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Granby Tower

utcltjay

By utcltjay
in Norfolk

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Sky06 Burg

Sky06

Posted
Posted

Give me a break, people. They said pile driving would start in May. It's barely April. It seems clear to me the 2 drivers on site were intended only for the duct bank and they probably just didn't need the larger one. And I never thought the larger one was big enough to drive 100-ft pilings in the first place. They are clearly making room for the real construction. For crying out loud, we're at least a month away from this actually starting. If June comes and they clear the site, I'd be worried. but right now, I'm not. I've never seen such a negative town. You'd think nothing ever gets built. That Harbor Heights, Harbor's Edge, Half Moone, 388, Row, Bristol, St Paul's, DE, etc. etc. never really happened. All we focus on are 1 or 2 projects that take alittle longer because of their complexity. Please, I can't take anymore "Nothing happened today so it must be doomed." I don't think we'll see anything happen until May, as the city has stated.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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Give me a break, people. They said pile driving would start in May. It's barely April. It seems clear to me the 2 drivers on site were intended only for the duct bank and they probably just didn't need the larger one. And I never thought the larger one was big enough to drive 100-ft pilings in the first place. They are clearly making room for the real construction. For crying out loud, we're at least a month away from this actually starting. If June comes and they clear the site, I'd be worried. but right now, I'm not. I've never seen such a negative town. You'd think nothing ever gets built. That Harbor Heights, Harbor's Edge, Half Moone, 388, Row, Bristol, St Paul's, DE, etc. etc. never really happened. All we focus on are 1 or 2 projects that take alittle longer because of their complexity. Please, I can't take anymore "Nothing happened today so it must be doomed." I don't think we'll see anything happen until May, as the city has stated.
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carolinaboy Burg

carolinaboy

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Maybe they removed the smaller and larger pile drivers from the site because the piles they need to drive need to be more than 100 feet in the ground? :dontknow:

Maybe they will bring a bigger pile driver for bigger (longer) piles for a bigger (taller than Westin) building. :tough:

We can dream, cant we?

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Sky06 Burg

Sky06

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only one to say construction would start on this date then that then another is Marathon. This is the first time I personally recall the city stating a real timeline. I'm much more inclined to believe the mayor than Marathon. To me, that makes all the difference in the world. Marathon can say whatever they want whenever they want, just to keep people excited, and not fear getting voted out of office. The city has to be much more careful with what they say and with setting actual timelines. If I'm wrong, please tell me specifically when and what the city said prior (and please back it up with a quote from the Pilot, etc.).

Vdogg, every "They" you call out above refers to "Marathon," not the city. That's why I see this time around differently than all the examples you cite above. If Marathon said May, then I'd agree with you. But this time it was the mayor.

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Telmnstr Burg

Telmnstr

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They totally missed the mania. If they had gotten this whole thing done earlier, they could have people camping in tents in line for days waiting to buy a condo so they could resell it to the next GF (Greater Fool) for $100K profit, and so on and so on, till the units the size of Connex boxes go for $2.5 million. Does Marathon have experience building these things? Other markets still have skies full of cranes building away condo buildings for people that don't really exist. Check out Miami, for example.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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Vdogg, every "They" you call out above refers to "Marathon," not the city. That's why I see this time around differently than all the examples you cite above. If Marathon said May, then I'd agree with you. But this time it was the mayor.
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Padman Hamlet

Padman

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It's a beautiful project and it could have been built by now. I guess that there really are some problems with financing and that they've made a calculated delay, hoping to capture some pent up demand well after Harbor Heights is completed. I don't know who might be investing in Gadam's project, but the national middle men are all in a panic right now, even though the problem is ARMs more than anything else. Our local economy looks pretty stable, as usual, but long term I'd say that defense spending is already stretched beyond rational limits. We've been working on diversifying our economy for many years, but not enough has come of it.

I still think that Granby Tower would be a nice address for younger doctors, lawyers, pilots and other professionals who might enjoy the location. I also think that they should be able to lure some affluent retirees. Not all of them want to live in Harbors Edge and would enjoy more contact with young people, yet still be close to services, shops and medical facilities. After all, it's much healthier to walk to the mall than take the shuttle (or light rail). C'mon Buddy, market the thing more inclusively while you can, or get some help doing so.

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spiker3 Hamlet

spiker3

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It's a beautiful project and it could have been built by now. I guess that there really are some problems with financing and that they've made a calculated delay, hoping to capture some pent up demand well after Harbor Heights is completed. I don't know who might be investing in Gadam's project, but the national middle men are all in a panic right now, even though the problem is ARMs more than anything else. Our local economy looks pretty stable, as usual, but long term I'd say that defense spending is already stretched beyond rational limits. We've been working on diversifying our economy for many years, but not enough has come of it.

I still think that Granby Tower would be a nice address for younger doctors, lawyers, pilots and other professionals who might enjoy the location. I also think that they should be able to lure some affluent retirees. Not all of them want to live in Harbors Edge and would enjoy more contact with young people, yet still be close to services, shops and medical facilities. After all, it's much healthier to walk to the mall than take the shuttle (or light rail). C'mon Buddy, market the thing more inclusively while you can, or get some help doing so.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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Everyone is concerned about if it will be built or not, I'm concerned about a height reduction based on demand....................But I guess since all the paperwork says 34 stories, I shouldn't be worried about that issue.
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spiker3 Hamlet

spiker3

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Everyone is concerned about if it will be built or not, I'm concerned about a height reduction based on demand....................But I guess since all the paperwork says 34 stories, I shouldn't be worried about that issue.
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skylinefan Hamlet

skylinefan

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I have no doubt that Granby Tower will be built. With the tax incentives and airspace rights the city is forking over I see no reason why Marathon would back out at this late date. Only time will tell. I feel pretty confident that there is more demand in Downtown Norfolk for condos/apartments than in the rest of Hampton Roads. Norfolk is still underdeveloped residential wise and all Granby Tower would do is put a dent in that demand.

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Telmnstr Burg

Telmnstr

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I have no doubt that Granby Tower will be built. With the tax incentives and airspace rights the city is forking over I see no reason why Marathon would back out at this late date. Only time will tell. I feel pretty confident that there is more demand in Downtown Norfolk for condos/apartments than in the rest of Hampton Roads. Norfolk is still underdeveloped residential wise and all Granby Tower would do is put a dent in that demand.
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Chesapeake Pirate Hamlet

Chesapeake Pirate

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Demand? There is a ton of places availible, but they are mostly unaffordable to new people. I have a few friends who bought recently, and I just shake my head. They are taking on an insane amount of debt for what is totally mediocre living. And they are well above the median incomes in the region, but are first time homebuyers.

Meanwhile, down in Miami something very interesting is happening. The people who put down deposits on fancy condo buildings are trying to sue their way out of contracts. When you buy something, and it's immediately worth $100K more or whatever it feels good. But when it's worth less, or the market is stale, people have a bit of a dimmer view. That is what home prices are about. Everyone thinks they can only go up, even though the job base doesn't support the prices. The big subprime lenders are blowing up, and something the media doesn't talk about is that much of this debt that is going sour could possibly sit in the hands of many of the big pension funds in the USA.

Here is article about investors trying to sue their way out of their deposit:

http://www.keysnews.com/300482335664951.bsp.htm

Truth is, if they had flipped the properties they would be bragging all over about how smart they are and easy money this and that. But now everyone is loosing, which anyone who pays attention could predict. Salaries don't justify housing costs, and the job outlook for USA isn't very good going forward.

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urbanfan Hamlet

urbanfan

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I wouldn't worry too much about it. If they have the foundation permit, they can start driving piles. They have a month or more of pile driving, and then concrete work before they need the remaining permits. The other permits will be issued in due time, but it should not delay the project.
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