungry for higher-end offerings. And with the pre-construction demand / sales for the high-end projects being above expectations, it is obvious that these numbers mentioned above accurately portray that there is and that there will be a healthy market for these types of projects...I believe that what a national developer stated a couple of years back about th people of Hamton Roads is true...He stated that "he had never seen such a group of people that had such a low esteem in what the area is truly ready for" And what he said that the area is "ripe" for is high-end development and retail...So we need to accept that we are no longer a low end market. We are finally getting the exposure and offerings that we can support and deserve.
