[Norfolk Cruise Terminal]

Don't get me wrong. I am happy to have it, and the concept is very cool. It's just that big concrete base, with the blue panels, it gives an appearance of being unfinished. (Sort of like the appearance of "running out of brick" over at Harbor Park) I hold off intil they are finished. But it's definately a nice facility.

[Norfolk Cruise Terminal]

What ashame...it could have been something really cool. It resembles a pre-fab warehouse on a very thick layer of cement. I so wanted it to look good. Oh well.

[Virginia Beach Development]

http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&amp...628D181!101

if this works, it is an aerial shot of virginia beach, from local.live.com which was taken so long ago that the Dome was still there.

[What a cool shot ! I followed the image to downtown ORF and you can get an idea of the time period that this was taken. The Marriott and NS Tower were not built yet. The old F&M building was still present. And Mac Mall was just a thought (as the old Maritime Tower and JC Penney building were still there !) All of that said, I would say late 80's...All of the big projects of 1986-90 are there...World Trade Center 2, Town Point Center and Dominion Tower, all of those opened between 1987 and 1988, so I would date this pic as 1988-1990. Awesome shot !]

[Hampton Roads Housing/Real estate/and Economy]

I'd have to agree. I'm amazed at how some people believe no one here can afford to live in such a building. Which doesn't quite explain how people can afford $500k homes on postage-size lots in Va. Beach, buy hummers, go to the OBX every weekend, go out to eat 3 times a week, etc. etc.

The simple fact is that developers wouldn't last long in this business if they didn't do their homework. Some make mistakes, but most probably don't. Clearly, enough people can afford to live in Granby Tower. Look at the Westin, Harbor's Edge (1 tower sold out, a second close to it if not already so), and all the other projects on Boush, Granby, Ocean View, Shore Drive, Town Center, etc. Are these and other developers building just because everybody else is? No, they're building because they've researched their A's off and know what they're doing.

Now, if part of the issue is sales of units, I'm convinced this is because of one simple overwhelming cause: daily negative media coverage of things like the Ford Plant. Just how many dozens of articles have we had shoved down our throats? How much can you milk one story? I'm sad to see people lose their jobs, but this will have no affect on our market's ability to support projects like Granby Tower. Yet, if I were new to the area or a potential investor, I'd probably believe the sky is falling too. It's like a few years back when a bank branch in Franklin closed and 2 people lost their jobs. Front page on the VP. In that same issue, back among the tire ads in the back of the business section, Chesapeake announced the creation of 3000 jobs from a Japanese firm. Hmmm.

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.