Richmond off-topic postings

[I miss RVA]

Yes it is - it really is amazing.

How many times have y'all heard me say this over and over and over: THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED IN RICHMOND!!! At a minimum, it's unprecedented in my lifetime... even my parents' lifetimes - and my dad (may his memory be for a blessing) would have turned 100 last year and my mom would have been 97 as of this past March). 

I honestly never - EVER - thought I'd live to see the day RVA would be booming like this - to this level - and for it to be sustained like it is. Not in my wildest dreams did I think I'd ever see it in my lifetime.

To get any ONE of these venues built over the past 50-60 years would have been EPIC news on its own. But to get ALL FIVE - (arena, ballpark, amphitheater and two sports complexes (including the one with the rinks) in a span of roughly 3 to 5 years? THAT was the stuff that OTHER cities did. "REAL" cities. Not Richmond.

Only now - it IS US! We ARE doing this! Now ... NOW... it IS our turn!

And how amazing is it that we're saying this now -- SPECIFICALLY -- about one single category of projects? (Sports and/or entertainment public venues) ... whereas previously, when we've reflected on the unprecedented construction boom RVA has been enjoying now for several years, it was focused more broadly on the number of the projects, the size of the projects, the amount of residential development - again, all unprecedented to have SO MANY developments built, under construction, in the pipeline, planned, etc. for RVA - both city and metro.

And now we can add the unprecedented boom in public sports/entertainment venues to the list.

I'm blown away by it as well. 

Guys - promise me this is real - that we're not dreaming this.

Edited May 24, 2023 by I miss RVA

[eandslee]

Pinch yourself @I miss RVA!  You'll find that you are not sleeping/dreaming and this is FOR REAL!  

[mintscraft56]

On 5/8/2023 at 1:49 PM, KJHburg said:

I was recently down in Tidewater area check out some of my photos of downtown Norfolk and Va Beach home of the Commonwealth's tallest building. Did not know Norfolk had a light rail line as I had not been there in the last 20 years.  The Town Center at Va Beach is their "downtown" but reminded me more of North Hills Midtown in Raleigh.  (it was easier for me to park in downtown Norfolk than in the Town Center of Va Beach)   Driving around Norfolk and Va Beach for a couple days I do feel there is more construction going on in Richmond area and that area is really not growing much now.  Unfortunately their huge MacArthur Center mall downtown Norfolk is dying a slow death and they have to come up with a plan to redevelop it.  Like what Norfolk did with their old VNB Nationsbank bank building downtown turning into apartments called ICON.   Both Richmond and Norfolk need new arenas and I know you know that.  

Thx for the pictures! Hopefully you enjoyed the visit. 

On 5/20/2023 at 8:03 AM, ancientcarpenter said:

Posted on Virginia subreddit. Thought it was worth sharing.

Why is Norfolk the only city losing population in VA?

You know, good question. In the last poulation count, many of us in Norfolk believe we got under counted. After all, of all the new apartment buildings going up, especially in our Downtown, we should not be losing any population. We dont really know why, but it seems we always get this under count treatment every time they do a census. 

[I miss RVA]

30 minutes ago, mintscraft56 said:

Thx for the pictures! Hopefully you enjoyed the visit. 

You know, good question. In the last poulation count, many of us in Norfolk believe we got under counted. After all, of all the new apartment buildings going up, especially in our Downtown, we should not be losing any population. We dont really know why, but it seems we always get this under count treatment every time they do a census. 

I think we can make a good argument that EVERYONE was undercounted in the 2020 census, what with the pandemic and the tomfoolery taking place in the previous administration that, unfortunately, resulted in a surprisingly large miss, what with all of the logistical (and other) problems in actually taking/recording the census. I'm of the opinion that Richmond city was undercounted by possibly as many as roughly 7,000 residents (estimates had us at 233K in 2020 - and the "official" numbers came back at 226K.

Am thinking we'll see a correction/"true-up" in the 2030 census. The downside to that, however, is that while 2030 numbers would be more accurate, the 2020-to-2030 percentage of incremental growth will be skewed (in this case, too high).

Either way...

[Child2021]

Got some great news, in three segments. 

1. Looks like construction for the new George Wythe High School could start mid-late summer, If everything goes all correctly. 

2.  There's been tons of infill going on in the Swansboro neighborhood, and other Southside neighborhoods some of which resemble row-homes. 

3. I got an email from St. Paul's Baptist church about their "city of possibility" and its having a logo design contest, which could signal only one thing after all of these years. 

Links/Pictures:

Starting date nears to replace George Wythe | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African American Community in Richmond, VA

 

Also, there's a big blue crane at the VA Hospital.

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, Child2021 said:

Got some great news, in three segments. 

1. Looks like construction for the new George Wythe High School could start mid-late summer, If everything goes all correctly. 

2.  There's been tons of infill going on in the Swansboro neighborhood, and other Southside neighborhoods some of which resemble row-homes. 

3. I got an email from St. Paul's Baptist church about their "city of possibility" and its having a logo design contest, which could signal only one thing after all of these years. 

Links/Pictures:

Starting date nears to replace George Wythe | Richmond Free Press | Serving the African American Community in Richmond, VA

 

Also, there's a big blue crane at the VA Hospital.

Great stuff, @Child2021!

Regarding all the new development in Swansboro - any chance we could get um... 

[eandslee]

Complete and utter eye roll regarding the last part of this article.  What is it that Richmond does better than our NC peers to the south?  Sick of being second place to them in every good thing:

https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/05/30/richmond-population-growth-ranking

[Brent114]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

Complete and utter eye roll regarding the last part of this article.  What is it that Richmond does better than our NC peers to the south?  Sick of being second place to them in every good thing:

https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/05/30/richmond-population-growth-ranking

What’s more eye roll worthy is that Richmond so closely keeps tabs on those metros.  Who cares what they are doing?   You can  point to any number of much cooler, more urban, way larger , more relevant nationally cities and see that we are growing faster than they are.   
 

Richmond can grow by working out or grow by eating junk food.  I’ll take the moderate and steady route. 

[eandslee]

3 hours ago, Brent114 said:

What’s more eye roll worthy is that Richmond so closely keeps tabs on those metros.  Who cares what they are doing? 

Well, keeping tabs on what they’re doing is a good metric for how Richmond is doing. Similar size metros and same area of the country (mid-Atlantic).  We can’t exist is a vacuum - we should care how we stack up against peer southern cities.  It’s a way to identify where we might need to add more focus and where we have a little more wiggle room.  Let’s face it…they’re landing all the best quality of life accolades, they’re landing some big employers  (Apple for example).  I think Richmond is better or can be better than them…WE need the national attention, not them. Richmond is making good strides (like you said, we are doing much better than many larger metros in the country), but let’s not settle for 15th place…or even second place (second place is just the first loser).  Need to follow the motto of the city and shoot for the stars!  We’re getting there…slower than I’d like, but getting there nevertheless. 

Edited May 30, 2023 by eandslee

[I miss RVA]

9 hours ago, Brent114 said:

What’s more eye roll worthy is that Richmond so closely keeps tabs on those metros.  Who cares what they are doing?   You can  point to any number of much cooler, more urban, way larger , more relevant nationally cities and see that we are growing faster than they are.   
 

Richmond can grow by working out or grow by eating junk food.  I’ll take the moderate and steady route. 

Why does it matter, what they are doing? Because they are our direct economic competitors.  Period. That's why it matters.

To ignore that fact is to simply stick our heads in the sand and blissfully intone "que sera sera" - ignoring the fact that we are lagging WAY behind our primary economic competitors. Mind you - 15th nationally isn't bad - but it could be a LOT better. I'm very glad the folks at Greater Richmond Partnership get this and are onboard with trying to do something about it.

How many times have you seen on these forums that simple truth is that market size matters? The farther we fall behind our direct competitors in terms of market size, the more readily we get overlooked  -- and bypassed -- by companies looking to relocate, airlines looking to establish new (or increased) service, developers looking to build, not to mention events like concerts, sports, etc. It's been pointed out both here and in RBS that during tougher/shakier economic times, developers -- particularly institutional developers with deeper pockets -- tend to bypass markets the size of Richmond and "fall back" on what's tried-and-true for them financially - meaning, LARGER markets.

This is always going to be a point of disagreement between us - and I've held this position (wanting explosive growth) since I was 10 years old and didn't fully understand WHY I held it. Moderate growth simply doesn't cut it - not when our competitors are blowing us out of the water. I know you don't agree with this (and that's fine!!) - but sometimes it DOES come down to simple raw numbers. We're eating the dust of our rivals -- particularly the twin-headed dragon to our south -- and they're eating our lunch. I've said this before and I'll say it again, saying "we're good enough" is tantamount to SETTLING. And, like @eandsleeI'm sick and damn tired of RVA simply settling. Again - I'm VERY glad (and grateful) that the folks at GRP actually understand and grasp this - and have the exact same approach and want a LOT more for metro RVA. Thank God, they get it.

BTW - I'm not saying you're wrong in your view/opinion. I'm saying only that -- particularly as someone with at least a smattering of connection to urban planning via undergrad - I don't concur with it. And I offer this with all due respect.

How about we find a happy medium between "moderate" (your position) and "explosive" (my position) - something like, say, "moderately explosive" ? We can do way better than 1.72% growth. How about between 2.5% and 3%? CLT (metro, not airport) is at 3.3% but they have a denominator that's more than double metro RVA's size - so it's not even a fair comparison any more. - RDU (again, metro, not airport) -- according to the Axios article is 8% larger than metro RVA -- so their denominator more closely matches ours. While it might not at this time be realistic to even remotely think we could approach their level of growth (4.7%) - I'd like to at least be in the ballpark. Again, closer to 3% would be a good start.

FINALLY to your point: I do agree with you that the good news is that at least we ARE growing - and not shedding population, like a lot of other metros around the country. Indeed, it could be a lot worse. I just think, however, that it could be a LOT better - and I'd love to see it!

Edited May 30, 2023 by I miss RVA

[Child2021]

Explosive growth can come with serious drawbacks if not properly dealt with, like overcrowding in schools, traffic, and overall lost to quality of life. To also add on, it also risks creating a nimbyist reactionary movement, which would really slow things down. I think as a region we should aim for 2% annual growth, rather than 3% or 4%. 

The thing that I'm paying attention to is Chesterfield county as local elections begin, the Magnolia coalition seems hellbent on slowing growth overall, if they dont get simple issues solved.

[I miss RVA]

WE'RE NUMBER 1!!!!!! 

Axios Richmond is reporting some pretty cool news: So the 2022-23 Premier League season has just wrapped up - and NBC/USA Network have released their statistics for local market viewership nationwide - and who ranked NUMBER ONE among ALL TV MARKETS in terms of viewership of Premier League games?

You guessed it: RVA! The River City! I guess call us SoccerTown USA!

Richmond led all national TV markets in EPL viewership for the 2022-23 season, ahead of Cincinnati, Washington D.C., Philly, Raleigh, San Diego, NYC, San Francisco, Austin, Orlando, just to name a few. Norfolk made the top-5 - checking in ranked 4th nationally.

From today's Axios-Richmond:

https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2023/06/05/richmond-premier-league-soccer-viewership?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_richmond&stream=top

Here's the full presser from NBC Sports:

https://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2023/06/01/nbc-sports-completes-first-decade-as-exclusive-u-s-home-of-premier-league-highlighted-by-authentic-innovative-coverage-record-audiences/

Edited June 5, 2023 by I miss RVA

[blopp1234]

Just to give a heads up, it looks like the google maps for downtown were updated today, showing some of the new developments. Will be fun to look at all the projects going up in the new images!

[Child2021]

This is kind of surprising, since the 1 year growth for the Metro seems to be on par with famously mentioned neighbors to the south. We are doing great state wise. 

Link to the Article:   Lynchburg has the slowest economic growth of any metro area in Virginia. Here's why. - Cardinal News

This is for population by the way. 

[ancientcarpenter]

10 hours ago, Child2021 said:

 

This is kind of surprising, since the 1 year growth for the Metro seems to be on par with famously mentioned neighbors to the south. We are doing great state wise. 

Link to the Article:   Lynchburg has the slowest economic growth of any metro area in Virginia. Here's why. - Cardinal News

This is for population by the way. 

This is great, thanks for sharing. What is so "hot" about Winchester VA?

[blopp1234]

9 minutes ago, ancientcarpenter said:

This is great, thanks for sharing. What is so "hot" about Winchester VA?

A lot of DC workers are moving there for cheaper housing as they often times only have to go in 1-2 days per week and work remotely the rest of the days. Sort of the same reason those same workers are moving to Richmond in droves. 

[eandslee]

Locals:  if you are available on 24 June, jump on this - it’s FREE!

City Center Tour

Curious about what's happening in downtown Richmond? Want to learn more about the history, design, development deals and potential future of the area? 

Join our walking tour of City Center on Saturday, June 24 from 10 am - 12 pm!

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/city-center-tour-tickets-616725441397

[I miss RVA]

Friends - just wanted to offer to everyone heartfelt wishes of Happy Fathers Day!

[Downtowner]

On 6/12/2023 at 10:14 AM, ancientcarpenter said:

This is great, thanks for sharing. What is so "hot" about Winchester VA?

They are moving all up and down the valley where I live. Stuff popping up all over from where I live in Strasburg va to Winchester all the way to clear Brook va. My wife and I see it taking off up here within the next decade or so. It’s cheaper cost of living. I drive to leesburg by route 7 for work. So it’s really a very reasonable drive for a lot of people. Mannasas is only an hour a some change Woodbridge is an hour and 30 min from me. I see the Shenandoah valley exploding with growth not too far down the road. It’s cheaper here. My wife and I will be moving to the southern tip of Frederick county and Winchester within the next year or two as we wait for our house to be finished with an expansion. My wife’s families farm is part of a conservation easement. Most people are putting solar panels on the farms to keep from homes being built on it. We are having the same thing done as well. Fourth high school is being talked about here in Frederick county too. 

[Flood Zone]

Apropos of nothing, but Richmond Biz Sense used to have some of the more readable story comments - back when it was a few commenters who stayed on topic. Those days appear to be gone, however. (Fwiw, I only lurk and never comment there.)

[I miss RVA]

8 minutes ago, Flood Zone said:

Apropos of nothing, but Richmond Biz Sense used to have some of the more readable story comments - back when it was a few commenters who stayed on topic. Those days appear to be gone, however. (Fwiw, I only lurk and never comment there.)

IKR?   I'm guessing you're referring (in particular) to the devolution of the commentary about the Shamin purchase of the Hardee's site in Scott's, yes? OMG - that turned into a cluster-you-know-what. WOW. A few of the commenters in the thread have posted some rather "interesting" responses to other stories in RBS (mainly kvetching about parking, kvetching about the city growing, yada yada) - but typically it doesn't devolve and just totally go off the rails like the comments to the Hardee's site story did.

That was just unreal.

Edited June 19, 2023 by I miss RVA

[wrldcoupe4]

Just take the comments for entertainment value and carry on. 

[I miss RVA]

2 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

for entertainment value

Therein is exactly why I read them. 

[Downtowner]

36 minutes ago, I miss RVA said:

Therein is exactly why I read them. 

Yea just took time to read them haven’t lately but that is some pure entertainment and off the wall stuff.

[whw53]

You might be spending too much time on UrbanPlanet when......OneDrive gives you a 'May Moments' photo collage and it's  literally all snips of renderings from planning docs.