Granby Tower

[willy]

Jus twice.

[urbanfan]

Jus twice.

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That's all. Put that thing on speed dial. Maybe if you call enough somebody will answer out of annoyance.

[rusthebuss]

That's all.  Put that thing on speed dial.  Maybe if you call enough somebody will answer out of annoyance. 

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Yeah unless there is no one there!!! LOL

[vdogg]

I thought it would be interesting to do a top down review of how Granby tower has changed over time. I personally like the last design the best but some people like the second better. What do you guys think and what are the prospects for another redesign before all is said and done?

A.

B.

C.

[urbanvb]

Personally, I love the last design as it reminds me of the Chrysler building, one of America's best known buildings. It looks like a little bit of NYC placed in Norfolk. How cool is that!

[vdogg]

I mentioned this before on a previous thread.  Hotels, which half or more of the building is, are usually built of concrete which allows the floor height to be considerably shorter.  Hotels can do this because they don't have to run HVAC systems.  Each room has its own unit usually right at the window.  Therefore cieling heights can be considerably shorter and because its is a flat concrete ceiling the cieiling is usually just painted over or textured right on the concrete.  Now since the building will start out as concrete you just can't put a steel building on top of concrete, therefore the rest of the building will probably be concrete.  And since concrete is built with floor slabs that are flat the HVAC system will not have to drop below beams. Therefore the condos could still be 12'-0" floor heights and have enough room to put a drop cieling at 10'-0" and have plenty of room for wiring and HVAC.  Also the building is no longer being built on top of the garage, the garage is being built to wrap around it.

The granby towers however have no hotel attached.  And while it is not being built on a garage any more it leaves open the option of a steel structure which I would assume it will be.  However it may not be.  That's just my opinion (I am a structural engineer) this is what I do for a living.  Also the structure on top of the Westin is more of a tent domed structure whereas the structure on top of granby is more of a tower.  I fully expect the tower on top of granby to be much larger that what the westin is.  The picture show the tower rising about a fourth the height of the building.  With that being said, I expect both towers to top the 450 ft. mark. Eclipsing the Richmond building.

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^^^^Great job on the height prediction urbanfan. It's good to have an engineer in the group so we can have a feel for things. You said this back in April and it came true. I'll definately be listening to your height predictions more closely from now on.

[vdogg]

Personally, I love the last design as it reminds me of the Chrysler building, one of America's best known buildings. It looks like a little bit of NYC placed in Norfolk. How cool is that!

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I think i'm just a sucker for the bluish/emerald color of the last rendering. I was outside working on a camera today and i had a view of downtown. I just kept staring imagining what it will be like to have that gleaming tower on the horizon shimmering in the sunlight.

[urbanvb]

What is exciting too is how the surrounding areas will probably change. Just look at TC and now how different areas all around it are undergoing renovation or construction . The courthouse though has got to go. Know if or when that might be razed/rebuilt?

[okinawatyphoon]

As of now I still like the second rendering. The new one looks as if there is almost no windows in it and the spire seems to have shrunk. Maybe its just the view or something. I certainly don't mind the new one, but I just like the second one better.

[vdogg]

The new one looks as if there is almost no windows in it and the spire seems to have shrunk. Maybe its just the view or something. I certainly don't mind the new one, but I just like the second one better.

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Well as to the first part this thing is entirely made up of windows . On the 2nd part the spire does look like it's shrunk considerably but i kinda like that. I don't like towers that can contribute most of their height to spire ( *cough* AH *cough*). A spire can be nice but it must be tastefully done (which i believe this one is). There is more actual building there.

[okinawatyphoon]

Well as to the first part this thing is entirely made up of windows  . On the 2nd part the spire does look like it's shrunk considerably but i kinda like that. I don't like towers that can contribute most of their height to spire ( *cough* AH *cough*). A spire can be nice but it must be tastefully done (which i believe this one is). There is more actual building there.

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Yeah I guess you're right. And the new rendering looks taller, because it actually is. I'll love this building no matter what it looks like LOL!

[rusthebuss]

Well as to the first part this thing is entirely made up of windows  . On the 2nd part the spire does look like it's shrunk considerably but i kinda like that. I don't like towers that can contribute most of their height to spire ( *cough* AH *cough*). A spire can be nice but it must be tastefully done (which i believe this one is). There is more actual building there.

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AH did that so they could seem taller than dominion tower. But it is no different than sticking a garage underneath to gain footage underneath but the garage makes a little more sense. Beach was trying to make a statement.

[baobabs727]

Personally, I prefer the "final" rendering. While the first one seemed novel in that there were two towers designed in the same familial style (Papa Granby and Baby Granby, if you will), the second rendering seemed a bit busy, a little cutesy--even Disneyesque. The most recent rendering strikes me as strong, simple and elegant. I like it very much, and I think it will age well. As for TC and the Westin, I don't believe that AH and Divaris will release the final height figures to the public for a little while now. They have a very strong desire to build Virginia's tallest building in Virginia Beach, and so they're not likely to let Marathon spoil their plans. These are exciting times, indeed!

[vdogg]

They have a very strong desire to build Virginia's tallest building in Virginia Beach, and so they're not likely to let Marathon spoil their plans.  These are exciting times, indeed!

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Yay! Thats what i like to hear.

[ace707]

With the AT&T building being the tallest building in midtown at only 162' it is truly going to dwarf everything around it. And yes I said "midtown".

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Don't take this personally but I don't think I'm going to be calling that area "midtown". Unless Norfolk begins to say otherwise, downtown has always been the area bounded by Boush St., Brambleton St. and St. Paul's Blvd all the way to the waterfront. In the future, I think the Fort Norfolk area could be generally be called "midtown" since its getting its share of high-rises starting with Harbor's Edge and the other buildings in similar height over at the medical center. I don't think the tunnel in that area is called Midtown tunnel for nothing. I think alot of out-of-towners would easily get confused to be in the area around Granby Tower and Scope then go down 2 blocks and suddenly be in Downtown. I don't think referring to the financial district as downtown itself and calling everything north of City Hall Ave. to Brambleton as "midtown" makes sense especially when the open spaces in between are likely to have larger and more urban-like buildings in the future. I'm sure downtown will be filled-in. Think of it as a mini-NYC with MacArthur Center mall in the middle instead of central park. In the end, I think the water (the Hague) will make a perfect boundry point to clearly show that people will be in either the Dowtown area or Midtown area. If it becomes more obvious like this in the future, I won't be surprised if out-of-towners call the Ghent retail and food district "Uptown". It'd be nice and make sense but I doubt it lol...

[okinawatyphoon]

Don't take this personally but I don't think I'm going to be calling that area "midtown". Unless Norfolk begins to say otherwise, downtown has always been the area bounded by Boush St., Brambleton St. and St. Paul's Blvd all the way to the waterfront. In the future, I think the Fort Norfolk area could be generally be called "midtown" since its getting its share of high-rises starting with Harbor's Edge and the other buildings in similar height over at the medical center. I don't think the tunnel in that area is called Midtown tunnel for nothing. I think alot of out-of-towners  would easily get confused to be in the area around Granby Tower and Scope then go down 2 blocks and suddenly be in Downtown. I don't think referring to the financial district as downtown itself and calling everything north of City Hall Ave. to Brambleton makes sense especially when the open spaces in between are likely to have larger and more urban-like buildings in the future. I'm sure downtown will be filled-in. Think of it as a mini-NYC with MacArthur Center mall in the middle instead of central park. In the end, I think the water (the Hague) will make a perfect boundry point to clearly show that people will be in either the Dowtown area or Midtown area. If it becomes more obvious like this in the future, I won't be surprised if out-of-towners call the Ghent retail and food district "Uptown". It'd be nice and make sense but I doubt it lol...

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Good analysis. You're right....I always wondered why it was called the "midtown" tunnel because I didn't think there was really a midtown there. But, with Fort Norfolk being developed, I'm sure this area would qualify as midtown. By the way, does anyone have a picture of this AT&T building?

[metalman]

I always belived that the "Midtown tunnel" had more to do with Portsmouth that Norfolk. The midtown tunnel "RT 58" past the terminals connects you to Midtown Portsmouth not to far down, while the DT Tunnels connects both Norfolk and Portsmouth downtowns.

That's what I always thought. I never thought of EVMS as Midtown Norfolk. That area is Ghent or extensions of downtown. If I gave any area that distiction, it would be Wards Corner witch is a retail hub...soon to expand w/ development and revitalization...on Granby Street pretty much in the middle between DT (south) and Ocean View/Chesapeake Bay (North)

[vdogg]

I always belived that the "Midtown tunnel" had more to do with Portsmouth that Norfolk.  The midtown tunnel "RT 58" past the terminals connects you to Midtown Portsmouth not to far down, while the DT Tunnels connects both Norfolk and Portsmouth downtowns.

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Thats what i thought too. Thats why i was separating the two areas. I understand what ace is saying about the boundaries, but in a pure physical sense (at least until other buildings fill in the gap) Granby tower will be at the center of "midtown". Over time the definition of midtown will morph and change just like it does in other large cities. This is not a static definition but a dynamic one that will change as Norfolks sense of place changes. Midtown Manhattan wasn't always midtown Manhattan. Nor are the physical boundaries of midtown Manhattan today what they were 20 years ago.

[vdogg]

Just wait till they have the sales office up!!! When is the sales office  going up and going to be operable?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

September

[burt]

It's kind of cheating to break the 500 ft. mark, but I'm not going to complain. Hell, Atlanta has been doing it for years.

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Well, Hell! If you're going to count spires, Channel 6 (CBS) has a tower over 1000 feet tall just off Broad street in Richmond's west end. It's built atop a one-story utility building!

[Former Resident of HR]

Unless Norfolk begins to say otherwise, downtown has always been the area bounded by Boush St., Brambleton St. and St. Paul's Blvd all the way to the waterfront.

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(BID is the Downtown Norfolk Business Improvement District)

According to the city, "The BID is bounded by the Waterfront, Boush/Duke Street, Virginia Beach Boulevard, and St. Paul's Boulevard. The 48-block District is divided into six Ambassador Patrol Zones". BID page

Therefore, the downtown includes everything north of Brambleton to VA Beach Blvd. The area just north of Brambleton is still downtown to most everyone (Bob's gun and tackle, Zedd's, etc.) That is not an area I think that they would want to call "midtown" as it is adjacent to the CBD.

PDF PDF PDF! map of the Norfolk Downtown Business Improvement District

[vdogg]

Well, Hell!  If you're going to count spires, Channel 6 (CBS) has a tower over 1000 feet tall just off Broad street in Richmond's west end.  It's built atop a one-story utility building!

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Well at least the actual building is 450ft. So even without spire it still beats monroe. They may just try and squeeze a few more floors outta this one too.

[ace707]

Well, Hell!  If you're going to count spires, Channel 6 (CBS) has a tower over 1000 feet tall just off Broad street in Richmond's west end.  It's built atop a one-story utility building!

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Don't crazy at me about this coz' honestly I don't have much knowledge on that building but I'm assuming that "spire" you're talking about is really just an antenna or radar system which do not count as parts of a building in terms of height.

[urbanvb]

Don't crazy at me about this coz' honestly I don't have much knowledge on that building but I'm assuming that "spire" you're talking about is really just an antenna or radar system which do not count as parts of a building in terms of height.

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yep, that would be a spire. I am not sure if they do or do not count it in terms of how tall a building is though. I have heard some folks says yada yada feet including the spire.

[vdogg]

yep, that would be a spire. I am not sure if they do or do not count it in terms of how tall a building is though. I have heard some folks says yada yada feet including the spire. 

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An antenna is not considered part of a structure and is not included in overall height. A spire is.