gosscj

To clarify about your discussion of performing venues in Hampton Roads: The Norva has virtually no direct competition in the area for shows of the size and caliber it presents. The Granby Theater shows films and presents concerts that stay more in the jazz/blues/classical range, generally more low key; on Friday and Saturday nights it becomes Premiere Norfolk, a high-end dance club. Ferguson, Chrysler and Roper Halls, and the Harrison Opera House are all more or less like Richmond's Landmark: that is, they focus on theater, dance, classical music and other various stage performances, but usually not big, loud concerts. Hampton's American Theater is essentially the same. Portsmouth's amphitheater has a similar seating capacity as the Norva, but it's usually pretty easy to determine what kind of band would prefer an outdoor versus an indoor venue. Virginia Beach's amphitheater is huge compared to all the rest, so again it brings in a totally different kind of show - in this case, big arena concerts. And the Boathouse, unfortunately, does not exist anymore - it was destroyed several years ago in a hurricane.

When you talk about East Freemason, are you refering to the major condo/apartment developments along Boush and Brambleton?

That article says funding for the project is already allocated in the state budget. Also, since it will take so long to complete, does anyone think there's a chance Va Beach or Portsmouth will get started (or at least planning) before the Norfolk line is finished?

Check this out!!! Norfolk light-rail line passes federal review

In Virginia Beach, referenda on public works projects generally are stupid ideas.

No - the Old Town Holiday Inn is a four story structure in an awful state of disrepair. It is located next to the 25-story Harbor Tower, which is an apartment building and which is in fine shape. That is probably the building you are thinking of.

I think that EVMS' campus already relates very well with downtown and, with the extension of the skyline West along Brambleton Ave and into Fort Norfolk, it will become truly a connected part of the city... especially if light rail proves successful. This is something I've noticed the last several times I've been in town: everybody talks about how downtown will spead North across Granby St. and extend all the way to Tidewater Dr. and certainly it won't be long before this begins to become a reality, but nobody seems to notice that we are already beginning projects that will connect EVMS (which is already quite impressive looking) to downtown, thereby greatly expanding the area that can viably be called "Downtown Norfolk". Look at the towers approved or proposed along Brambleton - they will have a serious impact. The other great side-effect of this is that it will tie the Colley Ave. district more closely with downtown, especially if we do see quality development on upper Granby. It all makes me very excited! (Sorry... off-topic)

Sounds a lot like VCU's incorporation of MCV in Richmond, where I did my undergraduate work and which is doing astonishingly well for itself lately. I really feel that VCU's recent effort should be a model for the improvement of ODU's campus. Although both the schools and the cities are comparable in size, VCU is a much more active player in the life of Richmond as a city and, while I don't want to see Norfolk quite so dominated by ODU as Richmond is by VCU, it would certainly be nice to see a little more vibrancy and activity coming from Hampton Blvd.

The jail suffers from the same conditions as the courthouse because it was built at the same time, plus it is full past capacity. I think the eventual goal is to move all the municipal buildings from that site to clear it for redevelopment, but they obviously don't have the money to do it all at once so the jail will have to wait. As for tunneling from the new structure to the jail... I hope it's a looooong tunnel or the new building won't be at a suitable location as far as I'm concerned.

The article said they were negotiating a deal on a parcel of land on which to build the courthouse, but they never said where it might be. Just as long as it's moved from its current location, I'll be happy.

As a bonus, here are a few pictures I took while in Philadelphia recently. Philadelphia is an amazing city (and will be my home in less than a month!) The building on the left is where I will be attending most of my graduate classes. The vantage point for the photograph is the base of the amazing Baroque city hall in the last picture! And a bonus bonus... an unbelievably cute picture of my dog, Carmen. No, I never saw that article. I wish the Pilot was better at posting articles online on Sundays.

Yes, that's the one. My computer was being all wonky last night so I got fed up and left it alone. Here are some more pictures though:

I was in Norfolk last Thursday and Friday to attend a dinner held at the Town Point Club at the World Trade Center so I have about a hundred photos to share. I just finished loading them to flickr so I should be able to post them this evening after work.

Norfolk is getting a new bookstore larger than any the city currently has. It will serve as a new student bookstore for ODU as well as a place for the general public to find good academic publications and general titles. Here is a link to an article in the current issue of PortFolio.

Reading the current issue of PortFolio I was surprised by the cover article, written by Tom Robotham, about Bibliophile bookshop in downtown Norfolk. I had heard of the store before (only the name really) but had never seen it and never knew that it was located downtown, or at least just a few blocks away. The article gives the address as 251 W Bute St, right by the several high rise apartment/condominium projects going up on Brambleton, so hopefully he can hold out that long as those residents should help boost his business. I'm going to make a point to check the place out next time I'm in Norfolk and I thought it relevant to post this here in case anybody else was interested and hadn't known of the place before. I think it's especially worth pointing out since a lot of us on the forum have really been pining for a big book retailer like Barnes & Noble in downtown. Here is the link to the PortFolio article.

In those two regions there are about 3.7 million people, or a little more than half of Virginia's 7 million. And considering the types of businesses that fuel our economies (as compared with Southside and Shenandoah regions) we put our fair share into the tax system and we should be able to get a few major public works projects out of it.

Or how about we don't pay them for the extra weeks they spent arguing on the clock just to end up giving the people nothing?

Need some more bad news? Looks like our transportation crisis is going another two years without being addressed... Story I can't believe our legislators would think this is right for the state!

So we can expect a final design by July-September 2007... I wonder where that puts us as far as a completion date. I don't know how long they expect it to take, but I would guess not too long. It is a major undertaking, but it seems like one that won't require too much heavy building - just a couple of stations and 7.4 miles of track. Also, if they still expect to get this running by 2008, does that mean we will get a new main library in the next two years since the track is supposed to run through the site of the Kirn Memorial Library? So many questions... I wonder what kind of changes will be made over the next 12-14 months. And do they have options in place for expansion already? And how long after it's completion before we can start discussing extensions?

Portsmouth courts building to close For 6 months Portsmouth is planning to temporarily relocate five courtrooms and the city clerk's office so they can remove asbestos from the courts building on Water St. No word in the article about how much the renovation and relocation will cost, but it's bound to be fairly expensive. I hate to see the city throwing money into rehabilitating buildings they should be tearing down.

Reading that makes me think that the warehouse fronts in the Fort Norfolk area, if they were converted, might have been an ideal location for the terminal. It definitely would have helped to spark development in that part of town, and it would have brought the cruise passengers into the Ghent area a little more and meant increased pedestrian traffic there and the possibility for more retail to cater to them. Plus, there would still be a great view of downtown from there, which would still lure them over to that district. I kinda wish they had considered this as an option now.

Virginian-Pilot article on South Norfolk development

I just read through the link to the FTA's budget request that urbanfan provided and was surprised to read this: I was not aware of this history.