Richmond in Pictures III

[eandslee]

Some photos of downtown courtesy of GRTC:

A couple videos:

 

[I miss RVA]

31 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Some photos of downtown courtesy of GRTC:

A couple videos:

 

Oy vey... don't get me started. 

 

 

Edited January 4 by I miss RVA

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, blopp1234 said:

It will look even better when Fulton Yards starts construction. Development currently drops off when you hit the CSX railroad viaduct, however, with the Fulton yards development, both sides should be better connected. 
 

By the way, has anyone heard or seen anything going on regarding the Fulton Yards development? I haven’t heard anything in a while and am hoping it’s still proceeding. Any update would be appreciated!

 

Slightly unrelated but Amtrak is planning to build a train storage facility around where the blue freight cars are in the first image to overnight trains from Main Street Station, which will allow Main Street to have upwards of 8 daily passenger trains to the north, an increase over the 3 existing trains. This won’t necessarily bring increased activity to the area, but it is Rockett’s related so I figured I’d post it here.

 

1.) Fulton Yard: % agreed - and I was wondering about it as well. There's been a long amount of radio silence on this one.

2.) Amtrak storage facility at the CSX Fulton Yards: REALLLLLLLY???? Now THIS is certainly news. Do you have any more information or details or could you link us up to some source info? I'd like to dig into it a bit further. This is the kind of things you would find in or just outside of much larger cities. NoVA/D.C., NYC, Chicago and elsewhere. Wow... this is a big deal, IMNSHO.

Edited January 4 by I miss RVA

[blopp1234]

1 hour ago, I miss RVA said:

 

1.) Fulton Yard: % agreed - and I was wondering about it as well. There's been a long amount of radio silence on this one.

2.) Amtrak storage facility at the CSX Fulton Yards: REALLLLLLLY???? Now THIS is certainly news. Do you have any more information or details or could you link us up to some source info? I'd like to dig into it a bit further. This is the kind of things you would find in or just outside of much larger cities. NoVA/D.C., NYC, Chicago and elsewhere. Wow... this is a big deal, IMNSHO.

The link is attached below:

 

https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/richmond-layover-facility/
 

The project includes (but is not limited to) the following improvements:

• Storage tracks
• Maintenance platform(s) and Amtrak amenities
• Signaling
• Roadway improvements for site access
• Staff parking
• Trailers for staff facilities
• Storage containers for equipment

 

 

 

[I miss RVA]

12 hours ago, blopp1234 said:

The link is attached below:

 

https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/richmond-layover-facility/
 

The project includes (but is not limited to) the following improvements:

• Storage tracks
• Maintenance platform(s) and Amtrak amenities
• Signaling
• Roadway improvements for site access
• Staff parking
• Trailers for staff facilities
• Storage containers for equipment

 

 

 

Thanks so much, @blopp1234 -- this is a fantastic development and, if the timeline is accurate, then this project is well underway. I wish the site had a link to the document library as I'd love to peruse any/all documentation accompanying this initiative. This definitely merits keeping eyes peeled for activity at the CSX Fulton Yards over the next couple of years.

Here's the only downloadable bit of information I could find on the website. I also managed to snag the cool picture of MSS/downtown that the VPRA uses on their website. 

[eandslee]

Ryan Ramsey at RichmondCityWatch.com has a new (as of today) set of photos he’s uploaded to his page.  Check them out here:

http://richmondcitywatch.com/?cat=7

[I miss RVA]

53 minutes ago, eandslee said:

Ryan Ramsey at RichmondCityWatch.com has a new (as of today) set of photos he’s uploaded to his page.  Check them out here:

http://richmondcitywatch.com/?cat=7

Thanks for posting this, @eandslee. You've earned yourself your first RVA/UP silver hardware for the new year, my friend! Wow - I didn't realize it had been over a year since Ryan had updated the City Watch page. November of '22 was his last big photo dump.

I downloaded all 58 images so that our official RVA/UP Library and Archives is complete and up-to-date. Ryan has some epic pix in there. Really good stuff.

[georgeglass]

Snapped some pics and videos of a raging James River yesterday. The pipeline trail is completely submerged and water was all the way to the Manchester Climbing Wall and all through the wetlands.

 

 

[I miss RVA]

5 hours ago, georgeglass said:

Snapped some pics and videos of a raging James River yesterday. The pipeline trail is completely submerged and water was all the way to the Manchester Climbing Wall and all through the wetlands.

 

 

AYYYYYYYYYY-MAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY-ZINGGGGGGGGG stuff, @georgeglass-- wow! You have a fantastic photographic eye, my friend. Great captures of an angry James (do old-time Richmonders still call it the "Jayums"?) -- and the skyline - AND - the cranes at the CoStar construction site. Awesome videos and pix.

That said... you know the drill. You've earned your first piece of Silver Hardware for 2024. Well done, my friend! Mazal Tov!

Edited January 12 by I miss RVA

[plain]

I took pictures of the flooding near Rocketts Landing but I still can't get on here through Tapatalk to post them. Basically the entire stretch of Dock Street that was bypassed by the roundabout (including under the building that was eyed for Stone's Bistro) was under water, and so were all of the benches in the area.

[eandslee]

New camera angle for the WTVR tower cam?

 

[I miss RVA]

1 hour ago, eandslee said:

New camera angle for the WTVR tower cam?

 

Yep - looks like that's their "new" angle. I actually like it (though I really do love the old top-side view that gives a better overall view) - I only wish this view was "live" like the TV8 and Cap Square construction cams.

Speaking of which - TV8 has gone back to the War Memorial view - which puts the CoStar construction on FULL display. Between these three views (TV6, TV8 and Cap Square) - I'm thinking that RVA's official city logo should be changed from the man on the bateau to the boom crane. 

Check out the latest from the TV8 weather cam - plus the Cap Square cam. I'm putting all three shots (TV6, TV8 and Cap Square) together to put the boom cranes into perspective.

[I miss RVA]

QUESTION for our construction gurus:

Is there any reason why the boom cranes at both the N. Chasen and CoStar sites have been rotated 180 degrees this afternoon? I think they were rotated only within the last hour or so.

Check it out:

Edited January 14 by I miss RVA

[wrldcoupe4]

Don’t they let them swing, particularly on high wind days? It’s breezy here. 

[I miss RVA]

20 minutes ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Don’t they let them swing, particularly on high wind days? It’s breezy here. 

Wow - do they do that? How windy is it there?

[whw53]

Pretty gusty all day. I was in standing in front of the Science Museum today right when all the construction fencing blew over. 

[wrldcoupe4]

Shakman can confirm. 

[I miss RVA]

We had high winds here yesterday, last night and a large part of the day today.  I'm not sure which reporting station is nearest to me (it's not the airport) - but the current temperature here is minus-8, and the wind chill is minus-27. It's even colder where I was living at this time last year (about an hour northwest of my current location) - it's minus-11 with a wind chill of minus-31.

Needless to say... it's a tad nippy here at the moment.

[I miss RVA]

Some amazing photography and a fantastic short video, all from photographer Jim McDonald via the RVA subreddit.

These are absolutely outstanding.

[blopp1234]

9 hours ago, I miss RVA said:

Some amazing photography and a fantastic short video, all from photographer Jim McDonald via the RVA subreddit.

These are absolutely outstanding.

Man I can’t wait to see that Costar building start going vertical!

[Shakman]

20 hours ago, wrldcoupe4 said:

Shakman can confirm. 

It's called weathervane mode.  This is done to reduce stresses on the structure and at the crane's footing during high wind events.  Without this, a tower crane can topple during high winds.

[wrldcoupe4]

There he is. Thanks!

[I miss RVA]

Looks like TV8 has decided to switch to the suburbs cam - prolly because snow stuck there?

Edited January 16 by I miss RVA

[Child2021]

While I will be sad that the Monroe Building will be coming down, I think it's also important note how much of the skyline keeps expanding west. I mean look at it on the bright side, you got the new Costar tower (while it won't be known for it's accurate height in terms of floors, it will almost certainly have a huge impact on the skyline.) , YMCA development,  New Supreme Court, Dominion tract , and others. I should also note the Manchester's skyline is also expanding quite nicely.  

In the City Center area, you have a whole new neighborhood essentially about to rise with a new tall hotel... I just wrote this to explain that things aren't exactly all doom and gloom around here. 

[I miss RVA]

10 hours ago, Child2021 said:

While I will be sad that the Monroe Building will be coming down, I think it's also important note how much of the skyline keeps expanding west. I mean look at it on the bright side, you got the new Costar tower (while it won't be known for it's accurate height in terms of floors, it will almost certainly have a huge impact on the skyline.) , YMCA development,  New Supreme Court, Dominion tract , and others. I should also note the Manchester's skyline is also expanding quite nicely.  

In the City Center area, you have a whole new neighborhood essentially about to rise with a new tall hotel... I just wrote this to explain that things aren't exactly all doom and gloom around here. 

In the spirit of accuracy, it's not a given yet that the Monroe tower is definitely coming down. The state has not declared definitively what they plan to do. All indications are that while there has been discussion of taking it down (a $900 M bill to renovate vs a $20 M bill to demo makes that a no brainer) - there is also discussion of trying to sell off the building. From the standpoint of dollars and cents, the state would come out like a bandit even if they had a fire sale and sold the building below "market value" - because they would turn a profit that would be compounded by NOT spending the money to tear the building down. That they are discussing it means they are entertaining it. At the end of the day, it probably boils down to whether or not the state would be willing to offload that parcel east of the Capitol. It's almost an "island" unto itself, particularly the way 14th street has been reconfigured - forming something of a concrete "trench" that physically separates that property from the main Capital Square "campus". Particularly if the state isn't looking to build office space downtown (after all, they pulled the plug on a significantly smaller building at 7th and Main) - it might make more sense to simply take a flyer on selling the building and the property and making a few bucks off the sale.

So... at this point, nothing has been etched in stone just yet - and we all know how things go with the state. It could take them quite a while to make a determination of how to dispose of the building/property - and even longer to actually move to do it. The least painful route for the state will be to try to sell the building - and they're indicating they are certainly interested in at least exploring that option.

Let's see how this plays out.

Aside from that - I agree with your take on the westward expansion of the skyline, the potential for City Center to become something quite amazing north of Broad, and the other developments. Mind you -- on the YMCA developments, at this time, there's nothing concrete about any buildings being more than six stories. Tom Papa - and (at least according to RBS - a "mystery developer") have indicated the potential for constructing a couple of residential buildings that could range from anywhere between 11 and 15 stories. That would be awesome! Let's see how this plays out - particularly as -- hopefully -- the economic environment becomes more development-friendly during 2024. I'm still holding out faint hope that we'll see a resurrection of the project for "the building formerly known as The Admiral" -- bringing that gorgeous 12-story residential building to 2nd and E. Marshall. What a gift that would be!