Virginia Beach Development

[hoobo]

I could see a 4/5-story office like the bank buildings on Columbus between Independence and Kellam. Beyond that height and it would seem out of place for that area since the CBD plan calls for keep that adjoining neighborhood as is. I believe there's a Fairfield Inn next to the property which is across from Best Buy. A mid-rise office would work well.

[vdogg]

Chief development officer to boost entertainment, proposes additional town center

Alongside and perhaps in tandem with that, he wants to put another Town Center-style mixed-use development at the Oceanfront, what he would see as a mix between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Westwood in Los Angeles.

[urbanvb]

Chief development officer to boost entertainment, proposes additional town center

I think it's great to see such a visionary person in office. My hope is that one day Va Beach will have much more recoginition than a beach or military town.

[Stunad]

I think it's great to see such a visionary person in office. My hope is that one day Va Beach will have much more recoginition than a beach or military town.

From reading this article I can say this for certain, Mr. Seamon is exactly what our region needs. He understands that we're competing on a global level to attract new business. He seems aware of our strengths and weakneses; and is competant enough to work beyond those limits. I'm glad to see someone like this getting hired to promote Va Beach.

[rusthebuss]

I like this guy. Sounds like he really wants to push development which could spew all through this area in the long run!

[nrdzrool]

so...nothing terribly new in this article, just mention about the urban walmart and city view...seems we may have to deal with another strip mall, though...and is the whole foods idea getting a bit shaky? i can't comprehend how anyone would think a typical strip mall is well suited for that area. sorry if this is already old news to everyone, i'm not quite as in the loop as most others here.

Walmart, City View, and strip malls

Edited May 6, 2006 by nrdzrool

[vdogg]

Honestly, it seems that only one person is truly not playing ball, and at that it seems like the discussion is not over.

At least one plan is not in keeping with the city

[vdogg]

Gerald S. Divaris, chairman of Divaris Real Estate, which handles the leasing of the Sandler site, said the two companies did come up with a plan.

[vdogg]

Noticeably absent from this article however is what if any plans are still in the works for the Pembroke office park. I need to ask around and see what the deal is with this thing. I have a feeling things have been put on hold for whatever reason.

[nrdzrool]

Also, in your title you say this article discussed City View. It is actually City Walk that they are referring to (which will include apartments, offices and another hotel )

oh right. i knew that...city view, city walk, city center, town center, it's all getting to be too much to remember which is which.

[urbanvb]

The city really is trying to make this area more urban but alas everyone is not on board yet.

[rusthebuss]

The city really is trying to make this area more urban but alas everyone is not on board yet.

You will always have those that will not join in on the big picture.

[erdogs]

Mr. Sifen sounds like a perfect fit for Chesapeake, not Town Center. Has this man ever been to Town Center, cmon what's he thinking?

[vdogg]

Mr. Sifen sounds like a perfect fit for Chesapeake, not Town Center. Has this man ever been to Town Center, cmon what's he thinking?

If this man builds anything, off of sheer principle alone, it should not be another strip center in this already inundated city. Even though I still don't like that Walmart, at least they are putting some, miniscule amount of effort into fitting into the surroundings. I have a feeling that the planning department is gonna have a field day with his application though, they'll probably give him a pretty hard time until he agrees to somewhat of an urban concept.

[vdogg]

I was told that nothing is happening actively with the project yet, no architect announcement is ready to be made for another 60 days or so. When I asked specifically about the two architects (Humphreys was one, Lessard the other) I was told that they have not made any concrete committments regarding the design team, but that there would be different architects on the different components of the project. I was offered an apology for the ambiguousness of the answer.

According to signed documents both Humphreys and lessard are on the design team plus a third one mentioned was Landmark Design Group.

[vdogg]

There is obviously some intense site work going on on the cornerstone lot. I'll try to get out and take pics this weekend. I'm not sure whether to make a progress thread for this yet or not because we've heard absolutely no new news about it lately.

[RJWGMU]

So let me begin by saying that this is a COMPLETE RUMOR:

There is currently a Farm Fresh on Virginia Beach Blvd by North Lynnhaven Road. It is the Kings Grant store. I work there and have for many years...

Some of you may remember I had posted that Farm Fresh wanted to buy the entire property in order to tear down Ames and build a new store and then redevlope the second half. Then, the old Pizza Hut and bank were torn down and nothing has happened since...

Well, I was working the other day and heard a rumor from a source who seems to always be down on the latest gossip from around town and is usually pretty acurate... Anyway, she was telling me that she heard Wal Mart was interested in that entire property and might be looking into building a Super WalMart on the entire site. If this were to happen I am sure it, like the one at Pembroke, would require a parking garage or deck at least but what is more interesting is that the same day the current property owner's son came in and wanted to take some pictures of where the utilities came into the store. To further complicate things I also heard that some Wal Mart employees had heard rumors of this happening as well...

Has anyone heard anything about this?

[vdogg]

I haven't heard anything but it sounds completely plausible. Walmart will not stop until it owns every square inch of this city.

[Stunad]

What is their vision or business model? To have a Walmart on every corner? Having one on Lynnhaven Pkwy, Kings Grant and then TC seems like redundancy to me...but what do I know, I refuse to shop there because of these policies and how they treat distributers and suppliers.

[RJWGMU]

What is their vision or business model? To have a Walmart on every corner? Having one on Lynnhaven Pkwy, Kings Grant and then TC seems like redundancy to me...but what do I know, I refuse to shop there because of these policies and how they treat distributers and suppliers.

Well keep in mind this is just all a bunch of rumors... I can tell you that Farm Fresh has been trying to purchase the whole site and redevelope it for many years now... Problem is the owner of the property is stubborn, so much so he won't even let us add a gas station out front or remodel the store to match the rest... SOO if Farm Fresh couldn't pay him what he wanted, Wal Mart might have been able to! Secondly, why would Pizza Hut and the bank be torn down and have nothing built on it, and if it was just to clean up the area, wouldn't the parking lot be paved over? So there are some other facts pointing to the plausibility of this rumor...

[vdogg]

Problem is the owner of the property is stubborn, so much so he won't even let us add a gas station out front or remodel the store to match the rest...

Sounds like the owner of the kroger property, stubborness for the sake of being stubborn. Sometimes there is just no rhyme or reason to things but I really can't understand why he won't let them remodel their already built store.

[rusthebuss]

Sounds like the owner of the kroger property, stubborness for the sake of being stubborn. Sometimes there is just no rhyme or reason to things but I really can't understand why he won't let them remodel their already built store.

Money is why. He will probably make alot of money selling to Walmart.

[urbanvb]

Well, mosty I say no way to Walmart but then again that lot still has been sitting idle for many, many years. Better a Walmart than it just sitting there idly I guess. Which is worse?

[vdogg]

Council blocks shore drive condo project

The City Council sent a strong signal Tuesday to developers and residents of Shore Drive: Getting approval for high-density development there is going to be a tough sell.

Late Tuesday , the council rejected a developer's proposal to tear down nine single-family homes and replace them with 77 condominiums.

The vote was unanimous.

^^^^I believe this was a good decision given the location and circumstances. It also doesn't bode well for the 11 story condo towers (and 1096 homes) they're trying to build in that area. I think this too is a good thing. We have to be careful not to over-develop that area.

[urbanvb]

Great to hear this. Too much density can be a bad thing especially for roads and schools.