Norfolk Off-Topic

[mintscraft56]

Well, we got an urban park. I just wish it came with more urbanity surrounding it. In the sense that St. Pauls's plans seems to keep shrinking back into a suburban neighborhood rather than its proposed version. 

Edited February 9, 2023 by mintscraft56

[EJ_LEWIS]

Nauticus is getting a major redesign, the first since it opened in 1994.  

https://www.pilotonline.com/inside-business/vp-ib-reimagine-nauticus-0220-20230214-pyr3a4qgibgm5iji5gwcbeh4xi-story.html

[mintscraft56]

Just going back to the downtown Norfolk 2030 plan. Do yall think it will happen just like it says? 

Im adding a PDF link to the plan if needed. 

https://wparch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Downtown-Plan-Update-presentation_20_03-12_Reduced.pdf

Edited February 27, 2023 by mintscraft56

[BFG]

25 minutes ago, mintscraft56 said:

Just going back to the downtown Norfolk 2030 plan. Do yall think it will happen just like it says? 

Im adding a PDF link to the plan if needed. 

https://wparch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Downtown-Plan-Update-presentation_20_03-12_Reduced.pdf

The MacArthur concept, yes. SPQ, yes. The area near Harbor Park is up in the air. I’m thinking one or two hotels or high-rises, either associated with the casino or otherwise. But seven years will be here before we know it, so I’m hoping the city gets moving sooner than later. 

[varider]

https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/norfolk-tech-startup-plans-1m-expansion/

Norfolk-based digital magazine startup Magazine Jukebox Inc. (MJB) will invest $1 million to expand, moving from a coworking space into an office, and will create an estimated 20 jobs.

Founded in 2020, Magazine Jukebox is a subscription service that provides digital magazines as alternatives to print magazines for commercial spaces with waiting rooms, like salons, car dealerships and medical centers. The company distributes QR codes and displays for guests to access digital magazines, and access continues for up to 36 hours.

[BeagleAccountant]

Not sure if this is the best thread for this. But Norfolk is receiving a $1.6 million grant to create a solution to the 'spaghetti bowl' that cuts off historically black neighborhoods from the core downtown area. "The St. Paul's section of Norfolk, Elizabeth River waterfront, and Norfolk State University neighborhoods in particular all bore the brunt of impacts from this large segment of I-264."

https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/mycity/norfolk/norfolk-i-264-reconnecting-communities-grant/291-5bd56fef-1454-4bc3-b794-8159c004105f

[BFG]

This is the building for where they plan to study sea level rise and resilience. It went up quickly. 

[zeppelin14]

Are we at the lowest point ever in construction in Norfolk?

The Casino is basically dead.

No construction in downtown except for the one apartment on Waterside.

St. Paul's is basically just lame, uninspired, low-rise apartments.

Nothing going on at Fort Norfolk really.

Nothing going on at EVMS/Sentara.

Military Circle is nothing but talk.

Light Rail is just years and years of "studies".

MacArthur Mall is just a wasteland of emptiness.

Nothing new at ODU that I'm aware of.

No immediate plans for expansion at ORF.

Restaurants keep closing downtown/Granby Street.

 

This might be the saddest state of affairs the city has seen in a long time.

[vdogg]

1 hour ago, zeppelin14 said:

Are we at the lowest point ever in construction in Norfolk?

The Casino is basically dead.

No construction in downtown except for the one apartment on Waterside.

St. Paul's is basically just lame, uninspired, low-rise apartments.

Nothing going on at Fort Norfolk really.

Nothing going on at EVMS/Sentara.

Military Circle is nothing but talk.

Light Rail is just years and years of "studies".

MacArthur Mall is just a wasteland of emptiness.

Nothing new at ODU that I'm aware of.

No immediate plans for expansion at ORF.

Restaurants keep closing downtown/Granby Street.

 

This might be the saddest state of affairs the city has seen in a long time.

It's definitely not a good time but St. Paul's is turning out to be far denser and have far more presence than I imagined just with the first two buildings. At full build out, it will be transformative. Ironically, that project may turn out to be our saving grace.

[NFKjeff]

2 hours ago, zeppelin14 said:

Are we at the lowest point ever in construction in Norfolk?

The Casino is basically dead.

No construction in downtown except for the one apartment on Waterside.

St. Paul's is basically just lame, uninspired, low-rise apartments.

Nothing going on at Fort Norfolk really.

Nothing going on at EVMS/Sentara.

Military Circle is nothing but talk.

Light Rail is just years and years of "studies".

MacArthur Mall is just a wasteland of emptiness.

Nothing new at ODU that I'm aware of.

No immediate plans for expansion at ORF.

Restaurants keep closing downtown/Granby Street.

 

This might be the saddest state of affairs the city has seen in a long time.

There are actually quite a few solid projects under way and soon to be under way at ODU. They include the blocks between 39th an 41st Streets which will be multi level housing, and a Publix grocery store. Also a new $176M Biology Building will soon begin where the old chemistry building was.  After the current baseball season the current stadium will be renovated, enlarged and upgraded.

Edited March 22, 2023 by NFKjeff

[mistermetaj]

The first thing Norfolk needs to do to revitalize downtown is bring in a grocery store. Walkable and accessible groceries is table stakes for any urban area that wants to attract and maintain people, and it's been lacking downtown for far too long.

Edited March 22, 2023 by mistermetaj

[varider]

Seeing the transformation taking place in SPQ is absolutely amazing. It truly is a milestone and a monumental upgrade. It already makes downtown feel bigger IMO.

Also, the Gravity on Waterside and the Fusion apartments are exciting to watch go up and have a pretty decent presence. & we have the Railyard project, and as mentioned, mixed-use apartments/Publix at ODU.

I think it could be much worse. 

not to mention, the cruise terminal should be getting an upgrade w/ more frequent cruises coming into town, Nauticus is also getting an upgrade. HRT is hosting LRT sessions with proposed route / station / renderings. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by varider

[BFG]

I think it’s some good and bad things happening, but the bad has overshadowed things considerably over the last year when Sierra Jenkins and several others were shot at Chicho’s. Unfortunately I think the city is overcorrecting by shutting down bars, but I think the dust will eventually settle. It’s a far cry from the downtown of 30 years ago, but I do feel we’ve lost a ton of momentum from a decade ago  

ORF had its best year in airport history and Breeze appears all in on expansion. SPQ looks impressive IMO from the interstate and I’m interested to see its further progress. 

I will admit I’m disappointed that the city suddenly decided to reconsider the arena deal, although that appears to be their way of correcting the BTS dealings made with Pharrell. 

I’m curious to see what’s proposed at the State of the City next month. The arena and MacArthur need to be front and center. Norfolk can’t afford two dead malls and a sparse downtown, esp. if they want to bring in visitors from Half Moone. They need to redevelop at least one of the malls ASAP. 

[mintscraft56]

3 hours ago, zeppelin14 said:

Are we at the lowest point ever in construction in Norfolk?

The Casino is basically dead.

No construction in downtown except for the one apartment on Waterside.

St. Paul's is basically just lame, uninspired, low-rise apartments.

Nothing going on at Fort Norfolk really.

Nothing going on at EVMS/Sentara.

Military Circle is nothing but talk.

Light Rail is just years and years of "studies".

MacArthur Mall is just a wasteland of emptiness.

Nothing new at ODU that I'm aware of.

No immediate plans for expansion at ORF.

Restaurants keep closing downtown/Granby Street.

 

This might be the saddest state of affairs the city has seen in a long time.

I would say so. St Pauls is disappointing to me.....on paper. Maybe it will surprise me? 

However, if I had to choose ANYTHING, I would want to do McArthur. I want to raze a good part of McArthur and bring back the street grid. Sell the available land to corporations that want to build towers in the heart of our downtown. Turn the remaining part of the mall into a civilian friendly market, using the top half as apartments. I would also run a lightrail from there, through the arts district, into Huntersville, and down to Ocean View so people like me who live downtown, can access East Beach and the military base. Ocean View also will have the potential to become another trendy beach place. 

But then again, this is just a dream of some random 17 yr old. Maybe we need new minds in the city council? Or maybe we just need to wait. 

[vdogg]

Not a huge loss in the grand scheme of things but sad nonetheless. Looks like we’re losing NOAA.

https://www.pilotonline.com/government/nation/vp-nw-noaa-move-20230321-gur5ehh67vbtbfgcklc5d66daa-story.html

[HRVA]

3 hours ago, vdogg said:

Not a huge loss in the grand scheme of things but sad nonetheless. Looks like we’re losing NOAA.

https://www.pilotonline.com/government/nation/vp-nw-noaa-move-20230321-gur5ehh67vbtbfgcklc5d66daa-story.html

Opportunity to redevelop two underutilized sites on the edge of Downtown and Fort Norfolk. 

[Arctic_Tern]

Maybe we can add a nicer pedestrian bridge that better connects Downtown and Fort Norfolk

[mintscraft56]

On 3/22/2023 at 2:38 AM, vdogg said:

Not a huge loss in the grand scheme of things but sad nonetheless. Looks like we’re losing NOAA.

https://www.pilotonline.com/government/nation/vp-nw-noaa-move-20230321-gur5ehh67vbtbfgcklc5d66daa-story.html

Well, now im sad. Seeing that NOAA ship off the Fort Norfolk bridge was aways a small little joy for me. 

[NFKfloodcaptain]

I would actually love to see the ERT cut behind Freemason neighborhood along the water here, through to the paved section just before the pagoda. Getting the bikes off the cobblestones would be a big win. 

[carolinaboy]

Things the city could focus on during this "development downturn":

Abandon the idea of a new arena. Go ahead and put the money into the up-fit of both Scope and Chrysler Hall. That site could be a fabulous public park/amenity area anchored by an upgraded Scope and Chrysler Hall.

Get the linear park in Saint Paul's quadrant going. Providing new, modern park space connecting areas is important.

Get the waterfront promenade near Harbor Park going. An extended river walk would be good.

Do the relatively easy place-building things in downtown. Benches, lighting, water fountains, dog park, level sidewalks, signage and way-finding upgrades, art (sculpture, murals, interactive), landscaping, hardscaping, bike lanes.....

Find a way to get light rail to ODU, the Navy base, Military Circle area and ORF. Use light-rail as a people moving tool rather than an economic-development tool. Do BRT to these areas if there isn't any and the city can't find the money for light-rail.

Continue to make upgrades to ORF including finding a way to get a parallel runway.

 

Just a few random thoughts I had.

[baobabs727]

#1 and #5 aren't happening.  I like the rest.

Nothing is going to change until the rose-colored glasses folks in power get fired, die or have a holy roller level conversion.  Fundamental, structural, systemic, chronic, seemingly-intractable problems DO continue to exist in DT...and in greater HR for that matter...and until we move with informed alacrity to innovate, restructure, reorganize and radically transform our collective economic engine, we are going to continue to be disappointed--perennially. 

[brikkman]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:04 PM, carolinaboy said:

Things the city could focus on during this "development downturn":

Abandon the idea of a new arena. Go ahead and put the money into the up-fit of both Scope and Chrysler Hall. That site could be a fabulous public park/amenity area anchored by an upgraded Scope and Chrysler Hall.

Get the linear park in Saint Paul's quadrant going. Providing new, modern park space connecting areas is important.

Get the waterfront promenade near Harbor Park going. An extended river walk would be good.

Do the relatively easy place-building things in downtown. Benches, lighting, water fountains, dog park, level sidewalks, signage and way-finding upgrades, art (sculpture, murals, interactive), landscaping, hardscaping, bike lanes.....

Find a way to get light rail to ODU, the Navy base, Military Circle area and ORF. Use light-rail as a people moving tool rather than an economic-development tool. Do BRT to these areas if there isn't any and the city can't find the money for light-rail.

Continue to make upgrades to ORF including finding a way to get a parallel runway.

 

Just a few random thoughts I had.

I always wanted to see a waterfront restaurant down next to harbor park. I thought it was one more building down there, not sure if it is on that little stretch that would have made for a rustic looking restaurant of views of the industrial water front. But oh well.

A river walk from water side to harbor park with lighting and perhaps rest areas would be a nice change for the area as well. It needs to be more movement in that area. As a central spot for LRT, that area should be dense with many possible things.

[BFG]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:04 PM, carolinaboy said:

Things the city could focus on during this "development downturn":

Abandon the idea of a new arena. Go ahead and put the money into the up-fit of both Scope and Chrysler Hall. That site could be a fabulous public park/amenity area anchored by an upgraded Scope and Chrysler Hall.

That was the original goal, similar to what Seattle did with Key Arena. But it turned out to be too expensive for just a couple thousand seats. 

At this point, just build a damn arena in my lifetime. I still think they could gut Scope, dig down and start from scratch, but maybe build the seating in tiers of some sort.

I have no idea why the city hasn't built some sort of riverwalk with shops and another hotel/high-rise apartment/courtyard, and sealed off the environmental issues on that soil. To me that would be a no-brainer that at least brings in tax revenue. I've seen renderings but that's all I ever see around Norfolk.

[Ghentite]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:04 PM, carolinaboy said:

Things the city could focus on during this "development downturn":

Abandon the idea of a new arena.

This is already the general feeling of some city decision makers.  From what I understand, the Henrico Green City Arena approval may have killed all momentum for NFK pursuing an arena.

https://henrico.us/greencity-info/

Will be interesting to see what happens with negotiations with Pharrell on MC.

[BFG]

This is absurd. Why should Norfolk care about what a completely separate market 1.5 hours away does? You can still get shows that skips RVA and vice versa. Worrying about other cities is why Norfolk can’t make it to the next level.