City Walk

[urbanlife]

there is mention of 4 towers...or buildings if you will. It looks like they are making this project more conservative, which is to be expected for the region it is in. In no way is this a done deal, but I do see it happening. The timeframe is another question. Information like this means we are still early on in the design.

With that said, if everything went right for them, I would say this project would start by next summer and you would be looking at 4 buildings that ranged from 8 to 15 stories tall (or 100-170ft roughly).

Regardless of scaling back, I still think this would be a good step forward for Virginia Beach and help define their downtown even more. There will be something like 6 tall buildings at the towncenter, plus these 4 buildings, and the Westin being the tallest in Virginia, that would be something.

Speaking of which, the weather should be getting better, would be nice to see a photo tour of the two downtowns soon.

[vdogg]

They're still towers, the site plan has just been reorganized. The hotel and the 2 towers would be located above each of the 3 parking garages denoted in that rendering. The overall scale has been reduced from 12.4 acres to just 12 acres. It looks like we lost some retail, added some office and a plaza, and kept the specialty grocer. I don't mind it being slightly reduced, just so long as it isn't cancelled.

[hoobo]

Interesting. It looks like they're still including the Shops at TC property. The one thing I really like about the new sketch is that it opens up to Kellam with retail extending to that street instead of the massive parking structure at lined that road in the previous site plans. The new site plan as a whole appears a lot more open with store frontage on the Blvd, Columbus and Kellam rather than the open air shopping mall that was shown previously.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

Interesting. It looks like they're still including the Shops at TC property. The one thing I really like about the new sketch is that it opens up to Kellam with retail extending to that street instead of the massive parking structure at lined that road in the previous site plans. The new site plan as a whole appears a lot more open with store frontage on the Blvd, Columbus and Kellam rather than the open air shopping mall that was shown previously.

I think that'll do a lot to open up pedestrian traffic throughout the expanding CBD - if crosswalks are WELL-DONE across Independence, there could be a large, walkable shopping/mixed use district stretching quite a ways. I'd love to see that come to fruition.

But only time with tell .

[hoobo]

CBRE Brochure on City Walk (pdf)

This is dated 2007 and from the picture looks like late 2007. Does this mean City Walk is for all intents and purposes dead since no one knows what the new owner would do? Also interesting is the public-private partnership bit about a parking garage. I thought the city was done with that in Pembroke area once TC was completed.

[vdogg]

CBRE Brochure on City Walk (pdf)

This is dated 2007 and from the picture looks like late 2007. Does this mean City Walk is for all intensive purposes dead since no one knows what the new owner would do? Also interesting is the public-private partnership bit about a parking garage. I thought the city was done with that in Pembroke area once TC was completed.

I don't see anything that indicates this is dead. Perhaps due to the trouble they were having filling retail they decided to go with a different agent. if the land is for sale though I think the city needs to jump at this opportunity so that we can be sure we have some control over what gets developed there.

[hoobo]

My reasoning is that the new buyer may do as he/she pleases within the zoning code, which right now is B-3. That allows for commercial uses. To be like TC, it needs to be rezoned B-3A. A developer would appeal for and quickly receive the change from the City, but that developer has to ask first. If not, then we can have another Shoppes at TC or a Convergence Center type development and not the City Walk we're all salivating over.

[metalman]

What new buyer? Originally it was Sandler and Divaris. They sold it to Greendale, LLC which is a conglomerate, but they've owned that property for over a year now. Mulvanny has alway been the architects of the project. There have been changes to the rendering, but they've always mantained an urban city grid with high rises and density.

It's the Sifen proptery we need to be worried about.

[hoobo]

What new buyer? Originally it was Sandler and Divaris. They sold it to Greendale, LLC which is a conglomerate, but they've owned that property for over a year now. Mulvanny has alway been the architects of the project. There have been changes to the rendering, but they've always mantained an urban city grid with high rises and density.

So that brochure is a little dated? Well, my Tel inpersonation has gone to waste.

[urbanlife]

Well talk about a kick to the balls for a more urban Virginia Beach

[vdogg]

Well, all hope is not totally lost, though I don't trust this in the hands of Sifen. He seems to be quite the...Well I'll leave that one to the imagination. Lets just say he is not quite pro urban development. At least the city has taken a strong stance on this. I only hope the have they good sense to buy up the remaining land around the center.

The development the Sandlers planned for the HQ property was called City Walk and included homes, shops and a hotel that mirrored Town Center, which is just to its east. Whole Foods Market Inc., the high-end organic grocery chain, had expressed interest in the site.

Beach officials supported that plan, because they view the HQ property as a way to extend Town Center across Independence Boulevard. Mark Wawner, the city's project manager for Town Center, said the Beach wanted to marry the HQ site to land that Sifen already owned.

"Now that it's under one ownership," Wawner said, "it will be much easier to get the project the city is hoping for." He said the city would consider a partnership with Sifen to push the project forward.

"We would certainly explore those options with him, depending on the merit of his project," Wawner said. "If he decides he wants to do a big-box project, there won't be any public role."

[urbanlife]

I still am worried about this because even if Sifen decides to work with the city on expanding the urban fabric of the area, he could easily go with another architecture firm and the city could easily end up with something that looks like an overgrown strip mall design. This is one of those moments where I wish the city would of bought the property to hold onto until the market was better. A Development Commission would of come in handy right about now.

But nothing is going to happen for a few years with the market the way it is, so we will just have to sit on our hands and wait. But I guess this thread can be closed now.

[HarryVB]

Virginia Beach City Walk has already been approved just waiting on Investment money. The information was updated in Jan 2009

We are in need of Pre-Construction Soft and Hard Cost Analysis/Cost estimate of 12.6 acres of Mixed Use/Commercial/Retail/Luxury Apts/Office/hotel/Residential. We need seed money to begin project, REQUIRED AMOUNT: $850,000,000

MINIMUM INVESTMENT AMOUNT: $355,000

REGION: Out-of-State

INDUSTRY 1: Real Estate

INDUSTRY 1: Construction

INVESTMENT REASON: Sales & Marketing

PREMIUM PROPOSAL: No

POSTED: January 21, 2009

http://www.newyorkinvestmentnetwork.com/bu...walk-2009-01-21

Once the money gets in. They will be breaking ground on this amazing project..

Virginia Beach, Virginia - A colorful piazza, buzzing with cafes, street performers, and mingling neighbors is the heart and soul of this dense, well-scaled, six-block residential and retail environment. A hotel, two condominiums, and structured parking are all part of the vision. With a commission from developer Greendale LLC, we are programming, planning, and designing all phases of this beautiful, 12-acre project.

http://www.mulvannyg2.com/en-us/Show/Proje...p;ProjectID=132

[RJWGMU]

Is there any word from the city on this? Didn't that land get bought by someone else?

[HarryVB]

Yeah by another developer from New York City...

[RJWGMU]

Yeah by another developer from New York City...

I thought it was bought by the guy doing the strip mall... So the NY company is keeping the same design?

[HarryVB]

Yeah, from what I understand they are going to redo the plans, make it more urban, add more design/architecture.. And far as I know.. The city is withdrawing plans for the sifen project. They are keeping Dunkin Donuts and Burger from building more drive trus because of the Urban plan for the beach..laskin gateway project...

[vdogg]

I thought it was bought by the guy doing the strip mall... So the NY company is keeping the same design?

I don't know what to believe anymore. The Sifen plan was equally as recent, but from what urbanvb said, no plans were submitted for the HQ site. This could be accurate, but I won't get my hopes up. Perhaps Sifen bit off a little more than he could chew and decided to sell the land to a developer with deeper pockets. Perhaps this was his plan all along, to buy the land and flip it in Tel speak. Who knows anymore. I'm just glad there are no current plans for a strip mall, which would be horrible.

[vdogg]

Virginia Beach City Walk has already been approved just waiting on Investment money.

On second look, this is a bit dubious. Neither the planning commission or the City Council have approved any plans for this site. I really need more info than the blurb at that link provides. We don't want another Sunrise development fiasco here.

[RJWGMU]

I'm just glad there are no current plans for a strip mall, which would be horrible.

Wait, so did the strip mall get scrapped? So confused!!

[vdogg]

Wait, so did the strip mall get scrapped? So confused!!

The strip mall on the original Sifen property is still planned, there are no plans that have been submitted to the city for the City Walk land though.

[HarryVB]

Looks like the sandler brothers bought the citywalk project. thinking it was going to go under. Its a beautiful project

http://www.divaris.com/biopages/gsdbio.html

Other projects going up.. Atlantic Station, Ocean Walk, City Walk.

[vdogg]

Looks like the sandler brothers bought the citywalk project. thinking it was going to go under. Its a beautiful project

http://www.divaris.com/biopages/gsdbio.html

Other projects going up.. Atlantic Station, Ocean Walk, City Walk.

That page is old. The Sandler brothers bought that property years ago and then Sifen bought it from them. The last confirmed owner of that property was Sifen, not the Sandlers.

[HarryVB]

Oh my bad.. Well. The newyorkinvestornetwork website is current..2009..

[urbanlife]

sounds like we are all confused...so is Sifen still doing the strip mall? Is this new change just for the HQ site?

Wow, talk about getting too much information too quickly...hard to keep everything straight. I really hope the Mulvanny project pulls through because they are an amazing firm and it would be an amazing move for VB architecturally to get something like this in their downtown.