electricmonk

Used to skateboard down that raod back when it was still open to traffic. Amazing me and my friends are still alive.

If you look up at the Star it's the big house right underneath it. The previous mayor lived there but he recently sold it.

Also a good illustration of where the new art museum will be. It's going in the parking lot on the left for those that don't know. I've been too lazy to go photograph the site so thanks for posting this photo.

I think a big part of it is that a lot of Richmond's growth took place in the late 80's and early 90's before downtowns were trendy. All the corporate honchos wanted their own building in an office park in the suburbs. Just think if the square footage in the Arboretum, The Boulders and Innsbrook had been built downtown instead. The skyline would probably rival Atlanta's.

I've been bugging a couple people I know to sign up. I'll keep on them. One works for the city in the Housing and Neighborhood Services department and the other works for HSMM the large local architectural and engineering firm.

Here's a few shots some recent/current construction projects. Since these relate to Roanoke development I'm putting them here. Feel free to move the post if you think it belongs in the photos thread. Phase 1 of the new Patrick Henry High School. Opens next week. I need to walk up there to get some better angles though. The Ivy Market/Ukrops site. Two new buildings near Carillion Hospital. One still under construction. The Fairfax condo project. The Carillion expansion nearing completion. Wish I had the Windex contract for this place. First building in the Riverside Center/Biomedical Park project. Site work for the new fire/EMS headquarters.

I used to have that issue of the Roanoker. Must have lost it in one of my many moves. The freestanding Kroger on 221 has had a Starbucks in it since early summer at least. Can't remember exactly when. An article in Sunday's newspaper discussed the upcoming changes at both Valley View and Tanglewood. Wish List -snip- Survey markers are showing up in the Valley View parking lot between Sears and JCPenney. There are two markers in one of the grassy areas in the parking lot and some pink flags are tied to bushes. "I can't say anything," said Louise Dudley, manager at Valley View, in response to questions about future retail developments at the mall. At Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke County, there is construction going on at the left side of the mall in the former space of Brendle's, a discount retailer. Beckie Spaid, Tanglewood's marketing director, would not discuss details about what will happen there. She only said the mall is "getting ready to turn it [the space] over to new tenants." The space is being prepared for three or four tenants, Spaid said, and she called the future announcement "pretty exciting." -end snip-

Yeah, I wish it was a Costco too but I think you're right. The reporter asked the Tanglewood spokesperson if it was Khol's and she smiled and said she can't say who it is yet.

Haven't heard about any new towers yet but I would definitely welcome them if it's for real. I think with Alright Parking pulling out of Roanoke there's all sorts of speculation about what is going to happen with their lots. I just hope whatever does go on them is architecturally interesting. There's finally some movement at Tanglewood. A new department store is going to move into the old Brendle's space and a few other new stores are leasing some other vacant spots at the mall.

Yeah, I'm clueless. I thought I was pretty much on top of all non-residential projects going on around town. If I can I'll ride out that way this evening and see if I can find out what it is.

Unknown Roanoke project, to me anyway. Last weekend I was getting ready to take some photos from downtown of the full moon and I saw this building and have no idea what it is. This is looking towards the northeast. Saw that in my viewfinder and was like where the hell did that come from? Anyone here know? I'll put the moon photos in the Roanoke photos thread.

Hey all, I kinda got sidetracked and wasn't able to visit here much the last month or so and also fell way behind in the photos I had planned on taking to post here. Hopefully I can spend some more time on all that now plus posting the older Richmond photos I have. Stay tuned and feel free to nag the hell out of me. Sometimes that's the only way I get things done.

I didn't make it to the groundbreaking. On this map the art museum will be at the intersection of Salem Ave SE and Williamson Rd in the odd shaped lot on the north side. The Jefferson Center is a couple blocks west up Campbell Ave beyond what's shown in this map.

Ground breaking for the art museum is today. I doubt I'll be awake in time but if I can get out of bed I'm going to head down there to check it out. Art museum to break ground Saturday

I was talking to a friend the other day and a building he owned on Salem Ave is going to be converted to condos. A developer from NY bought it. It's the old Iroquois nightclub building. The city just started razing the buildings next door to build a parking garage for the jail and the Salem Ave side of the garage is supposed to have retail space. Considering the amount of time and money I've spent inside the Iroquois Club and it's various other incarnations I should claim some sort of squatter's rights and get a free condo.

The city just commisioned a study to look into keeping the market area growing. Study Eyes Market

I didn't make it over there so no photos of the area yet. You can go to this page and download a brief site plan with a couple drawings on it. Here's the basics though: 27 acres 8 buildings 3 parking garages 1.1 million square feet of rental space Initial Construction Riverside 1 55,000 square feet Office-type space Construction begins in late summer, 2005 Riverside 2 50,000 square feet Laboratory and office space (for Carilion Consolidated Laboratory) Construction begins in early fall, 2005 Also in that neighborhood a new condo development is planned. Planned condos already selling "At least 50 percent of the condominiums already have been sold in a new high-end condo complex that is yet to go up in South Roanoke. Westwin of Roanoke, a company owned by Jim Body and Winter Hodges, is building the Fairfax, a 39-unit condo project at the corner of South Jefferson Street and Yellow Mountain Road, in a parking lot that it purchased from Carilion Health System. Twenty-seven condos have been pre-sold there, said Blair Godsey, vice president of Westwin. He said construction should be complete by December 2006 on the $23 million project."

I'll try to get some shots of the Bio-Medical park today. That's going to be the regional catalyst for new construction if it takes off. Right now it's still in the experimental stage.

There was a stupid letter to the editor in Sunday's paper about it. I'm excited about it. Can't wait for construction to start although it will take my parking spot that I always use on Saturday nights when I go the Tavern on the Market.