Jump to content

Va. Beach Towncenter project

vdogg

By vdogg
in Virginia Beach

Recommended Posts

sugoiben Whistle-Stop

sugoiben

Posted
Posted

Actually I don't. I was with a friend and we were really hungry but I wanted to take a few pictures before it got too dark. There is quite a bit of construction though going on as you can see by the cranes and such. Maybe one of the other members from that area might have further info.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Couldn't tell ya which development exactly that one is, but I know there are about a half dozen more buildings going to be appearing in Reston in no time soon. One article about a couple in particular here. Towards the bottom of that article several of the other ones coming down the pipe are mentioned.

I've spent a decent amount of time in both cities Town Centers. I'm not sure about the whole which is more urban thing. To me they are both pretty surburban. Reston's is a little bigger than the Beach's right now I think. They definitely have more buildings, but none of them are particularly big. Twenty-one stories is the highest I think. That area that you noted as a place for concerts is a ice skating rink in the winter. I think there's probably more retail and dining options, right now in Reston. But Reston's been around a long time, and it seems to grow in spurts. The Beach might be in the middle of spurt right now you could say, but it's a big one, and if it can sustain it for a little while, then it'll be bigger than Reston in no time flat.

But I wouldn't go as far to say that the Beach copied Reston either. File that one under Norfolk copied Baltimore for Waterside. ^_^ Thus far, I think the VB TC has a better mix of things to do. Maybe not as much quantity of choices yet, but nice mix nonetheless. And the choices will continue to grow along with the TC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 988
  • Created
  • Last Reply
vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Couldn't tell ya which development exactly that one is, but I know there are about a half dozen more buildings going to be appearing in Reston in no time soon. One article about a couple in particular here.  Towards the bottom of that article several of the other ones coming down the pipe are mentioned. 

I've spent a decent amount of time in both cities Town Centers.  I'm not sure about the whole which is more urban thing.  To me they are both pretty surburban.  Reston's is a little bigger than the Beach's right now I think.  They definitely have more buildings, but none of them are particularly big.  Twenty-one stories is the highest I think.  That area that you noted as a place for concerts is a ice skating rink in the winter.  I think there's probably more retail and dining options, right now in Reston.  But Reston's been around a long time, and it seems to grow in spurts.  The Beach might be in the middle of spurt right now you could say, but it's a big one, and if it can sustain it for a little while, then it'll be bigger than Reston in no time flat. 

But I wouldn't go as far to say that the Beach copied Reston either.  File that one under Norfolk copied Baltimore for Waterside.  ^_^  Thus far, I think the VB TC has a better mix of things to do.  Maybe not as much quantity of choices yet, but nice mix nonetheless.  And the choices will continue to grow along with the TC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Awesome, thinks for the link. One question, is Reston subject to the same height restrictions as Rosslyn/Tysons corner, etc?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sugoiben Whistle-Stop

sugoiben

Posted
Posted

Awesome, thinks for the link. One question, is Reston subject to the same height restrictions as Rosslyn/Tysons corner, etc?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think so. I think Reston has it's own set of probably stricter height restrictions than Rosslyn does, which is different as well from Tysons. They

are after all three independent jurisdictions. Reston, isn't incorporated, but they've got some special setup for the Town Center area, and I don't think the Fairfax county board gets as much say as what goes there, as they do in Tyson's say. Rosslyn is part of Arlington, as for height restrictions there, they have a harder time convincing dealing with people who want Rosslyn to abide by the DC height restrictions and possibly the FAA since the flight path into National runs kinda close to over Rosslyn. But not low enough that it should prevent them from getting a lot taller.

It's always the same arguments though, one really tall building is gonna add so much traffic that we're gonna be in worse gridlock, than the gridlock we're already in. So instead ya get bunches of em with very few over 20 stories. Rosslyn does better since it's got the metro running thru it though.

Just remembered, I'm going to dinner out at Reston Town Center this wednesday. If it's still light by the time I get out there, maybe I can get a couple more pics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
urbanlife Town

urbanlife

Posted
Posted

great pics of Reston, it does look like it is aging well. Grown a bit from my visit years ago. Although the planters are pretty stupid, fine if the sidewalks were bigger but at there size they are not needed.

Reston was just a model, when a city does something new they always take people to a living model of what they want to do. Reston was that for VB.

The VB TC is going to be much better in the end because of the surrounding developments will be working with it. My trip to Reston I felt like the surrounding areas had nothing to do with Reston.

My dream for the VaBeach TC is to one day have the city hall up there, several condos and apartments in the mix, no Poembroke Mall, just more city blocks. And a streetcar that connects all of the districts of Pembroke.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
burt Megalopolis

burt

Posted
Posted

Isn't there a lake in Reston? Seems to me years ago when it began, everything was centered on the waterfront.

Speaking of words with Water in them, has anybody ever been to Waterford in NOVA? It was like finding Brigadoon when I first saw it about 30 years ago. I'm sure Waterford is the name, but I could be wrong - anyway, it is (or was) an incredibly quaint village. I think they have a festival every autumn. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoobo Burg

hoobo

Posted
Posted

Good pic!  Is it really recent because the Cosmo is looking good!  Also, the smaller lot in the foreground is actually larger than I originally thought...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's the same size as the lot containing the Cheesecake Factory and the lot with the fountain/plaza, right? I believe it's slated for 2-story retail (approx. 80,000 sqft). It is reasonable for this to be expanded to 3 or 4 stories to house a 160,000 sqft department store. (For comparison, Dick's is listed at 88,000 sqft.) The only problem with this site is that it doesn't have exposure. A better location for a major dept store would be as part of the second office tower (on the corner of Constitution and Main) or as part of future expansion on the remaining Indpendence properties (behind the PAC or on the Taco Bell/ Beacon lot). The latter is probably more viable because more upper-class housing would have been built in the area. Imagine: a second Nordstrom at Lynnhaven (a third in NN at either City Center or PHM), a Bloomie's at MacArthur, and a Sak's at TC. Ok, I'm gonna put down the crack pipe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoobo Burg

hoobo

Posted
Posted

Hey, hoobo, if we didn't dream, where would all this be?  Still in our imaginations! ;)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

True. But there's a fine line between dreaming and hallucinating. The air out here might've pushed me over that line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
PeninsulaKiddo Burg

PeninsulaKiddo

Posted
Posted

True.  But there's a fine line between dreaming and hallucinating.  The air out here might've pushed me over that line.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's what people said when Norfolk wanted to build a mall in their downtown.

That's what people said when Town Center was first proposed in Pembroke.

Today's dreams are tomorrow's realities (ew... where did that cheesy line come from?). I think a Saks or one of its affiliated stores could work in TC. Idk about Nordstrom at Lynnhaven, because it might overlap the market of MacArthur's... They might get a brand new department store in the area instead...

And hey, my 6 story estimate may not have been too off hahaha. If it was that large then it could have visibility from 264 and Independence easily. I think that no matter what it is, it's in a good location to not only catch residents of Westin and Cosmo, but office workers and those already in the other retail components of the development. A large department store COULD work, but I think the development would be better served with it on the Taco Bell property.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hello all! I heard a rumor that Hecht's is being bought out by Macy's. Has anyone heard the same?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, it is true. Check out the retail thread that is a little further down the forum page for more details. Welcome to the forum :) .

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoobo Burg

hoobo

Posted
Posted

Hello all! I heard a rumor that Hecht's is being bought out by Macy's. Has anyone heard the same?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not a rumor. Federated Department Stores which owns Macy's is technically merging (but it's really a takeover) with May Company which owns Hecht's. The merger was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders of both companies on July 13, although the deal was announced back in February. Both companies are awaiting federal approval of the deal, but Federated DS has released merger plans. All May Co department stores except Lord & Taylor and possibly Marshall-Field's will be converted to Macy's, meaning Hecht's will become Macy's. In overlapping markets like Northern Virginia, Federated will sell either Macy's or the May Co store at malls that have both company stores. For example, Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax will lose its Macy's store while the Hecht's store will be converted to a Macy's. This conversion will occur over the next year. Federated has been rumored to be interested in May Company for the past 4 years.

Official Federated-MayCo Merger Press Release

Link to comment
Share on other sites
baobabs727 Burg

baobabs727

Posted
Posted

ahh.. there you are! Well what you suggest sounds like a possiblity. Any names come to mind?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sure, Flemings (Birmingham has one) or Mortons are good choices, but I wonder if they might be redundant with Ruth's Chris Steak and Sonoma Wine Bar/Bistro already on the Fountain Plaza? Yes, I am getting a tad bit tired of the chains (no matter how great or grand), but absent some one-of-a-kind joint, I'm at a loss for what national player might work here. It would be nice to see Clyde's expand here from metro DC. Anyone think a Hard Rock or a Planet Hollywood are even remote possibilities?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
urbanvb City

urbanvb

Posted
Posted

A local restaurant would be nice but it doesn't seem to be many of those around the TC. I guess its such a high profile area they want to be sure to get one that has very good name recognition to be sure it would succeed. Hopefully the CityWalk project might include more local businesses as such.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoobo Burg

hoobo

Posted
Posted

Lemme lay down some odds.

Daily Grill (Grill Concepts): 3-2

Roy's Hawaiian Fusion: 4-1

Chart House (Landry's, same company that owns Joe's Crab and Rainforest Cafe): 6-1

Fleming's: 15-1 (Norfolk location: 2-1)

Morton's: 15-1 (Norfolk location: 8-1)

Rodman's (formerly Josh Slocum's, same owner though): 1000-1

As for other restaurants:

Melting Pot in DT: 4-1

Corner Bakery (in HR): 1-2

Hard Rock Cafe (VB, DT, or PPHR): 5-1 (c'mon, they have locations in Destin (Redneck Riviera) and Gatlinburg, TN...huh?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
burt Megalopolis

burt

Posted
Posted

Sure, Flemings (Birmingham has one) or Mortons are good choices, but I wonder if they might be redundant with Ruth's Chris Steak and Sonoma Wine Bar/Bistro already on the Fountain Plaza? Yes, I am getting a tad bit tired of the chains (no matter how great or grand), but absent some one-of-a-kind joint, I'm at a loss for what national player might work here. It would be nice to see Clyde's expand here from metro DC.  Anyone think a Hard Rock or a Planet Hollywood are even remote possibilities?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's another major chain, but how about Legal Seafood out of Boston?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.