Hampton Roads Development News

[vdogg]

Below is a very good article detailing Trader Publishing companies reasons behind moving to downtown Norfolk. This building will break ground in just under 2 weeks. I'll post more info in this thread as it becomes availiable.:cool:

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2166304p-8547721c.html

Published: Feb 28, 2005
Modified: Feb 28, 2005 6:33 PM

Norfolk turns worker-friendly

The USS Wisconsin, a World War II battleship, is docked at the end of Plume Street on Norfolk's downtown. On the right is Trader Publishing Co.'s current building. The expanding company thinks younger workers like working downtown.
Staff Photos by Sher Stoneman

By RICHARD STRADLING, Staff Writer

NORFOLK, Va. -- Trader Publishing Co.'s search for a place to build a new headquarters for its Internet division came down to a choice between suburban Virginia Beach and downtown Norfolk.
Twenty years ago, that would have been an easy call. Empty lots, vacant storefronts and office buildings that cleared out at night formed a patchwork at the center of Norfolk, an old seaport and Navy town in southeastern Virginia. Cathy Coleman, head of the city's downtown booster group, looked out her window on her first days on the job in 1983 and watched drug dealers and prostitutes doing business on the street.

The view from Coleman's office has changed, and so has the equation for companies such as Trader Publishing as they decide where to put their workers. Decades of aggressive demolition and redevelopment by the city have made downtown Norfolk a hub of shopping and entertainment and a hot place to live. Employers who want more than a sterile office park are taking note.

Trader Publishing chose downtown Norfolk because it wanted to put its Internet division in a place that would help attract and keep talented employees. The company's president and CEO, Conrad Hall, figured that workers would rather be in a lively downtown than "stuck in a cul-de-sac out in the woods."

"Look at who's downtown on nights and weekends," Hall said. "It's the young people we want working for us."

Cities such as Norfolk, Raleigh and Durham long counted on government agencies, banks and law firms to remain downtown even as stores and people left. But Norfolk shows that Triangle cities can attract new employers to their cores by creating the right urban ambience.

Trader plans to break ground this spring on a 20-story building on Granby Street, Norfolk's old commercial center, near restaurants and nightspots with such names as Guadalajara City Cafe, Domo Sushi and Blue Hippo.

The new building will eventually house 1,600 workers. The company, which publishes more than 735 magazines and trade papers nationwide, will continue to occupy a seven-story building across the street.

In some ways, Hall, 61, is a classic downtown booster, a Norfolk native proud of his city. He's the kind of homegrown CEO that cities lose when banks merge and family-owned businesses are swallowed by large corporations.

But Hall doesn't talk like a hopeful civic salesman simply doing his part to bring downtown back. Downtown is back, he says, and his company will benefit from being there.

A vote of confidence

A new $55 million office tower and all those workers are great news, said Coleman, who heads the Downtown Norfolk Council. But even more important was Trader's endorsement of downtown.

"It's sending a strong message about downtown being a place that employees want to work," she said. "They could have gone anywhere."

Others are coming too. This month, Maersk Line, Ltd., a shipping company, announced it will move its headquarters from suburban Norfolk to three floors in a downtown tower, enough space for about 200 workers. The main draw, said David Sloane, who is overseeing the move, was a good environment for workers.

"There's just so much for them to do down there, especially compared to where we are now," Sloane said.

Dave Willman moved his company, Stratum Marketing, from a nearby neighborhood to a sidewalk-level office on Main Street last year. He figured the added exposure was worth the much higher rent. It also turned out to be a good move for him and his six employees.

"Once I pull into my parking garage in the morning, the rest of my day is spent walking," said Willman, 45. "Four of my best accounts, I walk to their meetings or they come to my office."

The 12 percent vacancy rate for downtown office space matches the region as a whole, said Don Crigger, senior director of office properties for Advantis Real Estate Services Co. But the decision by Maersk and others to move downtown will soon bring the rate down to single digits, he said.

"There's a good strong future for downtown," he said.

Developer Bobby Wright has renovated several old brick and stone buildings downtown and says all 87,000 square feet of office space he owns are occupied.

Wright, who also runs a brokerage, said new clubs and restaurants have created a "cool factor" that attracts companies. His tenants include a firm that designs online games, a wireless Internet provider and the publisher of an alternative weekly newspaper.

"In the early '90s, we had to beg, borrow and steal to get people to even entertain the idea of moving downtown," Wright said. "Now, they call us."

Downtown declines

Norfolk's harbors and brackish rivers helped make it a shipping hub and naval center. During Granby Street's last heyday, in the 1940s and '50s, white-clad sailors popped in and out of department stores, theaters and restaurants. Today, a faded sign on the brick wall of the old House of Hofflin clothing store advertises "Sailor Suits Made to Order."

Granby Street later became a place sailors got into trouble, in bars and X-rated movie theaters. After the department stores decamped for the suburbs, the city turned the street into a pedestrian mall in 1976 -- one year before Raleigh did the same with Fayetteville Street.

But Norfolk officials realized the pedestrian mall wasn't helping and reopened the street to traffic by the late 1980s. That gesture, though, paled in comparison with the city's aggressive steps to redevelop downtown.

The city's housing and redevelopment agency acquired blighted buildings, tore them down, then courted developers with loans and grants to build apartments, office buildings and hotels. At one point in the 1980s, the redevelopment agency owned about two-thirds of all the land downtown.

By the mid-1990s, the downtown waterfront, on the Elizabeth River, was lined with a marina, an arcade of shops and restaurants, a hotel and conference center, the Nauticus maritime museum and a park that hosted concerts and festivals. Yet a few blocks inland, Granby Street remained quiet.

Then the city put together a blockbuster deal: It persuaded The Taubman Co. to build a downtown shopping mall, by providing 20 acres and $100 million in loans and direct spending, about a third of the project's cost. Nordstrom and Dillard's agreed to anchor the mall.

It was a controversial move. Some feared the mall would be a boondoggle. Others argued that a 1.2-million-square-foot box in the middle of downtown would smother the life that was returning to nearby streets. Still others thought the government shouldn't subsidize selected retailers; area J.C. Penney stores quit the local chamber of commerce after it endorsed the project.

Today, many credit the mall, along with a community college campus that opened on Granby Street in 1997, with sparking the revival. The mall averages 1 million shoppers a month, according to Mayor Paul Fraim; and about a third of them venture beyond its walls.

The city redevelopment agency now owns only a few downtown lots, and developers come up with projects on their own. In the works: Harbor Heights, a 15-story building with offices, condos and downtown's first grocery store; and Granby Towers, which would put 400 condos in two buildings of 15 and 25 stories.

Few of Trader Publishing's downtown workers live downtown, but Hall expects that could change as developers build more apartments and condos. The company will put bicycle racks in some parking spaces for workers who bike to work, he said.

Bill Candler's walking commute to Trader takes him along the Elizabeth River, through a park and past the USS Wisconsin, a World War II-era battleship berthed at Nauticus. Sometimes he stops for dinner or a beer on Granby Street on his way home, a condo near the waterfront.

Candler, 63, who edits a trade publication for the towing industry, still needs a car, especially to go grocery shopping. His Dodge Caravan was stolen once, and it took him a couple of days to realize it.

"That comes from living downtown," he said, "because I don't use my car very much."

Competing bids

When Trader Publishing opens its new building, it will move hundreds of workers to downtown Norfolk from an office park in nearby Virginia Beach, the state's largest city. The five-story Virginia Beach office, clad in reflective glass, overlooks a freeway next to a pond surrounded with benches where people can eat lunch.

In reality, though, most people eat at their desks or get in their cars at lunchtime, said Rick Murchake, vice president of Trader Web Services.

"You've got to hop in your car to get hot, fast, mediocre food," said Murchake, 45.

Virginia Beach officials had hoped Trader Publishing would remain in the city and build its new offices there. Virginia Beach has no downtown, but the city is attempting to build one called The Town Center, on a new grid of streets across from a mall. City officials offered to build Trader a parking garage if the company built there, Hall said.

But Hall said no. He thinks The Town Center is a good idea but says the 10-lane boulevards that lead to it are already clogged.

"The traffic there is just awful, absolutely awful," he said.

Norfolk also put together an incentive package, including a city-owned lot worth about $2.5 million. Hall insists the Norfolk incentives just about offset the higher cost of building a downtown tower and didn't swing his decision.

Hall will keep his office in Trader's current building in downtown Norfolk, "a fortress of a structure" built in 1907. The company had 12 employees when it arrived in 1989, and slowly expanded as other tenants left.

Now Trader employees hold meetings in nearby coffee shops and over lunch, or walk down to the waterfront to brainstorm or clear their heads. That atmosphere is good for business, Hall says, and that's why the company decided to bring more people downtown.

"I just feel our folks are going to be more productive," he said. "The neighborhood becomes an extension of our work environment."

Staff writer Richard Stradling can be reached at 829-4739 or rstradli@newsobserver.com.

© Copyright 2005, The News & Observer Publishing Company,
a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company

[willy]

This article helps us all see that the Town Center is light years behind downtown Norfolk.

Hey, it's 21 stories not 20.

It's also kinda cool that a Raleigh newspaper is writing about us.

[vdogg]

This article helps us all see that the Town Center is light years behind downtown Norfolk.


This is true but they just started building towncenter. Its gonna be behind for quite sometime but give it a chance, it'll catch up.

[willy]

Oh I'm giving it a chance. Remember, I live here and wish nothing but the best from this project. It's just that after hearing what Mr. Hall had to say it kind of makes you realize that Norfolk is on an entirely different page...and maybe even a different book than the Town Center.

The company's president and CEO, Conrad Hall, figured that workers would rather be in a lively downtown than "stuck in a cul-de-sac out in the woods." If only we could get more CEO's to think like this.

[vdogg]

www.residencesatwestin.com is back up but there has been no new information added. I honestly don't know what they've been doing for 2 weeks. It even still has the old rendering up.

[okinawatyphoon]

This building will break ground in just under 2 weeks. I'll post more info in this thread as it becomes availiable.

Where did you find out that it is breaking ground in two weeks?

The company's president and CEO, Conrad Hall, figured that workers would rather be in a lively downtown than "stuck in a cul-de-sac out in the woods."

LOL. that is pretty harsh, but true.

[vdogg]

Where did you find out that it is breaking ground in two weeks?


I'm going by info in a previous article that gave the groundbreaking date as mid march.

[vdogg]

Keep in mind that the new TCC building also breaks ground this month. Also, we should**crosses fingers** finally hear something this month about the Hilton. Its gonna be a very busy month for Norfolk.

[vdogg]

This article helps us all see that the Town Center is light years behind downtown Norfolk.

Hey, it's 21 stories not 20.

It's also kinda cool that a Raleigh newspaper is writing about us.

Norfolks revival has been getting nationwide attention. Its about damn time people started recognizing this city for what it is.

[vdogg]

Portsmouth is commissioning a firm to study redevelopment possibilities in its Olde Towne area. One of the sites is the Federal parking lot on High Street between Water and Crawford Sts. The area is adjacent to the bustling High Street antique and restaurant district as well as High Street Landing (water inlet served by HRT pedestrian ferries).

I've had my eye on this property for years. What do you guys think will become of it? IMO it would be best used as a highrise condominium with ground floor retail/restaurant space. The ground floor activity will bring High Street's vibrance to the waterfront and the residences will be ideal for Norfolk commuters who can hop on a ferry directly across the street!

Also it could be a small park. High St landing was built several years ago where a park once existed. It would provide a nice gathering/events place for a city that has been developing all of its open space.

Opinions?


Thats an excellent idea. Portsmouths complimentary skyline is one of this areas best assets but they could do so much more with it. I imagine a string of highrise condos (ala Miami) all up and down the coast. Just imagine living on the top floor of one of those condos and having downtown Norfolks skyline
against the water as your view. People would pay top dollar for that.

[okinawatyphoon]

Thats an excellent idea. Portsmouths complimentary skyline is one of this areas best assets but they could do so much more with it. I imagine a string of highrise condos (ala Miami) all up and down the coast. Just imagine living on the top floor of one of those condos and having downtown Norfolks skyline

I've always liked having Portsmouth's skyline pretty close to Norfolk's. I think it looks really cool to have two downtowns across the water from each other. I also think its a great idea to have some high-rise condos in Portmouth. maybe some 15-20 story ones. it would look quite cool IMO.

[lammius]

I think they could go taller than that over there. They've already got a few 18-25 story residential buildings. Why not push the envelope?

[vdogg]

So I guess the highrise Marriott hotel broke ground last week and nobody bothered to tell us, but this is really good news for NN. It looks like they may be trying to give Norfolk and Va. Beach a run for their money with all this new development :) .

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=83012&ran=203446
Newport News sees two key developments

By BATTINTO BATTS, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 4, 2005

NEWPORT NEWS — Northwestern Mutual has become an equity investor in the City Center at Oyster Point development.

The Milwaukee-based life insurance company has agreed to spend $42 million to partner with HL Development Group of Norfolk, the developer of the 53-acre project in the northeastern area of the city near Interstate 64.

Click here The four-phase project is a public-private partnership between Newport News Town Center LLC and the economic development authority of Newport News. It is being developed over 10 years and will have attracted $350 million in investment when completed.

HL Development, a division of NAI Harvey Lindsay, had been looking for an equity partner in the project, according to Harvey L. Lindsay Jr., chairman of the real estate company. The company chose Northwestern with the help of a financial adviser, Lindsay said.

Northwestern’s equity interest involves two parts of the project: The completed first phase of the development, which includes 320,000 square feet of Class A office and retail space and 360 apartments together valued at $90 million, and the second phase, which includes more office and retail space.

Northwestern Mutual is one of the nation’s largest institutional owners of real estate investments, with more than $25 billion. It also has a real estate equity portfolio that exceeds $6.3 billion and a range of other real estate investments.

“It’s a pretty good statement to get Northwestern Mutual interested in Hampton Roads,” said William A. Hudgins, president and chief executive officer of HL Development Group. “It says a lot about the strength and diversity of the Hampton Roads market. We are much more attractive to the institutional players today than at any point in our history.”

The announcement of the partnership with Northwestern comes a week after the ground breaking on a $58 million Marriott Hotel and conference center in the development.

That project is a joint venture between Armada Hoffler, which will build the hotel, Crestline Hotels and Resorts Inc., which will run it, and Hampton University, which will provide financing.

The complex, designed by CMSS Architects PC of Virginia Beach, will have 256 guest rooms and 23,000 square feet of meeting space.

Reach Battinto Batts at 446-2642 or at battinto.batts@pilotonline.com

[vdogg]

http://www.dailypress.com/news/yahoo/dp-69121sy0feb21,0,2810937.story?coll=dp-aol-yahoo-nws-hed
New urbanism taking to streets
City and county planners like the high property values; residents like the convenience.


BY KEITH RUSHING
247-7870

February 21, 2005

NEWPORT NEWS -- Patrice Stein was living in a spacious suburban house with her husband a few years ago, but something was missing.

When she saw Port Warwick - a mixed-use, 150-acre development of brick homes, condos and apartments, and shops centered around a three-acre square - she had an "a-ha" moment.

"It was a fabulous community," Stein said. "I said ah, this is it. This is what's missing."

She found the friendly urban-style neighborhood she'd been looking for in Newport News' Oyster Point area.

"You see people walking the dogs. And you stop and talk to people. There's such a variety of businesses," Stein said.

The largest green area, William Styron Square, is named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer from Newport News. The complex has smaller squares and public statues commissioned by the developer. There are shops where you can get coffee, beer or wine, and restaurants where you can get a sandwich or dinner.

Stein said Port Warwick reminded her and her husband of growing up in the city, and of the villages she visited in Europe.

"I grew up in a circle. He grew up on a square," she said. "We wanted to live in the inner city."

She, her husband and their 7-year-old son live in a spacious condominium above the store she owns, Beck & Stein books. Stein plans to open a bed-and-breakfast in an adjacent condominium.

NEW URBANISM

Port Warwick was the harbinger of a new trend in residential developments in Hampton Roads. More and more of these mixed-use, or "new urbanist," developments are springing up throughout the country, said Dan Rodriguez, a professor at the University of North Carolina's Department of City and Regional Planning.

New urbanism emerged in the late 1980s when architects and developers began looking for ways to create alternatives to suburban sprawl, Rodriguez said. The concept incorporates smaller lots, sidewalks, narrow streets and a mix of offices and stores, often around green spaces.

The idea is to create urban communities where people can walk to work, a store or restaurant rather than rely on their cars.

"They (architects and developers) are trying to bring back an urban America - bringing together some of the suburban elements we like," Rodriguez said, adding that the homes in these communities will often have larger rooms and plenty of green space.

Although they are an effort to create an urban environment, these new communities are generally built in more suburban areas where large plots of land are available.

In the past five years, the number of new urbanist projects nationwide has increased at least 20 percent each year, Rodriguez said.

In many cases, communities have altered zoning laws to allow for higher-density development and stores and offices in the same area. Rodriguez said more than 40 states now have development plans or codes that promote these neighborhoods. Because the communities encourage walking, they're believed to have a lower impact on roads and traffic and demand fewer road-widening projects and retention ponds.

"The bar is lowered because the impact is lower," Rodriguez said.

Cities and counties tend to like new urbanism because the developments attract upscale residents, raising the value of housing.

"They have appreciated faster, which means they've been in short supply," Rodriguez said. "Prices shoot up."

The high property values have a downside, however.

The communities tend to lack economic and racial diversity, which is one of the goals of the new urbanism movement, Rodriguez said.

"I think you're going to find that there's a major gap between what proponents of new urbanism would like it to do and what they actually do," he said. "They tend to be upscale developments of predominantly white residents."

To combat that problem, lawmakers have to create solutions that will create more economic and racial diversity when these communities are being built, Rodriguez said.

A LOCAL TREND

City and county administrators throughout Hampton Roads, including Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Williamsburg, James City, Gloucester and York, say these developments are necessary to provide alternative neighborhoods for the people they're trying to attract.

Last month, the Suffolk City Council paid $4.65 million for 25 acres of land that abuts the Nansemond River, hoping that a private developer will build a new urbanist or mixed-use development there.

"Suffolk has been trying to find some developers who would do new urbanist type of work," City Manager Steve Herbert said. The city also hired an expert to help the city use new-urbanist design principals in downtown redevelopment efforts. "We think it's an alternative to the standard subdivision design that we've seen so much of over the years because it offers a mix of uses," Herbert said. "Most are designed to be walkable and bikeable communities."

Last week, Suffolk's City Council approved a mixed-used development that allows for a combination of green space, single-family homes, row houses and homes with attached stores on 61 acres of land. The development, Bennett's Creek Square, almost triples the density allowed by current zoning laws, raising some concern among residents about increased traffic.

In Newport News, a Virginia Beach developer plans to build a mixed-used development at Jefferson Avenue and Denbigh Boulevard that includes 304 apartments surrounded by shops, restaurants and offices. Like Port Warwick, the Denbigh development will have some apartments built directly above shops. City officials are also reviewing another mixed-used development plan.

Isle of Wight officials are reviewing a plan for 430 residences along with stores, offices and public space. The proposal will include lofts above commercial space and public art.

WALKING COMMUNITIES

"They're using alleys, sidewalks ... a great deal of open space. A green runs down the center of the project," said Jonathan Hartley, Isle of Wight County's planning director. They also propose setting aside 21 acres for public use.

"I think we're trying to create a higher quality of life by offering more walkable, livable communities," Hartley said. "Being able to live, work and play without getting into a car is a goal we're trying to reach for."

He said county officials also invited new-urbanism experts to Isle of Wight to talk about development concepts. They've also toured Port Warwick.

"It's a great example," Hartley said. "The basic concepts and design certainly have a lot of merits."

Port Warwick developer Bobby Freeman said he didn't know anything about new urbanism when he launched the project back in 1999.

"I felt the community didn't have a Ghent and an Old Town Portsmouth," he said, referring to two gentrified urban communities in Norfolk and Portsmouth. "I thought there would be people who wanted to live like five minutes from the office."

Freeman said he researched Ghent and Hilton Village in Newport News, to see why the communities worked. "I measured how far apart the houses were - how far they're set off the street. There was a real consistency there."

Freeman said he took those measurements back to his land planners, and the design for Port Warwick was laid out. When people started hearing about the plans for the community, Freeman said, many told him it fit the definition of new urbanism.

"We have all these shops at Styron Square. People are constantly walking to the retail and dining area. In most suburban neighborhoods, you don't walk anywhere. There's no place to walk. There's no pedestrian destination."

MORE TO COME

Freeman expects to see a lot more developments like Port Warwick built in Hampton Roads because of the growing demand. "You see people measuring all the time," he said, referring to developers. "You're going to see more Port Warwicks pop up than you can shake a stick at."

Mayor Joe Frank said the city wasn't sure how to make the best use of the land where Port Warwick is being built until Freeman presented his plan.

"This was just so dramatic that we all got excited over it," Frank said.

He said the complex has been really successful. "People who live there love it," Frank said. "It's a lifestyle for people who don't want large yards, want to be close to their neighbors and want the parks and restaurants."

In 2001, Newport News launched its own mixed-use project, City Center at Oyster Point, with an office complex, apartments, shops and restaurants.

Last year, Hampton began a downtown revitalization project, luring developers to build apartments, lofts, offices and stores on city-owned land. It hasn't been without some opposition. At public meetings, residents have said they fear local fishermen would be driven away because redevelopment plans would force a marina to close.

James City and Williamsburg both have mixed-used projects in the works. James City's New Town development would contain between 1,200 and 2,000 single-family homes, town houses and apartments with an office, research district and movie theaters.

Williamsburg's High Street project calls for upscale town houses, apartments and condominiums alongside green areas, walkways, an events plaza and a shopping center with upscale shops and a multiplex theater.

Both New Town and High Street may have apartments or condominiums above stores.

"As land gets scarcer and scarcer, it becomes a real efficient way to do development," said Jim Noel, York's director of economic development.

[vdogg]

This ones for you Okinawatyphoon :)

Site work has begun on Trader Tower!

http://www.norfolk.gov/News/Press/p...asp?PressID=119

Several exciting building and renovation projects are occurring in Downtown as a testament to Norfolk’s continued revitalization. Included in these projects is the $51 million expansion of Trader Publishing Company’s national headquarters. In addition to the 1,100 new jobs this expansion will bring to Downtown, Trader will construct a 21-story office tower located on the Federal Lot at the corner of Granby Street and City Hall Avenue. Preliminary site work on the project has begun and therefore it is necessary to close the 62-space Lot in early March in preparation for construction.

Simultaneously with the closure of the Federal Lot the previously metered, 16-space Board of Trade Lot, located on the corner of Atlantic Street and Plume Street, will become an all monthly lot.

Since Parking System has over 18,000 spaces available for use by its patrons, these changes should not disrupt normal parking patterns. However, to provide additional short-term parking opportunities the Division of Parking opened Lot 31, a temporary parking lot located near the corner of Granby Street and Plume Street. This property is the site of the old the BB&T drive-through that was purchased by the City last year for future development. The Lot has 69 spaces and will be operated from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The Lot enters and exits from Plume Street.

All affected monthly tenants on both of these lots have been relocated. Short-term patrons should utilize alternative parking locations within the area. These include MacArthur Center South Garage, West Plume Street Garage, Boush Street Garage and the recently opened Lot 31.

The Division of Parking offers monthly parking for most of its locations. Simply contact the Customer Service Center at 222 East Main Street or call 664-6222.

For more information, please call 664-6222 us at www.norfolk.gov/parking.

__________________

[okinawatyphoon]

YES YES YES!!! :D

Thank you vdogg!! Thank you God!!! lol

[vdogg]

Well i went to the trader site today. The lot was still open, i asked a very old and cranky lot attendant what the deal was and he said that tommorrow is the last day the lot will be open and Monday is actually the day they will start construction. I also took the liberty of scoping out places to take pictures from. About the best place i found was the 10th floor of the suntrust building parking deck. Excellent views of the core downtown area and the Trader and Hilton contruction sites. Parking is 75 cents an hour but if u don't want to pay you can just as easily park on the street (free on weekends) and take the elevator to the 10th floor. I plan on returning there once construction activity has picked up and will post pics here when i do.

[okinawatyphoon]

Well i went to the trader site today. The lot was still open, i asked a very old and cranky lot attendant what the deal was and he said that tommorrow is the last day the lot will be open and Monday is actually the day they will start construction. I also took the liberty of scoping out places to take pictures from. About the best place i found was the 10th floor of the suntrust building parking deck. Excellent views of the core downtown area and the Trader and Hilton contruction sites. Parking is 75 cents an hour but if u don't want to pay you can just as easily park on the street (free on weekends) and take the elevator to the 10th floor. I plan on returning there once construction activity has picked up and will post pics here when i do.

Ok vdogg we need DAILY updated pics! lol just kidding. thanks for being one of those thats gonna take pics. I could....but a couple pics for $1000 dollars isn't really worth it haha.

[okinawatyphoon]

oh yeah....has anyone looked at the cruise ship terminal or Harbor's Edge lately? how are things coming along?

[vdogg]

oh yeah....has anyone looked at the cruise ship terminal or Harbor's Edge lately? how are things coming along?
There were two very tall cranes hovering over harbors edge when i passed by today, i haven't really had a chance to get down to the cruise ship terminal yet.

[gwiATLeman]

I imagine a string of highrise condos (ala Miami) all up and down the coast. Just imagine living on the top floor of one of those condos and having downtown Norfolks skyline.

Baby steps OK. :? You can't just build it without the market for it. Miami metro has a population of 5 million, has year round pleasant weather, is an international travel destination and is the "in" place to be in the whole country right now.

Its great to see all the good things going on in the area though. I have good freinds there and am looking forward to visiting to see all the positive changes.

[vdogg]

So construction on the Trader Tower is truly underway now. I drove by the site today
Norfolk didn't skip a beat. They said Monday and they meant Monday. There were cranes and construction vehicles everywhere, flat bed trucks with what looked like I beams on them, and they even had some streets cordoned off. It was quite a spectacle. Hopefully I'll get some time in the coming days to get out there and take some pics.

[vdogg]

http://meetingsnet.com/ar/meetings_phase_virginia_beach/
Phase I of Virginia Beach Convention Center Set to Open in June

By Barbara L. Brewer

MeetingsNet, Feb 28 2005


Phase I of the $202.5 million Virginia Beach Convention Center will open in June, featuring an innovative design by architectural firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill, said Director of Convention Sales Al Hutchinson in an interview last week. Highlights include soaring glass walls and both interior and exterior pools of water, a 10-story observation deck, a cybercafe, a 10-foot-by-10-foot grid permanently etched into the exhibition floor to ease setup, and meeting space that is divisible into four meeting suites, or "pods."

With more than 300,000 square feet of space, including approximately 57,000 square feet of exhibit space, 19,000 square feet of meeting room space, and a 31,029-square-foot ballroom, Virginia Beach is now "aggressively pursuing the national association market and the SMERF markets," said Hutchinson. More than 1,000 free parking spaces will be available.

Entering a highly competitive market, the new center will be vying for business with centers in cities like Baltimore; Savannah, Ga.; Charlotte, N.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Richmond, Va., according to Hutchinson. Hutchinson said the convention center has booked the American Bus Association’s 2008 convention, which expects 4,000 attendees using 8,000 room-nights. To date, 62 events have been booked for 2005 to 2010, seven of which are brand-new to the area.

The center is offering an incentive package to planners who book between now and December 31, 2005, for meetings to be held in 2006 and beyond. It is giving a discount of 25 percent to 100 percent off of room rental at the convention center (based on the number of room-nights and food and beverage booked).

The existing 23-year-old building will be demolished on completion of Phase I, and construction will then begin on Phase II. When that is completed in January 2007, the convention center will total 516,522 square feet, which will encompass 150,000 square feet of exhibit space, a 31,029-square-foot ballroom, and 29,000 square feet of meeting space. There will be 2,300 parking spaces.

The City of Virginia Beach, which owns and operates the convention center, is also focusing on developing the central business district, Town Center, a 10-minute drive from the convention center. A 176-room Hilton Garden Inn recently opened there; and a 30-story Westin with 215 guest rooms on the first 12 floors and the remaining floors devoted to condominium units is now under construction with a 2007 opening planned. Also in the works for Town Center: a performing arts theater that seats 1,400, to open in 2007.

The 19th Street Project, also under development, will link the conference center to the oceanfront, six blocks away. The mixed–use project will encompass housing, restaurants, and retail stores in a pedestrian-friendly zone. On the beach at 19th Street, the 110-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott opened in September.

At 31st Street, a development called 31 Ocean will see the grand opening of the $62 million, 295-room Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront next month. The project also includes upscale shops and restaurants such as Tommy Bahamas and Starbucks. The city hopes to link the conference center, the oceanfront district and Town Center with a new BRT, or bus rapid transit system, though approval for the project has yet to be obtained.

© 2005, Primedia Business Magazines and Media, a PRIMEDIA company. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of PRIMEDIA Business Corp.

[okinawatyphoon]

Emporis needs some help....they used to have Harbor's Edge retirement up there, but they replaced it with Harbor Heights. But under the Harbor Heights building, it has the Harbor's Edge rendering. Plus they got the floor count wrong. Weirdos.

[vdogg]

Well i'm sure you all enjoyed our thundersnowstorm this afternoon (thunder and lightning during a snowstorm :eek: , what is up with this states weather). I was traveling in the towncenter area at that time. The police had all the streets blocked off due to debris flying off the top of the cosmopolitan and one of the tower cranes had become unstable in some extremely high winds. The damage to the cosmopolitan was light however and it shouldn't set them back that far in construction. Heres a story from the pilot and a link (there was more than one story)

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=83204&ran=134377&tref=po

Winter reasserts itself with wind and snow

The Virginian-Pilot
© March 8, 2005 | Last updated 8:06 PM Mar. 8

Mother Nature came down with a case of March madness today.

Hampton Roads saw driving snow, thunderstorms and lightning, strong winds, biting cold and even hail in some places.

The weather caused a number of problems. Police in Virginia Beach closed streets around Town Center due to concerns about high winds affecting cranes and construction debris. Several colleges, including Old Dominion University, Tidewater Community College and Virginia Wesleyan, closed early, while public schools remained open.

All this came on the heels of a sunny and spring-like Monday that saw the mercury climb into the 70s.

The National Weather Service in Wakefield at about 1 p.m. issued a winter weather advisory for Hampton Roads, in effect until 6 p.m. The low tonight was forecast to dip to 25 degrees.


That advisory came on top of a wind advisory for southeast, central and southcentral Virginia. Also valid until 6 p.m., the advisory covered all areas of Hampton Roads, plus northeast North Carolina.

Coming behind a cold front that crossed the Mid-Atlantic region this morning, blustery northwest winds were forecast to increase to between 25 and 30 mph, with occasional gusts in excess of 45 mph. Winds were expected to subside during the late afternoon or early evening hours, the weather service said.





http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_local_030805_thundersnow.11aeee698.html

Bizarre weather blasts Hampton Roads as "thundersnow" hits many areas

Click to watch video

05:34 PM EST on Tuesday, March 8, 2005

by Pete McElveen, WVEC.com

Monday's balmy temperatures may have induced a few cases of spring fever in Hampton Roads, but freakish weather Tuesday provided a quick remedy.

WVEC.com

An SUV got a quick frosting of snow as a cold front blasted through the area Tuesday, March 8.

A powerful cold front blasted through Hampton Roads Tuesday, bringing plunging temperatures and a mixed bag of weather which seemed to cover all extremes, from hail to heavy snow.

High winds caused several problems in the area. Wind gusts measured as high as 75 mph at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

On the York River, choppy water caused a barge to flip; in Cheapeake, a tree fell on a house on River Pearl Way; the winds tangled a support cable on a construction crane at Town Centre in Virginia Beach. Police closed roads in that area for several hours. There were no injuries in any of these wind-related incidents.

Poor weather also delayed the homecoming of USS Saipan. The Navy said the ship will return when it can do so safely.

13News meteorologist Evan Stewart described Tuesday's "thundersnow" as a weather oddity caused by the drastic change in temperature. "We had a temperature swing of about 40 degrees from Monday to Tuesday. Whenever you have such extremes over a short period of time, you're likely to get crazy weather like strong thunderstorms and snow," said Stewart.

Stewart says "thundersnow" occurrs when cold air rushing in behind a front collides with warm air, changing the preciptation from rain over to snow. In Tuesday's peculiar blast of winter, lightning flashes were visible and thunderclaps could be heard as snow seemed to fall sideways due to the gusty winds.

Stewart says accumulation of snow on roadways has been light due to the recent high temperatures. However there was some slush left on roads after the quick downpour of snow, as well as accumulation on grassy areas and vehicles.
Also Online

"Thundersnow can happen in winter, but it's primarily a springtime event," said Stewart.

He added that it's not likely the area will see any more thundersnow this week, but some additional snow is possible Friday.

[vdogg]

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=83236&ran=229606

Downtown deals get green light from Norfolk

By IBRAM ROGERS, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 9, 2005 | Last updated 10:24 PM Mar. 8

NORFOLK — The City Council finalized two downtown development contracts Tuesday, including one that Mayor Paul D. Fraim described as “the most important development project downtown since the opening of the MacArthur Center.”

Trader Publishing Co . is set to build a 19- or 20-story office building at the intersection of Granby Street and City Hall Avenue.

The city is selling the property to Trader for $10. Fraim said this project will equate to “a $51 million investment in the city, 1,600 net new jobs and millions of dollars of new tax revenue with a company that is going to continue to grow and bring more business to downtown.”

Construction will begin this month, said Tim Polk, the city planning director. There are already cranes on the site.

According to the agreement, the company will have 24 months to finish construction, which should take only 18 months to complete , Polk said.

Trader operates Internet and classified advertising publications such as Auto Trader and Truck Trader in more than 170 cities. The company is jointly owned by Cox Enterprises of Atlanta and Landmark Communications Inc. of Norfolk, publisher of The Virginian-Pilot.

The city will pay 80 percent of the cost to move a storm drain near the property, so long as the total cost doesn’t exceed $186,000. The city also will provide discounted parking for Trader.

In return, the city expects to receive $1.7 million a year in taxes, said Roderick Woolard, Norfolk’s director of development. He said that figure comes from the real estate, business license and equipment taxes that the company will generate. It doesn’t include utility taxes.

Also Tuesday, the city agreed to sell a one-acre piece of property on Boush Street , between Tazewell Street and College Place, to Robinson Development Group Inc. for $500,000.

The site is currently home to the d’Art Center.

The new development will feature a 40,000-square-foot supermarket, a parking garage with at least 226 spaces, 80,000 square feet of office space for the headquarters of Tidewater Community College and 99 condominiums.

The d’Art Center is moving several blocks away to Selden Arcade.

Construction will begin within the next 30 days, Polk said.

Just as with Trader, the city is requiring work to finish in 24 months. And just as in the other contract, the developer has agreed to make an effort to create low- and middle-income jobs during and after construction.

According the agreement, 116 spaces in the parking garage shall be allocated for residential use and another 60 spaces for retail customers.

The city will reap about $850,000 a year in taxes from the project, Woolard said.

Perhaps most important to the residential development of downtown, a grocery is being built. There isn’t one downtown now.

“Having that grocery store will make it more desirable to live there,” Woolard said.

These two development projects, Polk said, allow the city to move closer to achieving its goal of creating “a live/work downtown.”

Reach Ibram Rogers at 222-5150 or Ibram.rogers@pilotonline.com.

[okinawatyphoon]

All good stuff.....glad to hear that these two projects are moving along. So the last two projects to get started are the Hilton and the Granby Towers.

Harbor's Edge: UC
Cruise Ship Terminal: UC
Trader: UC
Harbor Heights: almost UC
Hilton: still finalizing
Granby Tower 1: start in Fall
Granby Tower 2: sometime after 1

Am I missing anything?

[vdogg]

nope, i think you have everything that has been "officially" announced :D .

[vdogg]

Actually, I stand corrected. You have Norfolks new courts complex and the new federal courts complex which have both been mentioned by city officials.

[lammius]

What is Harbor Heights? Is that the TCC building?

Also, I know Granby St terminates at Main St. but is there access to Waterside Drive/Town Point Park there (i.e. between former BB&T and WTC)? I'm wondering how Norfolk could tie Granby in to the waterfront. If there is a space, even a small one, a nice landscaped walkway would be a good way to connect the two areas. They seem detached now.

[vdogg]

What is Harbor Heights? Is that the TCC building?
yes

[okinawatyphoon]

There's a free city meeting in Norfolk on March 17 that discusses residential development and whatnot. someone from the company that will construct the Granby Towers will be speaking. maybe someone could find out if the height has changed or something. It would be interesting to hear about what happens if someone goes. details below:

http://www.norfolk.gov/News/Press/prdetails.asp?PressID=124

[lammius]

Yeah I really want clarification on whether the TOTAL building height of the taller tower will be 25 as the Pilot reports, or whether it's 25 above 6 parking floors as the architect's website says.

[vdogg]

Yeah I really want clarification on whether the TOTAL building height of the taller tower will be 25 as the Pilot reports, or whether it's 25 above 6 parking floors as the architect's website says.I will try my hardest to make it to this. Its right after i get off work however so i can't promise anything, but i will try to compile a list of questions to ask.

[vdogg]

The images from the previous harbor heights url seem to be turning into red x's so i'm posting it from a different url so that those who haven't had a chance to see it can see what this project will look like http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/tcchq.jpg

[Liger Zero]

Arggg! Trader has begun construction and I missed it? :wallbash: I work 2 blocks from the site and I wasnt even aware. I'm slipping. I'll have to go check it out one day this week. I guess that I'll also go out one day this week to catch up on all the construction progress in and around downtown Norfolk.

[vdogg]

Ok, i've tried to be calm and collective and all that, and pretty reliable sources keep saying an annoucement will be soon but damn, whats the hold up? That better be one hell of a conference center to be causing all this delay. I just went back and re-read one of the articles i posted way back. In the article they stated that a deal was near on the Hilton. This article was dated August 2004! Every project with the exception of this one is now either under construction, or a firm construction date has been set. When i saw the article in the pilot today entitled "Downtown Deals approved" I just knew it was something about the Hilton, but alas, they only told us what we already knew! It should be a crime to keep people in this much suspense. Right now, i don't care if the rendering is drawn in crayon and has stick figures for people, just show us something :soapbox:

[okinawatyphoon]

Ok, i've tried to be calm and collective and all that, and pretty reliable sources keep saying an annoucement will be soon but damn, whats the hold up? That better be one hell of a conference center to be causing all this delay. I just went back and re-read one of the articles i posted way back. In the article they stated that a deal was near on the Hilton. This article was dated August 2004! Every project with the exception of this one is now either under construction, or a firm construction date has been set. When i saw the article in the pilot today entitled "Downtown Deals approved" I just knew it was something about the Hilton, but alas, they only told us what we already knew! It should be a crime to keep people in this much suspense. Right now, i don't care if the rendering is drawn in crayon and has stick figures for people, just show us something

DAMN WELL SAID VDOGG!!

[vdogg]

Excerpt from Virginia Beach State of the city speech. More can be found here.
http://www.vbgov.com/city_hall/city_info/0,1383,2201,00.html
"I cannot mention our Performing Arts Theatre without mentioning the other exciting elements of Town Center. Phase I and Phase II are just about done, and this summer we’ll move into Phase III ahead of schedule. In addition to the theatre, the other key component of this phase is the Westin Hotel project. We’re looking at a multi-use skyscraper – a new landmark for our city and our region. The plans aren’t finalized, but it will be at least 30 stories high, and it will include a hotel, condominiums, retail and meeting space, and, of course, more parking. This is another outstanding example of the power of public-private partnerships in our city. The private investment of this phase is projected to be around $135 million dollars. That’s four times greater than the public investment!"

[Liger Zero]

^ I read the entire speech. Just like Norfolk's speech a few weeks ago, it sounds like great news overall for the entire city of Va. Beach.

[vdogg]

Westin at Towncenter website updated with new, 37 story rendering! :eek2:
http://www.residencesatwestin.com/

[vdogg]

Wow, these people may actually be trying to go for the state title :D

[verycoolnin]

Damn, I was hoping it would be 40 stories. But 37 is good.

[okinawatyphoon]

Its just a rendering. Renderings in reality don't mean much. Its possible that the developer mistakenly added a few floors when all they were trying to do was change the garage or something. I just don't want all the kiddies getting their hopes up lol.

[vdogg]

That being said, this developers renderings have seemed to consistently match the floor count of the week. It is also consistent with the briefing the developer gave to city council when he presented the building that he said "is actually 35 stories tall, but the trend is for things to get bigger". The redesign was supposed to be finished by the end of January. It is now March, this is most likely the final rendering were gonna see out of them. It's gonna be real interesting to watch this weeks council session. The developer is due back before them either these week or next for a vote on the final terms of the contract. I'll keep you posted and cut and paste news as soon as i get it :D (p.s. I signed up for their preferred interest list online last month. The reply email said there will be 119 condos availiable, which is an increase from the previous 104. Also the hotel has grown from 215 to 250 rooms.)

[vdogg]

Lots of new stuff today! Willy from SSP has obtained information from both the Granby Towers and Harbor Heights developers. First, the good news on Granby Towers

I just spoke with Marathon Development (builders of Granby Towers), they said that the towers are 100% a go. They said that the Feds are NOT going to get the land and in fact there are several Federal judges that are on the waiting list to purchase some of these condos. They are working on a website for these towers as we speak. The height WILL stay the same and they said if anything it will increase, so we could be looking at some pretty tall buildings.

And now for the news on Harbor Heights


Just spoke with Robinson Development (builders of the Harbor Heights), it will increase in height to 17 stories.

Harbor Heights website (http://www.harborheights.net/index.html)
79892

:)

[oduguy1999]

awesome news, i think the granby towers are going to be the nicest addition being built anywhere in VA. those are some nice buildings, very classic.

[okinawatyphoon]

Harbor Heights kinda reminds me of the Cosmopolitan in Va. Beach....does anyone else see it? They're both shaped the same and about the same height, although Norfolk's is now 3 floors taller.

[vdogg]

Yes and no. I think this one looks way better than the cosmo though.

[VTDoan]

All good stuff.....glad to hear that these two projects are moving along. So the last two projects to get started are the Hilton and the Granby Towers.

Harbor's Edge: UC
Cruise Ship Terminal: UC
Trader: UC
Harbor Heights: almost UC
Hilton: still finalizing
Granby Tower 1: start in Fall
Granby Tower 2: sometime after 1

Am I missing anything?


Don't forget about 388 Boush St. It's not a very large condo building but it adds to the amount of housing downtown. Plus, its right next to the new Harbor Heights building going up.

[vdogg]

http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/business/granbytowerrendingbig.gif

NORFOLK — Buddy Gadams expects to open a sales office by late summer to begin marketing units in his proposed 29-story condominium complex at the corner of Granby Street and Brambleton Avenue, a key intersection in the future of downtown.

Gadams has modified plans for the development, labeled Granby Towers when it was announced last July. The complex, with more than 300 residential units, will feature one tower, instead of two, surrounded by four-story buildings with street-level retail and condos above. There will also be an eight-story parking garage.

The progress on the condo complex is the most concrete development in the quest to carry the revitalization of Granby Street northward across Brambleton Avenue and beyond. City leaders have long voiced a desire to see the intersection become a gateway to downtown.

The Granby/Brambleton intersection is considered strategic because of the potential for development at each of its corners. In addition to Gadams’ condo complex on the southwest corner:

- Plans are proceeding on a possible expansion of the Walter E. Hoffman U.S. Courthouse that sits on the southeast corner, across Granby Street from Gadams’ site;

- The city may be eyeing the Greyhound bus station on the northeast corner as the possible site for a new public library;

- And there will soon be vacant, developable land at the northwest corner.

A wrecking ball will hit the intersection before any new concrete and steel.

Peter Decker Jr. and his wife, Bess, have hired a contractor to demolish the buildings they own at the northwest corner. A planned restaurant and lounge there fell through earlier this year. The structures now have been deemed unsafe and will be demolished in the next several weeks after city permits are obtained, Decker said.

The future use of the property is unknown, Decker said, but he envisions something that complements Gadams’ project and other potential developments there.

“It is important to Bess and me that whatever we do north of Brambleton it will pioneer into something wonderful,” he said.

Across Granby Street from the Decker’s property, the Greyhound bus station sits on land owned by the city. It is a loosely held secret that the property is a possible location for a desired new public library. Such a facility would replace the aging Kirn Memorial Library.

But funding for a new central library has not been identified and is at least three to five years from reality, city officials said.

If and when a new library is built, the city wants it to be an iconic structure, said Tim Polk, the city’s planning director.

“Central libraries are signature buildings,” Polk said recently. “They are highly designed and well recognized. It will be very important that it is done right.”

Polk’s comments came prior to a breakfast meeting on March 9 during which Tidewater Community College President Deborah DiCroce gave a presentation on the college’s planned expansion. DiCroce said enrollment at the college’s downtown campus has grown so rapidly that it also will need a larger library.

The city and TCC may join together to develop a new library. Discussions about the library are ongoing, without any concrete plans, Polk said. The same is true of the courthouse, he said.

The federal government’s decision on the courthouse is critical because it could change the intersection’s redevelopment. Federal officials have expressed interest in Gadams’ land, the Greyhound property and a building just to the south on Granby, which is being redeveloped with condos, as possible sites for an annex.

Design plans are proceeding, but funding has held up the project. There is a moratorium on federal courthouse construction, said Karen Redmond, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The Bush administration has only asked Congress to fund construction of two courthouses, in San Diego and in Austin, Texas, Redmond said.

“You just never know what will happen in the appropriations process, but we do have a moratorium because we are trying to cut back on costs,” she said. “Money is tight and getting tighter. We have to reduce expenses and growth.”

Whatever the fate of the courthouse, Polk said the focus on the Granby/Brambleton intersection and other development downtown will force the city to devote greater attention to the design of buildings.

With land scarce, all new developments are expected to be multi story. Care will need to be taken to ensure that the designs align with the character and feel of the rest of downtown, Polk said.

Such attention played a role in the redesign of Gadams’ $130 million condominium complex. The plan initially called for two towers to be built atop of a parking structure. But Ray Gindroz, a Pittsburgh-based urban design consultant hired by the city, advised Gadams that the project needed to be redesigned to bring complex residents closer to the street.

The revised design should add to the ambiance of pedestrian traffic along Granby, Gadams said.

The developer said he expects to begin filing for his permits with the city’s design review committee and planning commission within the next 60 days. And he hopes to break ground on the development early next year.

“My contractors said that this project should take 24 months to finish,” Gadams said. “We’re full speed ahead on the design and the marketing.”

http://home.hamptonroads.com/storie...83629&ran=27723

[VaCeltic]

I think I prefer the single tower over the two that was listed before, for that area of downtown norfolk it can become a focal point and help push development in the surrounding area (as the article said). I think I would take a taller tower over two smaller ones any day!

[oduguy1999]

29 floor Granby tower
http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/business/granbytowerrendingbig.gif
wow i love this building and the size is perfect!
Great news plus all the other additions
TCC-15 floors
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/tcchq.jpg
Trader building 21 floors
http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/business/traderbuildingbig.jpg
cruise terminal
http://www.virginiaedreview.com/newspics/norfolk.jpg
388 bousch street
http://img83.exs.cx/img83/6646/6f-boushcondosbig.jpg
church street
http://img69.exs.cx/img69/6883/bb-ChurchStreetCorri.jpg
harbors edge retirement village -17 floors
http://img69.exs.cx/img69/5210/88-harborsedge.jpg
Sentara Heart Complex-Sentara Hopital
http://www.sentara.com/heart/hearthosrendering.jpg

[vdogg]

^^^^Don't forget the Hilton at 25+ . Supposedly very soon to being announced

[vdogg]

A little larger, more detailed rendering 8) .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/guynvb/Norfolk/granbytower.jpg
courtesy guynvb from SSP

[Dale]

I should think this would be a new tallest, no ?

[okinawatyphoon]

I should think this would be a new tallest, no ?

Yes it would most likely pass Dominion Tower not only cuz of the height, but also cuz of the spire. This is one damn good looking building though!

[okinawatyphoon]

Oh yeah, oduguy1999, Harbor Heights (aka TCC) is now 17 stories instead of 15.

[vdogg]

Here is a link to the program council update. It's an interview with Mayor Paul Fraim and he goes very in depth into development in Norfolk, including the Hilton :) http://www.norfolk.gov/tv48/council_update.asp
Simply look under council shows, and where it says guest click on mayor Paul Fraim.
***scroll about 30minutes in***

[Liger Zero]

Harbor Heights update:

A source today told me that all tenants will be out of the buidlings in that immediate area by mid April and demolition will begin very soon after that.

[okinawatyphoon]

Port cargo, vessel calls increased during January and February
By CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 23, 2005

NORFOLK — This year started in much the same way 2004 ended at the Port of Virginia.

Cargo volumes surged 13.2 percent to 297,207 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, in January and February, the Virginia Port Authority announced Tuesday at its board of commissioners meeting.

The port ended last year with a 9.9 percent gain in TEUs, a universal measure for shipping containers that come in 20-, 40- and 53-foot sizes.

Vessel calls in the port grew for the first time in two years, up 3.8 percent to 332 ships in January and February.

Vessel calls have contracted slightly in recent years as ship lines deployed larger container ships in fewer services. But as international trade swells, more and more large ships are coming now, said Thomas Capozzi, the port authority’s senior managing director of marketing services. Congestion on the West Coast is pushing the growing Asian trade to seek alternatives such as ports on the East Coast.

“There are going to be a number of new all-water services from Asia coming through both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal in 2006 and 2007,” Capozzi said. “The lines are telling me we’d better be ready.”

Construction projects at the port authority’s three marine terminals, including the massive renovation of Norfolk International Terminals’ south end, continue on budget and on schedule, said Jeff Florin, chief engineer and director of port development.

On Tuesday, the board of commissioners approved a new $25 million bond issue to refund about a like amount of bonds issued in 1996. Essentially a refinancing, the offering will occur only if there will be a savings of at least 5 percent.

The board also approved a partnership with the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission to help promote economic development in Southside and Southwest Virginia. Funded by proceeds from the national tobacco settlement, the commission is charged with promoting economic growth in tobacco-dependent communities.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=83916&ran=115869

[oduguy1999]

Condos planned at bridge-tunnel entrance in Norfolk

http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/business/tunnelcondos.jpg

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=84194&ran=236278&tref=po (http://)

[okinawatyphoon]

I think we all moved to Urban Planet.org....this thread is dying.

[Liger Zero]

^ Yeah, I think you are right. Even though most have us have migrated to UP, I still think that we need to keep people informed as to all that is going on in the Hampton Roads area. The region needs as much good exposure as possible.

[lammius]

We'll just have to copy/paste all UP convos in here!

[vdogg]

I have received this update from the developer of the Westin.

"The image on the website is the latest updated version of the project.
As of now, the entire Westin project has increased from 30 stories to
38 stories, however we are still in the design phase so we may continue
to have changes.

I hope this answers you concerns.

Kris Inderlied
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Armada Hoffler
222 Central Park Avenue
Suite 1200
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
www.armadahoffler.com"

[vdogg]

It has just been announced by Lou Haddad on News channel 3 that the Westin "will be the tallest building in Virginia period" :D

[lammius]

Shhh! Don't let people in Rosslyn hear about it!

[vdogg]

Shhh! Don't let people in Rosslyn hear about it!
Lol. It was also announced on the other site that Granby towers will now be 31 stories. :)

[lammius]

Somebody's been pouring Miracle Gro on these proposals.

[vdogg]

I spoke with marathon development today. They have confirmed that this building will now be 31 stories tall with 300 condos and groundbreaking is scheduled for the beginning of January 2006. They also confirmed that they tore the old signs down to make way for "bigger and better" signs and that the signs with the new rendering (and hopefully a website) will be up shortly.

[vdogg]

Somebody's been pouring Miracle Gro on these proposals.
LOL, i hear ya. We now have 2 buildings over 30 stories to be constructed in HR. This is great :) .

[vdogg]

Just some additional (albeit artistic and less detailed) renderings i found online of the Westin.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/unit6.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/unit3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/unit1.jpg

[vdogg]

Since nobody else has posted this here yet I guess I will.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/okinawatyphoon/Norfolk/Vabeachsportsfacility.bmp
Sports training complex planned in Virginia Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH — A $16 million professional sports training complex will be built on 15 acres on Baker Road, near Norfolk International Airport.

The facility, being built by Portsmouth-based DLH Sports Inc., will include indoor and outdoor football fields, indoor basketball courts, a swimming pool, gym, running track and more.

Officials from the city of Virginia Beach and DLH are expected to formally announce the project at a press conference Thursday afternoon. They declined comment today, but many of the plans are detailed on the DLH web site, www.dlhsports.com.

Also according to the site, Tom Shaw will serve as the football staff’s program director.

Shaw is currently speed and conditioning coach for the reigning world champion New England Patriots. He also has worked with the NFL’s Aeneas Williams, Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Michael Vick, Derrick Brooks and Tom Brady along with NBA players Charlie Ward, Billy Owens, Randy Livingston and Kerry Kittles....

Full Story (http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=86942&ran=182541&tref=po)

[vdogg]

Talk about an advertising blitz. It's on wvec now and the planning commision has approved the project! :D

Planning Commission gives preliminary OK for new skyscraper

05:25 PM EDT on Thursday, May 26, 2005


WVEC.com

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/L_IMAGE.jpg




An architect's rendering of the proposed Granby Tower in downtown Norfolk.

The Norfolk Planning Commission has given preliminary approval to a new skyscraper in downtown Norfolk. The 31-story Granby Tower would become the tallest residential building in the region.


Developers presented sketches of the building to the Commission on Thursday. The exterior of the 450-foot high rise will be primarily blue tinted glass, aluminum and stainless steel, with a 100 ft. spire. Architect Bryan Moore said he hopes the design will remind people of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in New York.


Granby Tower is planned for Granby Street at Brambleton, across from the U.S. District Courthouse. Groundbreaking is scheduled for early next year and the building is expected to be complete in late 2007. Its art deco style is designed to blend in with surrounding structures. .....Full Story (http://www.wvec.com/news/topstories/stories/wvec_top_052605_granby_tower.2b232054f.html)

[verycoolnin]

This thread pretty much details all major costruction in the hampton roads: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=11642

I'm really interested in this "J: Office Tower - 35- to 40-stories; proposed"

[vdogg]

This thread pretty much details all major costruction in the hampton roads: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=11642

I'm really interested in this "J: Office Tower - 35- to 40-stories; proposed"
Not to sure about this one. It was mentioned a while back and for a time their looked like there might be something too it but i honestly haven't heard anything else about it recently.

[verycoolnin]

After Grandby and Trader?

http://members.cox.net/verycoolnin/Norfolk1.JPG

[vdogg]

After Grandby and Trader?

http://members.cox.net/verycoolnin/Norfolk1.JPG

Very nice. I'm gonna post this here Norfolk/Portsmouth skyline (http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=9949&st=90) to your credit. Please feel free to join us as we have a number of people trying to photoshop different angles of the Norfolk skyline.

[vdogg]

After Grandby and Trader?

http://members.cox.net/verycoolnin/Norfolk1.JPG
After Granby and Trader you need to put the Hilton directly to the right of Trader and Harbor Heights to the left of 150 West Main.

[vdogg]

The courts and city hall towers would go right behind dominion and be barely visible i believe.

[verycoolnin]

My finished project
http://members.cox.net/verycoolnin/Norfolk2.JPG

[vdogg]

New high-rise apartment building planned in downtown Norfolk

By DEBBIE MESSINA, The Virginian-Pilot
© June 7, 2005 | Last updated 5:14 PM Jun. 7

NORFOLK — Would-be downtowners may soon have another new high-rise address to consider, this time at the western gateway to the business district.

Kotarides Developers is planning an 18- to 20-story apartment tower on what’s now a city parking lot between Brambleton Avenue and York Street near the YMCA.

The project was first proposed in 2003 as two seven-story apartment buildings. Now the developer has an agreement with the city to refine the proposal over the next four months and negotiate the sale of the land.

The City Council paved the way for the project today when it approved transferring the land from Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority ownership to city ownership.

Pete A. Kotarides, a company vice president, said he is negotiating with adjacent property owners to expand the project to include rowhouse-style apartments as well. Some of the rowhouses could be built where the YMCA parking lot now sits, he said.

There could be as many as 250 apartments, depending on whether the developer can acquire the land not owned by the city.

Specific plans and designs are not yet available.

“We’re working with neighboring property owners to see what we can put together,” Kotarides said. “Either way, we’re going to build on the city property.”

The core of the plan is a city-owned parking lot at Brambleton and Duke Street. If the developers acquire more land, a pedestrian bridge across York Street would link the tower to a block of rowhouse apartments with a parking garage hidden behind them.

The units would rent for $1,200 to $2,500 a month, Kotarides said. Construction would not start for at least 18 months, he added.

“The need is greater than the supply right now,” said Mayor Paul D. Fraim, adding that several residential projects in addition to the Kotarides proposal are in the works.

Ninety condominiums, known as St. Paul’s Place, are under construction on St. Paul’s Boulevard. Construction is beginning on Harbor Heights, a mixed use 15-story building that includes 99 residential units at Boush and Tazewell streets. Another 87 units are being built at 388 Boush St.

Further north, Bristol Development is clearing land for The Row at Ghent, a 358-unit condo/apartment project on Monticello Avenue.

In recent weeks, plans were unveiled for about 300 condos in a new 31-story tower at Brambleton Avenue and Granby Street and for 66 condos in the Rotunda Building on St. Paul’s Boulevard.

Since 2002, Norfolk officials have been working to attract more housing downtown. “It’s great to know the city is that attractive,” Fraim said.

Reach Debbie Messina at (757) 446-2588 or debbie.messina@pilotonline.comhttp://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=87469&ran=162017

[oduguy1999]

My finished project
http://members.cox.net/verycoolnin/Norfolk2.JPG

nice job, norfolk is really impressive

[okinawatyphoon]

Hey oduguy, what happened to your old renderings of the new Norfolk skyline? I never saw them because they were red x's.

[oduguy1999]

i dunno what happened to it, prefer the new one anyway, hehe. are u in the marines in okinawa, my sister is based out there.

[okinawatyphoon]

i dunno what happened to it, prefer the new one anyway, hehe. are u in the marines in okinawa, my sister is based out there.

Nope I'm not, I'm just a 17 year old dependent. We go to the marine bases all the time though! :)

[vdogg]

Developer unveils Portsmouth vision
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/portvisionbig.gif
Urban design consultant Ray Gindroz’s downtown waterfront development plan specifically centers on five properties owned by Portsmouth — including the civic center parking lot, the Holiday Inn Olde Towne-Portsmouth and the vacant property across from City Hall. RENDERING COURTESY OF URBAN DESIGN ASSOCIATES.

By MEGHAN HOYER, The Virginian-Pilot
© June 15, 2005

PORTSMOUTH — Downtown could look very different in a few years.

Urban design consultant Ray Gindroz’s vision, unveiled at a City Council meeting Tuesday, includes six high-rise towers , a waterfront park and a traffic circle that would become the new gateway to the city.

It’s a vision city officials have wholeheartedly embraced.

Despite the costs of road improvements and moving city offices, they said Tuesday that Portsmouth needed to press on with the recommended changes and redevelopment of several major downtown sites.

“In my experience, when a city does plans, they generally come true,” City Manager James B. Oliver Jr. said. “We have some really clear emphasis now.”

Earlier this year, Portsmouth enlisted the help of Gindroz’s company, Urban Design Associates, to better handle downtown development proposals.

Gindroz’ downtown waterfront development plan centers on five properties owned by Portsmouth – including the civic center parking lot, the Holiday Inn Olde Towne-Portsmouth and the vacant property across from City Hall – that generally are considered among the city’s most desirable pieces of real estate.

In fact, later the same evening, the council heard a presentation from a group looking to build a high-rise, multi use building on the Holiday Inn site.

The aging hotel is still operating, but city officials have discussed tearing it down and redeveloping the property.

Representatives of the Gee’s Group, a local development company, refused to comment as they left their meeting with council members, which was closed to the public.

The company is one of several that have expressed interest in the site.

But Gindroz on Tuesday advised city officials to focus their attention instead on the southern end of Crawford Street, closer to City Hall.

Top on his list of plans is improving the entrance to downtown from Interstate 264.

Instead of forcing drivers to snake through several blocks to Crawford Street, Gindroz has proposed straightening the boulevard, creating several new city blocks in the process, and leading people to a large traffic circle that would become the city’s new entrance.

“This is the most important thing that needs to be done,” he told the council Tuesday.

“The whole point of this is to get the city fixed, to repair the damage to the roads. This circle has great potential to become a major landmark in the region. This would be absolutely unique in this part of the country.”

Among the other recommendations in his plan:

nClosing the northbound lanes of Crawford Parkway, making the parkway a two-lane road and using the additional land for a waterfront city park.

nExtending the south end of Middle Street to High Street to repair the broken street grid.

nEventually moving City Hall and the courts and jail complex off the waterfront to make way for development.

nLuring private developers to build several new low-rise offices and residences near Crawford and Columbia streets and to build a high-rise tower, most likely for condominiums, on the vacant pier in front of the nTelos Pavilion at Harbor Center.

Oliver said the plan already had gained support from residents and developers who had talked and met with Gindroz as he developed his ideas.

Charles Twine is one of those supporters.

The downtown resident said he was thrilled with Gindroz’ plans to bring more residences and businesses there.

“It’s outstanding,” he said. “They need plans to get City Hall and the jail off such valuable property. The waterfront needs a new look.”

[vdogg]

]http://img133.echo.cx/img133/9384/traderbig7fn.jpg
The Trader Publishing construction site at Granby and Plume streets is an all-too-vivid example of the sounds of progress downtown. Pile-drivers, dump trucks and cranes can be heard for blocks. MATT EICH

By JEREMIAH MCWILLIAMS, The Virginian-Pilot
© June 21, 2005



NORFOLK — Andrea Rice said she could feel them in her soul. Wiley Francisco felt them through his art gallery’s concrete floor. They rattled the pictures in Chuck Rutter’s eyewear shop.

For about three months, shock waves rumbled through downtown Norfolk, courtesy of a 100-foot pile driver towering over the block-long Granby Street construction site that will house the electronic media operations of Trader Publishing Co.

“It’s more a nuisance than anything,” said Rice, the daytime manager at The 219 Restaurant , two blocks from the site. “It’s obnoxious. It was incessant, every day.”

About 850 steel-reinforced concrete piles have been pounded into the sandy soil to support the projected $51 million, 20-story structure, with more on the way. An additional 40 to 50 piles will be needed in coming weeks to stabilize the foundation for two tower cranes, which will lift the building’s frame into place. Each pile, stretching 70 feet or more, is about as long as a standard tractor-trailer.

For many working and shopping downtown, they are sounds of progress, likely to be duplicated in coming months by other projects, including a high-rise residential complex and a proposed hotel. The changing downtown creates challenges as well as opportunities for local businesses, temporarily constricting parking and jangling nerves while offering the promise of scores of new customers.

“It’s no longer a vehicle-friendly downtown – hasn’t been for a long time,” said Don Hornstein, who has operated Littman’s Pawn Shop on Granby Street since 1980. “We’ve all been used to pulling up in what was a cozy, somewhat empty downtown. Those days are gone, and they’re not coming back.”

Seven weeks ago, the pile-driving rumblings totaled 144 for the week. Last week, there were none. The locals say they have been inconvenient, but tolerable.

“With the doors closed, you kind of get used to it,” said Chris Bowman, who manages a deli, Famous Uncle Al’s, across the street from the construction, which runs between City Hall Avenue and Plume Street. “It becomes background noise.”

Francisco, co-owner of the Calvin & Lloyd art gallery on Granby Street, said his salon has “the best corner of downtown.” But, he added, “What I’m anxious for is for the parking to come back.”

It may never come back in force, he said.

In the past, “People were used to just jumping out of their cars and shopping,” Francisco said. “Well, you have to get over that.”

http://img133.echo.cx/img133/6185/traderbuildingbig7ee.jpg


Plans call for 1,600 workers in the office complex, with seven floors of parking and street-level retail. All told, there were will be 11 floors of office space and one floor dedicated to training and conferences.

Trader Publishing Co. is jointly owned by Cox Enterprises Inc. and Landmark Communications Inc., The Virginian-Pilot’s parent company. Now based in a seven-story building across the street from the construction site, Trader Publishing employs about 10,000 people nationwide, including nearly 1,000 in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

“It’s going to bring a lot of jobs, and it’s going to bring a lot of business,” said Tres Bedell, who buses tables and tends bar at The Blue Hippo on Granby Street. “This going up, steadily making it a more enjoyable place, I think it’s great.”

Kesici Ibo, who started working in the clothing business as a 10-year-old in Turkey and now owns a tailor shop two doors from the site, agrees.

“If I’m still here, I’ll be rich,” he said. “Those people all need suits – they’ve got to look good.”

The Trader building is just one sign of an unprecedented pace of construction and development in downtown Norfolk, said Tim Polk, the city’s director of planning and community development.

“You used to have one, two, or three big projects every year,” Polk said. “Now, we’re talking to developers two or three times a week. They want to do deals. It’s big.”

Polk, responding to concerns about a shortage of parking, said the city will help make downtown parking available for workers, residents and tourists. He cited the recent construction of a 617-space parking garage at the intersection of Boush and Freemason streets. The city controls 80 percent of the parking spaces downtown, Polk said.

“Parking will definitely be taken care of,” he said. “You’re going to have some temporary interruptions, but the bottom line is that we’ve worked with business owners to minimize that.

“The noise, the traffic, more people on the street, are all part of the new Norfolk,” he said.

Cathy Coleman, executive director of the Downtown Norfolk Council, said solid planning will help local residents and workers deal with the noise, parking squeeze and other challenges.

“I think the goal is to have a downtown of a scale that creates an intimate pedestrian environment,” she said. “The vision is that people would do more than work here – it should be a place for people to live and shop.”

Coleman’s group is offering a carrot to go along with the proverbial stick – in this case, the concrete and steel piles: an expenses-paid night on the town to the person who correctly predicts when the pile-driving will end.

“I think everyone understands that’s the price of progress,” she said.

[vdogg]

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=88491&ran=194685
120 condos approved as part of Town Center’s third phase

The Virginian-Pilot
© June 29, 2005

VIRGINIA BEACH — The City Council on Tuesday approved 120 condominiums for Town Center as part of a proposed 37-story hotel-condo tower.

Click here The tower will be built at Independence Boulevard and Columbus Street, across from Dick’s Sporting Goods. Immediately behind it will be the new Virginia Beach Performing Arts Theater.

The bottom of the tower will feature a Westin Hotel with 234 rooms.

The top of the tower will include 120 condos ranging in price from $400,000 to $2 million. The penthouse will have a social room and lounge for residents.

At 508 feet, the tower will be the tallest building in Hampton Roads.

It will include five floors of parking, plus a restaurant and shops on the ground floor.

Later this summer, the City Council is expected to agree to spend $14.4 million for 800 of the 944 parking spaces in the garage, $1.5 million for a pedestrian walkway, and $800,000 on sidewalks, lighting and other landscape improvements.

Council members Reba S. McClanan and Bob Dyer voted against the project. Dyer said he supported the project as a whole but couldn’t vote for the latest phase because of concerns that police and fire services would be stretched thin as more residents move into Town Center. Councilman Richard A. Maddox was absent.

The tower will be part of Town Center’s third phase. The first phase included the original Armada Hoffler Tower. The second phase includes a 14-story apartment building, now under construction.

A fourth and final phase, possibly including another office tower, is being planned.

Construction is to start soon on the performing arts center, which will replace the Pavilion theater. The Pavilion is to be demolished in August.

The tower will be developed by Town Center Associates, which includes Armada Hoffler Properties LLC and City Center Associates LLC. Private investment in the tower will total about $130 million.

[Expat]

Wow! They are really doing some great things in Hampton Roads.

[vdogg]

Haven't been back in a while so I thought i'd give an update. The dimesions of the tower have changed slightly. It is now 38 stories (36 residential floors and 2 mechanical) and 501 feet tall. Construction has commenced on this project, pile driving began last week. Here is the latest rendering.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/ec3a0504.jpg

And a pic of work underway. :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/guynvb/Virginia%20Beach/DSC02492.jpg

[verycoolnin]

And in front is a shot of the Westin construction at the Town Center. A couple more high-rises and the Town Center will have a nice little skyline.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/hotboxdj/DSC01433.jpg

[vdogg]

Proposed tower on edge of Norfolk downtown gets needed rezoning
By HARRY MINIUM, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 29, 2005

NORFOLK — Oswald Hoffler Jr., a Florida-based developer and Norfolk native, wants to push downtown’s borders east beyond Scope with an apartment tower that will reach as high as 20 stories.

Hoffler’s proposal to erect a $30 million apartment building at 549 E. Brambleton Ave. on Tuesday night received the City Council’s unanimous support , which granted him a necessary rezoning.

He plans to build 150 luxury apartments, ranging in size from 1,200 square feet to 4,000 square feet and renting from $1,300 to $1,800 a month. The first floor would include 10,000 square feet of retail space, including a bank and perhaps a restaurant, he said.

The building would be close to Church Street, the city’s traditional center of black culture, where the Attucks Theatre was recently renovated and site of the city’s monument to Martin Luther King Jr. stands.


City Councilman Paul R. Riddick said the proposal is important because Hoffler would be the first black businessman to invest in a big way in the hot downtown residential market.

But more important , Riddick said, Hoffler would push downtown development beyond downtown’s traditional borders into the St. Paul’s quadrant, an area bounded by St. Paul’s Boulevard, Brambleton Avenue and Tidewater Drive, where there is public housing and a mix of industrial and retail buildings.

“I’ve always believed we’ve always cut ourselves short in downtown,” Riddick said. “I think downtown should go to the edge of Church Street. It will give other people the opportunity to participate in what’s going on downtown.”

Hoffler said groundbreaking likely will occur next year. He said the apartments will be marketed largely to senior citizens and others tired of maintaining single-family homes.

Riddick said he visited a similar development Hoffler owns in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 2004.

“It was a very first-class facility,” he said. “It had a pool, underground parking, a gym and limousine service for seniors.”

Hoffler’s project would front Brambleton Avenue, but would have a 4-story, 250-space parking garage on Tulip Lane, which parallels Brambleton. Hoffler would demolish a small building on the site, which he owns.

He said he welcomes the mixed-income nature of the neighborhood.

“I’m not afraid of that,” he said, adding that such neighborhoods are the focus of much new urban development. “The redevelopment of downtown areas is all about having different incomes mixed in. It’s going to be an open building and an open community and everyone will be welcome.”

“It’s a very progressive development,” Mayor Paul D. Fraim said. “He’s really pushing the envelope. It’s very exciting stuff.”

Tim Polk, the city’s planning director, said the proposal is in keeping with the city’s plans for the area.

The entire St. Paul’s quadrant, including the Tidewater Gardens public housing community and the Downtown Plaza Shopping Center, which the city owns, is to be the subject of a study the city will soon be asking a private firm to conduct. The study could take a year to complete.

“This type of development is exactly what we’re looking for in that area,” Riddick said.


Reach Harry Minium at (757) 446-2371 or at harry.minium@pilotonline.com
Story

[weill]

to many words, not enough pictures, half the pictures that are actually on here are :redx:

[verycoolnin]

Well, you'll love this

The images were posted here http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10034&st=680 by joe_builder. I believe he's working construction on the Trader Publishing tower. Plus some awesome picture of downtown Norfolk.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/getthatgerloffme/3rdfloorfromabove.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/getthatgerloffme/suntrust.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/getthatgerloffme/DSCN1190.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/getthatgerloffme/DSCN1197.jpg

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/getthatgerloffme/DSCN1230.jpg
Trader Publishing tower construction.

[vdogg]

Condominium projects will remake Ocean View skyline

By HARRY MINIUM, The Virginian-Pilot
© November 13, 2005

NORFOLK –– The skyline of Ocean View is about to undergo a transformation.

click here For years, development in Ocean View has been small-scale. Houses and small clusters of condominiums and duplexes have replaced the deteriorating buildings the city and developers have torn down.

There is only one high-rise along the city’s 7½ miles of Chesapeake Bay beachfront.

But larger and taller condominium projects are coming, and with them, more traffic and more demands on old roads and utilities.

More than half a dozen developments are in the works that promise to remake three key entry points into Ocean View – at the base of the Hampton Roads Bridge-

Tunnel, at the 4th View exit off Interstate 64 and at the eastern entrance to Ocean View just off Shore Drive along Little Creek Inlet.

Most are mid rise condominiums, as tall as 10 stories, and more than 1,500 units in all.

A developer recently approached Councilman W. Randy Wright about building a 25-story condominium in East Ocean View.

“High-density development is coming to Ocean View,” Wright said. “It’s inevitable.

“There’s a demand for housing near the beach, and they’re not making any more beach property.”

Does the impending development mean that views of the water and access to the water will be reserved for condo dwellers or preserved for all residents? What will it mean for traffic and parking problems that already plague the area?

City officials need look only a few miles down Shore Drive to Lynnhaven Inlet in Virginia Beach to see what the future of Ocean View could be.

Norfolk officials say they want the affluence and diverse shopping available at the Beach. What they don’t want are the wall-to-wall condominiums and town houses that have consumed much of the Bayfront property and led to parking shortages and clogged roads.

“What happened on Shore Drive is not going to happen here,” vow ed City Councilman Donald L. Williams, a Willoughby resident. “Most of that land in Virginia Beach was zoned for condos, so developers just built them. Virginia Beach could not control the development there.”

Norfolk can. Most of Ocean View has been zoned for single-family homes, and much of the property on Little Creek Inlet is zoned industrial.

That means developers must receive the city’s permission to build condominiums. That has given the city’s planning department wide sway on how those developments will be fashioned.

The city is telling most developers to work with Raymond L. Gindroz, an urban designer from Pittsburgh under contract to the city for nearly two decades, before bringing projects to the Planning Commission and City Council.

Gindroz is telling developers to preserve water views and access to the water for all residents. He advocates creating an urban look in Ocean View that avoids surface parking, cookie-cutter buildings and the concrete exteriors prevalent in so many beach communities.

“We’re looking for the resort look that you may have seen here in the early 1900s, the big old resorts that aren’t here anymore,” Williams said.

Gindroz’s influence can especially be seen in The Spectrum at Willoughby Point, a

$200 million, 327-condominium and town house development that will be built on 15 acres beginning early next year at the base of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.

When Virginia Beach developer A.R. “Rick” Gregor Jr. came to the city with his plans, he proposed what Williams called “concrete and glass condos,” the kind that sprouted along Shore Drive in Virginia Beach.

Gregor said Gindroz suggested major changes: moving the two tallest towers so they would be the first buildings seen by drivers coming across the bridge-tunnel; changing the exterior from concrete to cedar shake; replacing parking lots with parking on the first floor of the buildings, creating more open space; and varying the balconies, roof types and heights of buildings.

“When you come across the bridge-tunnel, you will see water on the other side,” Gregor said. “It was important that the water views not just be for the people living in the condos.

“It was more involvement than we’re used to, but at the end of the day, it made for a better project.”

Gindroz’s next project could be The Shoals, a 168-unit condominium and hotel development at the old Harrison’s Fishing Pier site at 4th View Street. The Boone family – Ronnie Boone Sr. and Judy Boone and their son, Ronnie Boone Jr. – have replaced Harrison’s Pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel, with the Ocean View Fishing Pier.

A restaurant has opened on the pier. The Boones plan a

$50 million development around the pier that will include condominiums, a small convention center, another restaurant and a hotel.

The Boones plan four buildings that will contain a mixture of condominiums and hotel rooms. The tallest could be eight stories, and they are designed to resemble the old Nansemond Hotel, the historic Ocean View hotel that once stood about 300 yards away .

Gindroz’s most ambitious work may be with half a dozen property owners in East Ocean View who plan developments around Little Creek Inlet.

Presently, the area has a mix of new upscale housing, including East Beach and Harbor Walk, and old industrial buildings, aging storefronts and deteriorated housing.

Two developers plan major projects there.

Steve Copeland, part owner of Taylor’s Landing Marina, has purchased a nearby strip shopping center that contains an exotic dancing club and a bookstore and also nearby, a car wash. He plans to replace them with a boat showroom, restaurant and coffee shop, and at least 36 condominiums.

He plans to break ground on the $20 million development, which could rise as high as 10 stories, next summer.

Developer Buddy Gadams is planning a 110-unit, $55 million condo development on the other side of the inlet along Pretty Lake Avenue that Gindroz is playing a key role in designing.

Gindroz shifted Gadams’ buildings slightly to retain water views. “It’s not just a bunch of buildings blocking Little Creek,” Gadams said.

The city has asked developers there to donate land to create a public walkway on the waterfront.

“Somebody jogging in that area would be able to do so right on Little Creek past all of the developments there,” Gadams said. “It’s a great idea.”

Gindroz said that “from the beginning, the thought has been to treat the entrances into Ocean View as gateways, as little town centers. We’re trying to create a sense of community.”

Vic Yurkovich, president of the Cottage Line Civic League, said his group will monitor the city’s stewardship of condo growth.

“We need high density,” he said. “We need that diversity so more people can live here.

“What our civic league would like to see is a high-rise for senior citizens. That seems to be something missing.”

Robby Hazelette, president of the Willoughby Civic League, said the city and developers have so far done a good job of seeking residents’ input.

Gindroz is doing a corridor study of Willoughby and met with the civic league last week.

“We have to figure out a way to deal with all of the high-density development that’s coming,” Hazelette said. “Willoughby is already bottlenecked because of the interstate. There has to be a commitment to improve all of the infrastructure.”

City officials said that work began years ago, when all of the utility lines underneath East Ocean View Avenue were replaced. A new intersection is planned at Shore Drive and Pleasant Avenue.

Officials also plan a second lane of traffic at 4th View that will lead into Willoughby.

“But there’s still so much more that needs to be done,” Wright said. “We’ve got drainage problems in some areas. We have curbing and sidewalks that need to be replaced. As the density increases, we’ve got to look at spending more money.”

Regardless, the planning process now under way will reverberate for decades, officials say.

“The time is right for mid-rise and high-rise development in Ocean View,” Williams said. “But we need to do it carefully, because we only get to do it once.”

Reach Harry Minium at (757) 446-2371 or harry.minium@pilotonline.com.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=95287&ran=236212

[willy]

And many more cranes to come.
http://pictures.traderpub.net/Assetts/Misc_Stuff/PanTPC102705_H768.jpgby joe_builder

http://pictures.traderpub.net/Assetts/Misc_Stuff/Misc1a/images/IMG_6202_jpg.jpgby joe_builder

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/norfolk/P9110044.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/norfolk/PA200180.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/norfolk/PA200183.jpg

[willy]

Deal reached for light rail segment in Norfolk

NORFOLK — The city has reached an agreement with Norfolk Southern Corp. to buy a five-mile segment of unused freight track for a proposed starter light rail line.

The purchase is the last of several tasks the Federal Transit Administration required of the city and Hampton Roads Transit, clearing the way for possible federal funding to build the 7.5-mile rail system.

The city will pay Norfolk Southern $5 million and will extend a discounted parking plan in a city garage next to the railroad’s downtown headquarters. The parking discount is worth an additional $2.6 million .

“This really is a significant day for the development of the Norfolk light rail line,” Mayor Paul D. Fraim said Thursday . “The acquisition of the tracks sends a strong message to the FTA that Norfolk is willing and committed to taking the necessary steps to insure the development of the light rail system.”

The route would go from Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown to Newtown and Kempsville roads. About 12,000 daily riders are projected.

In October , the FTA endorsed the $203.7 million project with several conditions, including the track purchase. The endorsement, which city and transit officials sought for years, usually all but guarantees that a project will be built.

Other conditions also have been met. The city adopted a new parking policy that limits future spaces downtown so that motorists would be encouraged to leave their cars home and take public transit. Plus, a review of the project’s capital costs is complete.

HRT hopes to get approval from the FTA within the next two months to start final design, which could take 18 months . Midway through that process, HRT will negotiate a federal funding agreement with the FTA.

Construction would start in late 2007 , and the line would begin carrying passengers in 2009 .

The financing plan calls for the federal government to pay about half of the construction cost. The rest would be divided among the city, the state and a regional federal transportation fund.

The right-of-way purchase price falls within the amount budgeted in the light rail financial plan submitted to the FTA, said Michael S. Townes , HRT president and CEO.

Norfolk is seeking funding from the General Assembly to cover the purchase through the governor’s new Commission on Transportation in Urbanized Areas. That group, chaired by W. Randy Wright , Norfolk city councilman and HRT commissioner, last month recommended that the state spend $216 million on transit needs statewide.

Charles W. “Wick” Moorman IV , Norfolk Southern CEO, said the railroad corridor is “tailor made” for light rail.

“It’s perfect for it,” he said. “I don’t know one that’s better anywhere.

“This is one more example of the city of Norfolk having a vision of where it wants to go to be a better place to live and work,” he added.

Early negotiations with Norfolk Southern for the entire 15-mile freight corridor into Virginia Beach were not fruitful. Norfolk Southern suspended talks for a short time last year because the railroad said the offer was too low to be taken seriously.

HRT, on behalf of Norfolk and Virginia Beach, offered $2.7 million for the right of way, which was appraised at $48.4 million.

The fair market value as of Jan. 1, 2003, on the five-mile stretch in Norfolk was assessed by the State Department of Taxation at $1.5 million . The 10-mile section in Virginia Beach was assessed at $5.8 million .

Talks resumed several months later when Norfolk began negotiating separately for its portion. Beach officials are still working out an arrangement to purchase the portion of the line in their city.

Norfolk Southern has sold unused rail corridors for transit projects in other locations, including Charlotte, Atlanta and New Jersey.


Reach Debbie Messina at (757) 446-2588 or debbie.messina@pilotonline.com.

[vdogg]

By MATTHEW JONES, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 28, 2005 | Last updated 9:49 PM Dec. 28

NORFOLK — If the thousand-mile journey begins with a single step, then the skyscraper begins with a single pile.

Ninety-five feet long, 15,000 pounds, the first of these cement beams went into the ground Wednesday morning to support what will one day be the city’s tallest building, the

31-story Granby Tower.

Each pile’s journey underground began with a corkscrew-shaped auger mounted on the gargantuan diesel-powered driving rig, which drilled down 40 feet, churning through parking lot asphalt and soil that began the color of ground coriander and reddened to the tint of curry paste.

A trio of workers attached steel cables from the pile to the rig, which then swung the pile skyward, where it dangled like an enormous gray chopstick over its pre-drilled hole. The rig’s arm pivoted and lowered the pile into the ground, giving it a couple of taps to settle it before the hammering began.

Workers from Turner Construction Co., above, guide one of 15 cement beams into the ground Wednesday at the future site of Granby Tower.
Workers from Turner Construction Co. , above, guide one of 15 cement beams into the ground Wednesday at the future site of Granby Tower.

The staccato pulse of the pile driver echoed off the buildings to the west and south and off the federal courthouse across Granby Street. A small seismograph positioned nearby monitored the vibrations rippling from the site.

If the jets flying in and out of Oceana Naval Air Station are the sound of freedom, then this pounding is the sound of progress.

Downtown Norfolk has already recently withstood the pile-driven pulses that heralded the Trader Publishing building down Granby at City Hall Avenue and the Harbor Heights building on Boush Street between Tazewell Street and College Place.

Granby Tower will sit on about 1,000 piles. At roughly 10 minutes of pounding per pile, that’s 10,000 minutes, or about 167 hours, or nearly seven days of pile-driving clang.

But that will come later. This week, the crew is merely setting 15 test piles around the 1.7-acre site to sample its load-bearing capacity.

History has borne out the effectiveness of this technique, with piles being used at least as far back as the ancient Egyptians. The Greeks and Romans refined the technology for bridges and aqueducts. The 10th-century Roman Circus at Arles, France, for example, sat on 30,000 piles, many of which were still in good condition when unearthed by modern archaeologists.

On the Granby Tower site, part of a now-closed section of York Street has been excavated down through several layers of asphalt and concrete to the old trolley tracks that once ran the length of the street.

Construction is proceeding despite the possibility that the federal government might take the property for a courthouse expansion. However, officials now are more interested in the former Showcase Building to the south.

The Marathon Development Group Inc. plans to finish Granby Tower in spring 2008. There will be shops on the ground floor and about 300 residential units.

And it all will sit on concrete posts anchored nine stories into the earth.

Reach Matthew Jones at (757) 446-2949 or matthew.jones@pilotonline.com. article (http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=97423&ran=126921)

[vdogg]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/fortNorfrendering.jpg
Rendering of Ghent South Towers development. CLARK NEXSEN/COURTESY OF DR. KEITH H. NEWBY SR.

By MATTHEW JONES, HARRY MINIUM AND BATTINTO BATTS, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 2, 2006

NORFOLK — A local doctor is partnering with the city on a $70 million project along the Elizabeth River that will give the city its first new medical tower in decades.

The building, which resembles the shape of a ship and is to be known as Ghent South Towers, will stand on Riverview Avenue across from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in the Fort Norfolk area.

It will include two towers rising from a multi level parking deck. One tower will house a high-tech medical complex and the other will feature waterfront condominiums and possibly an extended-stay hotel.

The project, which is expected to be announced today in Mayor Paul Fraim’s State of the City address, will be a public-private partnership.

It is the brainchild of Norfolk cardiologist Dr. Keith H. Newby Sr.

The glass-walled medical complex will provide about 150,000 square feet of space for primary-care physicians and a variety of specialists, along with a laboratory and imaging equipment.

Newby is negotiating with Sentara to establish an outpatient center there. He is also trying to make the complex a pilot program for the state’s “e-health” initiative by pushing the use of electronic health records on a secure, server-based system.

“With a flagship hospital next door, we need medical space that fits that ode,” Newby said. “Who knows better what doctors need in an office development than a doctor?”

On the residential side, he wants to build an extended-stay hotel for people undergoing treatment either in his building or at nearby facilities.

If the hotel works out, Newby said, there will be 20 condominiums on top of it. If it doesn’t, there will be 117 condominiums instead.

Newby also sees an opportunity for retail, such as a coffee shop, pharmacy, restaurant, medical equipment store and bank branch.

Ghent South Towers is Newby’s first development project. It sprang from talks with other doctors who said they would be interested in moving to a new medical complex and leaving their crowded, outdated offices.

Newby said he first approached the city in April 2004 and has been meeting with planning and economic development staff since then.

“They’ve been as supportive as I could’ve ever hoped, ” he said.

Newby and the city are still negotiating the terms of the partnership. Fraim was unavailable for comment late Wednesday afternoon.

Newby thinks the project could bring 50 to 100 jobs to the city, including doctors.

“It would help stimulate something new and unique to the area,” he said. “No doctor has taken this on.”

Newby is building in an area that has become more attractive to developers in recent years.

For example, a group of investors was interested in bringing a mixed-use development to the Fort Norfolk area two years ago, said Wesley Edwards, director of office properties for GVA Advantis. While the plan did not come to fruition, Edwards remains bullish on the entire area.

“To the extent that we got into it, we thought the property had a lot of promise,” he said. “It’s obviously a very attractive piece of property, with its proximity to EVMS, the hospital, ODU and downtown.”

Ownership of the property in Fort Norfolk is split among a variety of individuals and entities, which Edwards said could make future development a challenge.

F. Wayne McCleskey Jr., a local real estate developer, is one of those owners. He did not return phone calls seeking comment for this article.

One of his consultants, Barry DuVal, president and chief executive officer of Kaufman & Canoles Consulting LLC, said McCleskey owns about 10 percent of the developable land in Fort Norfolk.

“There is a lot of discussion about the Fort Norfolk area, and Mr. McCleskey has been visited by a number of national developers and respected local developers,” DuVal said. “There are a number of different plans under consideration for mixed-use development .”

As for Ghent South Towers, Councilman Paul R. Riddick said he is enthused because Newby’s development is the second major Norfolk project in recent months in which a black person will play a prominent role.

City officials recently announced that black billionaire Robert L. Johnson, who founded Black Entertainment Television, will partner with local developer William Fuller to develop a $100 million project that will include a 250-room, 25-story Hilton Hotel, a conference center and a parking deck that will be financed in part by the city. The hotel will be topped by five stories of luxury condominiums.

“This is a great thing, because it shows we are a progressive city,” Riddick said. “It shows other people in the country that African Americans are included in this robust resurgence we have going on here.”

Riddick, who was raised in Fort Norfolk, praised Newby as a man with “deep roots” in the city. Newby was born and raised in Norfolk. He is a graduate of Norfolk State University and Eastern Virginia Medical School.

“He’s put together an exciting project, because it’s going to be the first medical tower we’ve had in the city in 40 years,” Riddick said.

Newby said he hopes to have a developer chosen by next week and secure the property within a couple of months.

The site is currently owned by the state of Virginia, which has agreed to sell it back to Norfolk, said Jody M. Wagner, the state secretary of finance.

The deal is complicated and involves an exchange of money and a 15-year rent reduction for the state forensics lab in the nearby Norfolk Public Health Center. The City Council already has approved the deal. General Assembly approval is expected later this month.

Newby plans to start building by late summer or early fall, and he’s optimistic. “I wanted to create something that was timeless,” he said.

Staff writer Christina Nuckols contributed to this report.

Reach Matthew Jones at (757) 446-2949 or matthew.jones@pilotonline.com.

Reach Harry Minium at (757) 446-2371 or harry.minium@pilotonline.com.

Reach Battinto Batts at (757) 446-2642 or battinto.batts@pilotonline.com. :shock:

[vdogg]

Bigger rendering

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Pc0010800.jpg

[verycoolnin]

Also, the first Norfolk Hilton rendering was released today. Kind of bland and shorter than I thought but it's just the first one. Plenty of time to change.

http://br.endernet.org/~tuffsim/up/2-2-06/DSC01337.JPG

[verycoolnin]

Wow, another rendering released today.

http://br.endernet.org/~tuffsim/up/2-2-06/DSC01338.JPG
It says 15 stories but I counted about 20.

[vdogg]

Wow, another rendering released today.

http://br.endernet.org/~tuffsim/up/2-2-06/DSC01338.JPG
It says 15 stories but I counted about 20.
Yeah, I think we've concluded that that's 15 on top of a parking garage.

[verycoolnin]

Originally posted by Vdogg at Urban Planet, I updated a couple of things.

Downtown Norfolk Projects and Construction

http://img83.exs.cx/img83/6527/ce-DTNorfolkprojects.jpg

A. Rowhouses are currently being planned as an extension of the project detailed below. They would be connected to the main projectby a pedestrian bridge.

B. Brambleton and Bute Apartments
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/newdevkotarides.jpg

C. C: Granby Tower- This building will be 34-stories (31 floors of condos and 3 mechanical), and will rise 485ft into the sky. This number includes a100ft spire on top and is subject to change based on the type of transfer beams they decide to use. The building will be surrounded by 4-story buildings with 300 total condos selling from $250,000 to $2,000,000. Includes parking (wrapped around the building not under it) 17,000-square-feet of retail. Construction to begin January 2006 with the tower completed by summer 2007. A 4,000-square-foot sales pavilion, to be erected on a vacant lot at the intersection of Boush and Charlotte streets near the site of the proposed high rise, will have a decorated prototype home as well as touch screens where visitors can see floor plans and views. A grand opening for the sales pavilion is expected to take place in September. This will be Norfolks tallest building and the second tallest building in the state.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/88-large_image.jpg

D. Federal Courthouse Expansion

E. 388 Boush Street - 6-story building with 100 condos and parking garage; currently under construction

F: Harbor Heights- 16 story 190ft tall building to house consolidated and relocated TCC administrative functions into a single location. There will be condos on the upper floor and a fresh market on the bottom. Construction is currently underway on this project.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/tcchq.jpg

G. Wright condominium development. Go to Wright condominiums for details.

H. St. Paul's Place - 90-unit condos, currently under construction

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/housingbig.jpg

I. Courts Building - 14- or 15-stories; approved (update:$85 million has been appropriated from the city budget towards construction of these facilities beginninig sometime in '06).

J. Office Tower - 35- to 40-stories; proposed

K. Trader Tower - 21-story headquarters of Trader Publishing (trader.com)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/tradersquare.jpg

As of 2/02/06
http://pictures.traderpub.net/Assetts/2006/Feb/020206/POTW/IMG_0431_W645.jpg

L. Hilton Hotel- 25-stories, construction should begin fall of 2006.
http://br.endernet.org/~tuffsim/up/2-2-06/DSC01337.JPG

M. Norfolk Conference Center - 60,000-square-feet; to be built in conjunction with the Hilton Hotel (update: $3 million has been appropriated from the city budget for design and construction. see above for project details)

N. Cruise Ship Terminal - 80,000-square-feet, $41 million project with construction to begin in December 2004 or January 2005; opens Fall 2006 (update: This project is currently under construction and is in its pile driving phase).

http://img69.exs.cx/img69/3801/13-CruiseShipTermina.jpg

[vdogg]

Here are the official details for Ghent South Towers.

"A Fort Norfolk landmark is under development, soon to be known as "Ghent South Towers", a 24-story complex at its highest point comprised of medical office, residential condominiums, amenities and retail in a building with an innovative design, marking the gateway to Fort Norfolk and Downtown. Plans are for two towers. The office medical tower includes a story each for retail, a conference facility and a health club in addition to 7 stories for medical offices above 6 stories of parking. The residential tower will have 118 units, approximately 200,000 net square feet, and rise 18 stories above parking."

[verycoolnin]

New proposed skyscraper for downtown Norfolk.

Hoffler Tower: 30-40 stories, still in the early stages
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/hofflertowerreal2.jpg

[krazeeboi]

I've got to get up to Norfolk for a visit REALLY soon.

[vdogg]

Kotarides Tower has been redesigned.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Renderings/12166_1_big.jpg

[weill]

Wow looks like Norfolk is coming along, nice to see someone in Virginia besides Richmond or Northern VA having this type of development...and hows it going vdogg? you remember me from urbanplanet.org that got the whole roanoke forum going?

[vdogg]

By MEGHAN HOYER AND BATTINTO BATTS JR., The Virginian-Pilot
© March 30, 2006

PORTSMOUTH - In a booming real estate market, this city may have finally arrived.

Portsmouth is starting to see something it never has before - interest from outside developers.

When the city receives proposals Friday for a Midtown shopping center, two of the four bids will come from companies out of state. Next week, the city will begin weighing three out-of-area proposals to build a skyscraper on the downtown waterfront.

All of this marks a major change for a city that has had trouble in the past getting even local developers' attention.

"This is very different for Portsmouth," said David H. Downs, a professor of real estate at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond who advised the city in drawing up the bid requirements.

"But Portsmouth is also very, very well positioned to be attracting interest. The market is at a place where it recognizes and is willing to value the assets Portsmouth has - and that's a wonderful waterfront with great potential."

As Norfolk's downtown skyline and streetscape have changed in recent years, Portsmouth's have stayed fairly static. However, with Norfolk running out of developable downtown land - and with property prices there increasing quickly - Portsmouth also should draw more attention, economic development director Steven Lynch said.

"We are in a little bit of a race to catch up," he said, "but it puts us in a wonderful position. People who saw the amazing success there are very easily turning and looking across the water.

"We are Norfolk a few years ago. It's almost like it's our turn."

Portsmouth is looking to tackle two major projects on city-owned land.

The first is a downtown tower at least 20 stories high on 2.4 waterfront acres between City Hall and Ocean Marine Yacht Center, along with an office-residential building on 2.5 vacant acres across the street. The second project is a shopping complex on the former site of I.C. Norcom High School along Frederick Boulevard, with additional stores and restaurants on property across from the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The city hopes the separate projects will transform Midtown into a retail hub and draw new residents and commerce to downtown.

The downtown tower has drawn the interest of developers based around New York and Washington. Only one - Roseland Property Co. of New Jersey, which also has a satellite office in Portsmouth - has done a project in the city before.

It was that project - The Myrtles at Olde Towne apartment complex - that marked a turning point for Portsmouth in terms of outside interest, Lynch said. In the year since the Myrtles opened, the city has seen interest from outside developers skyrocket, he said.

"Developers watch what other developers do," he said. "These developers out of the region are looking and seeing there is something here."

An official with Republic Property Trust of Washington, another of the downtown contender s, declined to say what drew the company to Portsmouth. A spokeswoman for the Sembler Co. of Florida, one of the four bidders on the Midtown shopping center project, would only say her company is considering expanding into several locations in Virginia.

Downs credited city officials for the increased interest. In the past, Portsmouth had eagerly accepted whatever a developer proposed without weighing other options.

"They've done a very savvy job of marketing the opportunities in Portsmouth," Downs said. "Not giving anything away, but bringing the opportunity before the right kind of players."

Other experts say Portsmouth has potential for office space development because of its location near the center of the region.

"Clearly, Portsmouth has been one of the least active submarkets in South Hampton Roads," said J. Scott Adams, regional president for CB Richard Ellis , a real estate services company. "I believe Portsmouth's greatest opportunity is to capture the dense number of the people who are coming to work from the southern and western parts of Hampton Roads."

Adams said Portsmouth has an opportunity to take advantage of the traffic that cuts through it, particularly on Interstate 264, as drivers head to and from work. Those commuters might be tired of enduring traffic in the Downtown Tunnel, he suggested.

While there may be more interest in Portsmouth development, it might differ from the interest in Norfolk office space, Adams said.

Unlike downtown Norfolk, which has a diversity of tenants from banks and financial services to law practices and consulting companies , Portsmouth's market should be more specific - focusing on its existing maritime business, he said.

The city is working with a consultant to develop a strategy to attract more of those types of businesses.

"One sector of the downtown market that would consider Portsmouth is the port community and the logistics companies," Adams said. "I don't think the same would be true for the majority of financial institutions and leading financial services firms. But that can change over time."

Lynch said he hoped the two projects getting under way would spark more interest in nearby areas of the city. Officials will choose a developer for the Midtown parcels in mid-May, and select the final plan for downtown at the end of May.

"I'm hoping this spurs excitement," he said.

The only hang-ups to additional development, said Adams and other real estate experts, were lingering perceptions that the city's downtown is unsafe. The city would need to continue to address those, Adams said, to attract local and outside companies - much like Norfolk has done.

"Downtown Norfolk didn't have the buzz 20 years ago that it has now," Adams said. "A lot of people didn't want to work downtown looking back to the early 1970s and early 1980s. It takes time and continued investment."

Reach Meghan Hoyer at (757) 446-2293 or meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com.

Reach Battinto Batts at (757) 446-2642 or battinto.batts@pilotonline.com.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=102250&ran=9540

[verycoolnin]

Originally posted here:http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=9970&st=640
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j276/VaCeltic/Picture003.jpg

[vdogg]

City Walk (http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/LoopLink/LoopLinks/divaris/searchresults.aspx?SearchType=FL&VIEWSTATEID=147739862&PgCxtGuid=6b018e8b-ad5a-4b9e-a049-141b3729a5ff&PgCxtCurFLKey=LooplinkSearchPage&name=%2fbroker%2fdivaris&ForLeaseCountry_Hidden=US&ForLeasePropertyType=90&ForLeaseLooplinkSubmit=Begin+Search&ReturnTargetUrl=%2fxNet%2fLoopLink%2fLoopLinks%2fdivaris%2fqrylease.aspx&R_FL_PT=90)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/cityWalk.jpg

Property Description:
a mixed-use Main Street development comprising retail on two levels with high-rise residential parking garage and a hotel in a street format.

378,100 SF of retail and restaurant space, 25 townhomes, 436 condominium units, 192-room hotel
No rate is quoted -- each transaction is quoted on its merits and circumstances in terms of size, tenant credit, TIA, term, etc.

Location Description:
Bounded by Virginia Beach Boulevard, Kellam Road, Columbus Street and Independence Boulevard in Virginia Beach s Central Busines District at Pembroke. Eleven miles from Downtown Norfolk and 11 miles from the oceanfront. Adjacent to The Town Center of Virginia Beach and Pembroke Mall.
Located in Virginia Beach s central business district at Pembroke, a few steps from The Town Center of Virginia Beach. Area retailers include: P.F. Chang s, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth s Chris Steak House, Dick s Sporting Goods, Ann Taylor Loft, California Pizza Kitchen, Red Star Tavern, Stanley Adams Stationery, Bravo! Cucina Italiana, Funny Bone Comedy Club, Sonoma Wine Store, The Mens Wearhouse, Barnes & Noble, Columbus Movies, Bed Bath & Beyond and Planet Music.

:cheers:

Looks like they plan on starting in 2007. (from the link I provided above City Walk is on the top of the 2nd page).

[vdogg]

How the towers are situated in relation to the rest of Town Center.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/78C43E8B-DE29-483D-AA57-97E6C66D0C8.jpg

[verycoolnin]

Update on Trader Publishing Tower. They're currently on the 20th floor.

http://pictures.traderpub.net/Assetts/2006/Jun/060206/POTW/IMG_6535s._W645.jpg

[krazeeboi]

Awesome. How tall will it be and what will it look like upon completion?

[vdogg]

Awesome. How tall will it be and what will it look like upon completion?
20 stories and 270ft

[vdogg]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Renderings/Pc0370700.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Ar0380014.png

[vdogg]

VIRGINIA BEACH - When completed, the Westin Hotel and Residences will be a major development for the region.

It's significant for several reasons. The first is size - rising 500-plus feet, it will be Virginia's tallest building. Then there is cost - the $129.1 million bank loan is the largest for a commercial development in Hampton Roads history.

A timeline for the project, which is expected to take about 3-1/2 years from concept to completion, is an example of how intricate and complicated the development process can be. It is scheduled for completion late next year.
click here

The process is rife with potential land mines that could upend the entire deal, or at least slow its progress. Those land mines include such areas as weather, financing, engineering analysis, cost overruns, permitting and land acquisition.

"In our area, the public is rightfully skeptical regarding announcements that seem too good to be true," said Lou Haddad, chief executive officer for Armada Hoffler, the development company behind the project. . "Many things that get announced don't come to fruition."

Haddad and Dan Hoffler, the company's board chairman, said the keys are planning, preparation and execution.

"We spend a lot upfront," Hoffler said. "Once we get going on a project, once we get committed, we do everything we can to move forward."

Hampton Roads is considered an emerging market in terms of commercial, retail and residential growth. That means it lags behind areas such as Washington, Baltimore and Atlanta when it comes to large-scale development. There has been an increase of high-profile developments announced over the past two years, however. In addition to the Westin:

-

- Granby Tower, a condominium complex in downtown Norfolk announced in July 2004, is close to beginning construction.

- The Hilton Hotel in downtown Norfolk, rumored since 2004, was formally announced in November but still lacks a signed incentive deal with the city.

- The Trader Publishing Building in downtown Norfolk was announced in August 2004, and is on target for completion late this year. It will house the classified advertising publishing unit of Landmark Communications Inc., parent company of The Virginian-Pilot.

"In general, we are seeing a lower ratio today of actually completed or commenced projects to announced projects for a number of reasons," said J. Scott Adams, regional president for CB Richard Ellis, a real estate services company.

"That includes higher-than-expected construction costs, which lead to higher-than-expected rent or occupancy costs."

Recent news out of Washington supports Adams' assertion. Two developers have backed out of plans for condominium projects in the district, citing slow sales and rising construction costs, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Adams' company is in the 150 W. Main office tower, the most recently completed major building in downtown Norfolk.

"When a potential user finds higher costs, it commences a value engineering process," he said. "If everything happened as it is expected to, everything would be completed much more quickly. But nothing is as easy as it might seem ."

Take Granby Tower, for example. There hasn't been much visible progress on the planned 31-story condominium complex in recent months after test piles were driven to perform soil engineering analysis. But there is a great deal of work taking place behind the scenes, though, said officials with Marathon Development Group, the developer.

That activity includes working with engineers and the city to complete a design that is within budget, but also visually appealing and structurally safe. Vertical construction is expected to commence sometime this summer.

Attempting to keep buyers informed, Marathon officials held a reception at a local restaurant last week to answer questions and give updates on the project.

"Some projects require more attention to whomever your client might be depending on the timeline, the size and scope," said Buddy Gadams, president of Marathon.

The computer program "SimCity" allows users to "construct" high-rises in simulated urban locales by pointing and clicking a mouse. The process is much more complicated in the real world, developers said.

"I think the public has no idea of what goes into a successful real estate development," said Harvey Lindsay, one of the area's more experienced developers. "The public thinks once a project is announced, that it will be ready in a year or two. It just doesn't work that way."

After more than 50 years, there isn't much Lindsay hasn't seen in the real estate industry, including many large-scale developments. Lindsay has had a hand in several of them: The Gallery at Military Circle , Dominion Tower and, most recently, City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News .

He knows how tough it can be to take a development from proposal to completion. "If it is a major development, it takes a lot of time," said Lindsay, chairman of NAI Harvey Lindsay, a real estate services company with offices in Norfolk and Newport News.

"It often takes more time than the developer envisions, and there are many reasons for that," Lindsay said. "There are so many things that you have to put into place before you can actually start construction. And the construction itself can take 14 to 18 months to 24 months."

Dominion Tower, which opened in 1987 in downtown Norfolk, was one of those complicated developments that took longer than expected, he said. "It was announced prematurely," Lindsay said. "It took us, I think, five years from the time it was announced and envisioned to the time that our first tenants moved in."

Military Circle took eight years, Lindsay recalled. And his company has been involved with the development of City Center for seven years.

Land location and acquisition are among the first steps in the process, and perhaps the most complicated. "Once you get it under option, you have to do a feasibility study, you have to work on construction plans and specifications in order to get firm bids on the costs of the project," Lindsay said. "Then you have to study the soil, consider the traffic conditions and environmental considerations."

There might also be zoning issues that take time. Then there is financing the deal, which may be related to the developer's ability to get units pre-sold or leased. With office construction, a lender might want to see as much as 50 percent, if not more, leased occupancy before closing on the loan.

"I would say that most any major development, such as an office tower or retail center, you should allow five years, to be honest with everybody," Lindsay said

Modest about his standing despite a family history in the industry dating back more than 100 years, Lindsay offered some advice to less-experienced developers.

"You have to do your homework. You have to be real careful," he said. "Just because you find a piece of land and think you can build something doesn't mean that it is going to work."

For that reason, Lindsay suggests developers keep their plans shielded until most of pre-construction work is completed. Once word of a planned development hits the public, expectations begin, he said.

"It is much better to try to wait until you know you have got a deal," Lindsay said. "But it is difficult to do that. Once you put up a sign on a piece of property that says 'Condos to be built' the public is going to pick up there is something going on."

# Reach Battinto Batts Jr. at (757) 446-2642 or battinto.batts@pilotonline.com.

[vdogg]

This project went through a delay of 6 months but activity has picked up and heavy construction should begin next month. Below is a pic and a link to an animated construction timetable found by okinawatyphoon.

Final animation: http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/okinawatyphoon/Norfolk/granbytoweranimationfinal.jpg

Click here (http://www.granbytower.com/animation.htm)) for construction animation.

[vdogg]

How the towers are situated in relation to the rest of Town Center.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/78C43E8B-DE29-483D-AA57-97E6C66D0C8.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/images/smilies/previous.gif Heavenly Ham has closed it's doors to make way for the first phase of City Walk. :) No word yet on when demolition may begin.

In other news...

The Westin contiues to rise, now on its 11th floor.

http://static.flickr.com/45/174052121_156867231f_b.jpg

[verycoolnin]

Is there anything to those bland boxy looking buildings in front of Westin? Have they been proposed or what?

[vdogg]

Is there anything to those bland boxy looking buildings in front of Westin? Have they been proposed or what?
No new renderings have been released but the size and scope of the project have changed quite a bit.

Was: 378,100 SF of retail and restaurant space, 25 townhomes, 436 condominium units, 192-room hotel
No rate is quoted -- each transaction is quoted on its merits and circumstances in terms of size, tenant credit, TIA, term, etc.

Now: 450,000 square feet of retail, 500 residential units, a hotel and office space.

^^^The residential and retail have increased and an office component has been added. I don't know how this effects the size of the towers. Newschannel 3 had a short segment on this project earlier today but I think we're gearing toward an official unveiling very soon.

[pipdo]

Is there anything to those bland boxy looking buildings in front of Westin? Have they been proposed or what?
Well, I just saw the Hannaford building's roof being torn down today, an hour or so ago, actually. So I would imagine so :)

[vdogg]

Well, I just saw the Hannaford building's roof being torn down today, an hour or so ago, actually. So I would imagine so :)
:) http://static.flickr.com/12/182945260_8677d532b9_b.jpg

[vdogg]

Just an update, the Westin has reached its 15th floor. :)

http://static.flickr.com/65/194540024_483747444b_b.jpg

[vdogg]

New Westin office should enhance robust sales
Aggressive schedule keeps tallest building

Janet Dunphy
Inside Business - Hampton Roads
Monday July 31, 2006

Flying tables and tower cranes dominate the western edge of Town Center in Virginia Beach as the tallest building in Virginia takes shape.

The Westin Hotel and Condominiums has a $183.6 million price tag and a $98 million contract price for the builder, Armada Hoffler. It is due for delivery in late 2007.

The clients are Town Center Associates LLC, which includes Armada Hoffler and Divaris Real Estate, and the Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority.

Thanks to what the builder calls an aggressive construction schedule, the Westin is showing vertical progress toward the goal of 39 floors :cheers: . One is poured per week with number 15 scheduled for Aug. 1 or 2.

The project includes retail, a conference center and parking. The hotel will be managed by Crestline Hotels and Resorts.

The flying tables on the upper reaches of the Westin are platforms that are moved along the outer edges of the building before a concrete floor is poured. The tower crane was just raised 100 feet to keep the process going.

“It’s a big expense, so it needs to go fast,” said Bernard Shumate Jr., a project executive with Armada Hoffler, the builder. “It took two years to get to this point.”

The topping out is planned for Jan. 31, 2007.

Sales have been robust for the 119 condominiums. Last week, 76 were under binding contract with 10 percent down and the sales office, manned by Rose & Womble Realty Company, didn’t even open until July 20.

Incidentally, it is located on the ground floor of the Dick’s Sporting Goods building – across from the work site – in space that has never been occupied. Streamlined models of the Westin’s 236 guest rooms will be constructed in more space next door to work out any bugs in the design and for Crestline marketing purposes.

The official opening of the sales office on July 20 included a hard hat tour that only a few people took. Bob Scott, director of the Virginia Beach Department of Planning, was one of them. Shumate and Phil Sheridan, Armada Hoffler’s site manager at the Westin, conducted the tour.

“It’s fascinating because it creates a brand new ID for the city,” Scott said.

“When we did the 21-story building, we were in brand new territory,” said Sheridan, referring to the Armada Hoffler Tower in Town Center.

The tour started on Commerce Street, which connects to Independence Boulevard, where the main entrance will be located. A restaurant, described as American Fusion by the hosts, will be to the left of the entrance.

The lobby will feature a glass stairway, a waterfall and a replica Fresnel Lens, a design originally developed for lighthouses. It’s all supposed to reflect a nautical theme. There will also be retail on the ground floor.

The second floor consists of the conference center and business facilities and the third and fourth floors are storage for the residences.

The days when the concrete is poured are intense. The crews start at 2 a.m. and stop at 7 p.m.

“It’s a long day, but it’s the only way we keep the cycle going,” said Sheridan, a former Navy Seabee who wants to make sure the superintendents – Mike Clifford, Keith Sanders and Dean Stacy – get credit for their roles, too.

Shumate said he and Sheridan helped create the construction schedule and then trimmed two months off of it.

“We tightened up the activities and there’s no time when we aren’t working on the critical structure,” Shumate said.

A pre-cast concrete site along Independence helped to speed the job along and also provided a lay-down yard for the subcontractor, Sheridan said. It butts up against the cast parking garage that wraps around a portion of the building.

The portable construction elevator runs up and down the side of the building all day long. Sheridan said it is tested with 8,000 pounds each time the project goes up six floors.

In the future, two more elegant versions from two different lobbies will run hotel guests from floors one to 15 and residents from floors one to 37, but the latter will not stop at the hotel floors, which are six to 16. There are 37 livable floors and two floors for storage and mechanical purposes.

The first stop on the tour was the fifth floor, the future fitness center. The pool and Jacuzzi have been poured. There are no outside walls, so a mesh fence serves as a temporary wall that can stop 200 pounds as a safety measure, Sheridan said.

While the concrete crews move upward, the poured floors begin to take shape. The electricity, plumbing and mechanical contractors move in. Sheridan can pinpoint each guest room or residence based on the pipes sticking up through the concrete or lining the ceiling above.

“These holes don’t happen by accident,” Sheridan said, indicating the places where pipes will run. “They have to be properly engineered. It doesn’t allow for a lot of hiccups.”

Safety, supplies, schedules and architectural questions are all reviewed in weekly meetings. Stakeholder meetings are held every other week.

According to Rose & Womble information, more than half of the 15 penthouse condos, from 2,800 square feet to 4,200 square feet, have been sold for amounts ranging from $1.5 million to $4 million.

So who wants to buy a condo in the heart of Virginia Beach?

“People that travel and are used to urban areas,” answered Frank Mageras, a Rose & Womble Realtor. “It’s very similar to what they were used to in previous experiences. Others have lived here before or have business interests or family here.”

He said the buyers start at about age 30.

The condos start on the 16th floor with the efficiency models, which are 700 to 1,000 square feet and cost $390,000 and $416,000. The two-bedroom models are 1,700 to 2,500 square feet and range in price from $624,000 to $1 million. The one-bedroom with a study at 1,500 square feet costs $602,000 to $702,000.

The two-bedroom model has been the most popular, but there are only three one-bedroom units left of 14, Mageras said. One selling point for prospective buyers is the hotel below where out-of-town guests can stay, he said.

http://www.insidebiz.com/output.cfm?ID=4355516

[JAB323]

I love the Town Center, I stop there every time I take a drive down there. (which is frequently) It's a great project. Armada Hoffler does some great stuff! Up in Baltimore we are lucky enough to have a major AH project u/c.

[vdogg]

16th floor finished, 17th floor started

http://static.flickr.com/62/201325196_bc54cb53a9_b.jpg

[vdogg]

Neat pic from a recent article that I wanted to share :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Construction%20Progress%20Pics/citydocuments008.jpg

[vdogg]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y93/okinawatyphoon/Norfolk/granbytoweranimationfinal.jpg


By HARRY MINIUM, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 2, 2006

NORFOLK -- ]The city may provide tax incentives to Granby Tower, a 34-story condominium project that would be downtown's tallest building, said two city officials who asked not to be identified.

Construction on the long-awaited project is expected to begin next week with the installation of utility lines, said Buddy Gadams, president of Marathon Development.
Marathon began driving test pilings late last year, but for many months there has been no construction activity at the site at Granby Street and Brambleton Avenue. That led to speculation that the project might be in trouble.

Gadams said 40 percent of his 309 condominiums have been sold and that financing is in place.

Even so, some city officials say they are convinced the project needs city support because of delays caused by the federal government, which allowed increasing construction costs and a softening market for condominiums to hurt the project.

Mayor Paul D. Fraim said Gadams lost months in which to sell condominiums, acquire financing and lock in construction contracts because the General Services Administration looked at his property as a potential expansion site for the federal courthouse.

That interest became known about a year ago, as Gadams was preparing to finalize his project. Not until earlier this year, when the federal government said it was considering other options, was Gadams able to assure lenders that the government would not attempt to condemn his site, Fraim said.

Even so, the federal government still considers Granby Tower a potential expansion site.

"That obviously cost him a lot of time and money," Fraim said, "but this remains a project that should be built."

Fraim declined to comment when asked about incentives, but two officials who asked not to be identified said incentives were discussed by Roderick S. Woolard, Norfolk's economic development director, during a recent closed-door meeting of a City Council committee.

A performance-based grant would rebate a portion of taxes produced by the $150 million project back to Marathon, the officials said.

Such grants have routinely been used by the city to attract businesses but have rarely, if ever, been used for residential projects.

A similar grant was accorded Trader Publishing to entice the company to build a 20-story, $51 million tower for its electronic media division.

Of an estimated $41 million in city taxes Trader is expected to produce over 20 years, the company will receive a rebate of about $11 million.

It isn't known how much would be turned back to Granby Tower, which is expected to generate $3 million per year in city taxes.

Vice Mayor Paul R. Riddick said he likely would vote for a performance grant and expects most of his City Council colleagues to agree.

"I don't think I would have any problem with that," Riddick said.

"This is a huge project for the city, and it's going to be here forever. Whatever we put into it, we'll get back."

Gadams would neither confirm nor deny that discussions have been held.

"At this point there's nothing on the table," he said.

The incentives would not involve up front spending, such as Virginia Beach has provided to the $183.6 million Westin Hotel and Residences under construction at Town Center.

Taxpayers are providing $26.6 million, including $16 million for a parking garage and $7.5 million for a hotel conference center.

Gadams is building a parking deck for Granby Tower.

At 37 stories and 513 feet, the Westin will be the state's tallest building. It will have 119 condominiums above a 236-room hotel.

At 450 feet, Granby Tower will be the state's second-tallest structure, one foot taller than the James Monroe Building in downtown Richmond.

Granby Tower expects to open in late 2008.

The Westin will be open a year sooner.

The two large Hampton Roads projects appear to be bucking a national trend. Condo sales have slowed nationwide to the point where major projects are being postponed.

In Las Vegas, Aqua Blue, a $600 million, 825-unit condo project backed by former basketball star Michael Jordan, has been canceled.

Similar projects also have been canceled in Boston, Miami, Seattle, Chicago and New York.

No large local projects are known to have been canceled, but local economists have observed a slowdown in condo construction this year.

Noting that the 86 condos and apartments he has built downtown recently have all sold out, Gadams said that "in spite of the national trend, lenders still look at Norfolk as a very promising market."

[vdogg]

Norfolk seeks bids for another office building downtown

http://media.hamptonroads.com/images/business/downtownnorfolkskyline.jpg

With vacancy rates dipping to 8 percent downtown, Norfolk has received several proposals for a new office/mixed-use tower. STEVE EARLEY/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT FILE PHOTO

By HARRY MINIUM, The Virginian-Pilot
© August 9, 2006 | Last updated 12:47 AM Aug. 9

NORFOLK -- City officials have asked developers to submit proposals for two office complexes, including a long-anticipated downtown office tower.

With vacancy rates dipping to 8 percent recently for downtown's nearly 5 million square feet of office space, there has been speculation for more than a year about a new office building.

Mayor Paul D. Fraim said the city has received several proposals for a new tower, and officials decided to have a bidding process to sort through them.

"We thought this was a good time to see how many people are really interested," he said.

City officials have asked developers to submit proposals to build "a signature high-rise office/mixed-use development" on 1.5 acres bounded by St. Paul's Boulevard, City Hall Avenue and Plume Street near MacArthur Center.

It is now a surface parking lot known as the Snyder lot. Deadline for applications is Sept. 27.

The city also has asked for developers to bid to install infrastructure in Lake Wright East, which would be a new 23-acre suburban office park off Northampton Boulevard near the Virginia Beach border. Deadline is the end of August.

It would be an expansion of the Lake Wright Executive Center, built on the old site of Met Park baseball stadium. That office park is full, with two international shipping firms among the dozens of businesses that have filled more than 800,000 square feet of office space.

City Councilman W. Randy Wright, who proposed developing the 23 acres more than a year ago, said the city has heard from more than half a dozen businesses interested in locating there.

"Because it's right in the center of things, it's a very hot property," Wright said. "You're next door to Interstate 64, 100 yards from Virginia Beach and minutes from Chesapeake. And so much growth has occurred along Military Highway.

"Once we get it up and running, this office park will fill up very fast."

Water views likely will be available to most tenants - the Lake Wright reservoir separates the 23 acres from the Lake Wright Executive Center.

Water views might not be available from the downtown office tower site. A recent building boom has claimed most property within sight of the Elizabeth River.

A 20-story headquarters for the electronic media division of Trader Publishing is nearing completion, and a 15-story condominium/office tower/grocery store called Harbor Heights is under construction on Boush Street.

Construction on Granby Tower, a 34-story residential tower, is expected to begin this week.

There are numerous other residential developments, along with a new cruise ship terminal adjacent to Nauticus.

City officials also hope to soon announce the finalization of a deal for a 20- to 25-story Hilton Hotel/condominium complex and conference center adjacent to the Trader Publishing building.

Fraim said the city will be flexible when it considers proposals from developers for the downtown and Lake Wright sites.

For instance, if a developer wants to purchase the entire Lake Wright property and develop it into an office park, "that is something we would consider."

Although the city would prefer an office tower downtown, it would consider other proposals, Fraim said.

Donald R. Crigger, senior director of office properties for GVA Advantis, a real estate services company, said the time is right to begin planning an office tower.

"At this point, it is inevitable that something new is going to be on the drawing board soon," he said. "The timing will be right in a three- to four-year period, the time it takes to go from concept to completion.

"It could make a lot of sense to see something on the drawing board shortly."

Staff writer Battinto Batts contributed to this story.

# Reach Harry Minium at (757) 446-2371 or harry.minium@pilotonline.com.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=108891&ran=103907


^^^About a year or so ago rumors started circulating of an office tower on this lot that could be as high as 40 stories, there was even an article in the paper about it. This is the first concrete step (and announcement) that an office tower will be going on that lot. Here's hoping it lives up to past speculation. :cheers:

[vdogg]

Just a quick update, the Westin is now 18 stories high

http://static.flickr.com/68/213186915_4e03a95768_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/76/213186598_3a709c878e_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/67/213186851_3ac3938e1e_b.jpg

[JAB323]

^^ nice.

[vdogg]

21st floor completed, 22nd started. They slowed down quite a bit due to the storm, holiday weekend, and the fact that they have to raise the crane today. Things should be back at a quicker pace however once they finish raising the crane.

http://static.flickr.com/86/239308300_1981971710_b.jpg

[vdogg]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/CityWalk4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/CityWalk2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/CityWalk3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/CityWalk1.jpg

[vdogg]

The Westin has completed its 25th floor. Photo courtesy of guynvb from urbanplanet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/guynvb/Virginia%20Beach%20II/DSC03183.jpg

[vdogg]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/RiversedgeatBerkely.jpg

Downtown's high-rise housing boom could extend across the Elizabeth River to Berkley, an area better known for its shipyards, if an ambitious plan to build three condominium towers becomes a reality.

Sunsations Realty, a Virginia Beach development group, has proposed the project, which would include a 31-story tower that would be the city's second-tallest building. Two towers would be 15 stories high and prices would start in the mid-$200,000s, Vice Mayor Paul R. Riddick said.

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=113324&ran=83312

[vdogg]

Just a slight update. They are now working on the 34th floor of the Westin. Topping out is expected for late December or early January.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/west2.jpg

[vdogg]

Just a few pics, first i've taken in quite some time. They are now working on the 35th floor and are starting to add glass to the bottom.

http://static.flickr.com/116/312212247_b3fbe0f926_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/110/312212580_a75060c852_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/102/312212710_fda2bbff30_b.jpg

[vdogg]

:) 36th floor finished, 37th started

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/0fbef477c1a0f3a5e8291cf782366d9a.jpg

I have received confirmation that topping out will not occur until mid-January. There will be 39 total floors. 37 residential floors, 1 floor for residential storage/other amenities, and 1 mechanical floor.

[vdogg]

Westin update: They are a little behind schedule, having supposed to have topped out last week. They are working on the 38th residential lounge floor and 39th mechanical floor now, and then they will move on to completion of the roof.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/357251805_c43caafbc5_b.jpg

[vdogg]

Here is a new rendering and some construction progress pics courtesy of Sky06 at urbanplanet for Granby Tower. The final figures put the tower at 34 stories and 490ft tall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Gt.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/P1000181.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/P1000183.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/P1000182.jpg

[vdogg]

Here is a newer more detailed rendering for this project.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/wach.jpg

I have spoken with the developer and I need to correct an error that was printed in the above posted pilot article. The construction start date was originally listed as mid-2008. This is incorrect it is actually March of 2008. Also, while the building is currently 53% pre-leased, the developer is in negotiations with 3 other firms and expect the tower to be 80% leased by the time construction starts.

[Silicon Francisco]

http://www.granbytower.com/
Some neat images shown on the Granby Tower website
http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/6664/image20ap1.jpg

[vdogg]

Planning for the next office tower at Virginia Beach's Town Center is nearing its final stages. This isn't too good of a rendering but construction should be underway on this tower by the beginning of next year. There is also another office tower in the works.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Towertwobig.jpg

[vdogg]

Decided to get out and take some progress pics since there is finally something different to show (and class was cancelled so I had the time. Of course they've started construction on the crown and spire and I've tried to show this. Wasn't the best day for taking pics though and the top was kind of obscured by clouds.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/473904163_a1fed692b7_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/473891272_925d20fe35_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/473891490_36fa1fb414_b.jpg

A few ground level pics

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/473891148_2a668bd2ab_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/473903861_d892a2bece_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/473890338_b66ec7e5d9_b.jpg

A miscellaneous pic from far away that I took a week ago.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/473903477_b59b704237_b.jpg

[Raleigh-NC]

I have not been in this thread for a while and I must say I have missed out. Excellent work!!!

[vdogg]

From navyweauxguy

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/navyweaxguy/virginia947.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/navyweaxguy/virginia948.jpg

From urbanvb

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/guynvb/Virginia%20Beach%20II/IMG_0288.jpg

[Raleigh-NC]

Very impressive :okay: Thanks for keeping us up to date on this project. I think it is time for a nice run down of ALL the major projects in the area ;)

[vdogg]

For those unfamiliar with Hampton Roads, this is directly across the water from downtown Norfolk.
http://media.hamptonroads.com/media/content/pilotonline/2007/06/portsmouthhotel0612full.jpg

link (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=126536&ran=1986&tref=po)

PORTSMOUTH -- City leaders today announced that a Texas-based company will redevelop what has been called Portsmouth's most desirable downtown spot into a mix of office space and residential units worth $158 million.

It is the largest single development in recent memory to be proposed for Portsmouth's downtown.

Lincoln Property Co. will develop the project, which will be on six acres of waterfront property that currently houses the Holiday Inn Olde Towne Portsmouth and the Harbor Court garage.

The project will generate $29 million in tax revenues for the city over its first 10 years.

"We've always looked at this as our premiere site," said Kathy Warren, development director for Portsmouth's Redevelopment and Housing Authority. "This has the potential to create a lot of momentum, not just at this property but at other downtown properties as well."

City leaders will now begin negotiations with Lincoln to determine the exact scope of the project and the amount of public investment required.

The company's initial proposal calls for a first phase of five eight-story waterfront buildings that will house roughly 200 apartments and 12,000 square feet of ground-level retail shops and restaurants.

The second phase will involve a tower about 25 stories high. The lower floors will house 130,000 square feet of Class A office space – the largest amount of high-end office space in Portsmouth. The upper floors will house 100 condominiums.

Also included in the initial plan are two parking garages with a total of about 1,350 spaces.

"Everybody is going to shoot for the sky here," said Chris Garland, development director for Lincoln Property Co. "We want to develop an iconic identity for Portsmouth."

Members of the city's selection committee said one reason they chose Lincoln was the company had pledged to pay for the demolition of the Holiday Inn and the construction of the two parking garages, requiring less public money than other finalists for the development. City leaders had been in discussions with two other developers interested in the site.

Portsmouth will be required to pay costs of improving infrastructure at the site and help provide some subsidies to Lincoln. City Councilman Ray Smith said initial estimates have called for Portsmouth to pitch in as much as $11 million, although he said that may be reduced.

Roughly $3 million of that cost will likely be in infrastructure improvements that the city had already anticipated spending, Smith said. The water, sewer and storm drainage lines to the site need to be improved to accommodate the new development.

Currently, the site is the home to the aging Holiday Inn, a 42-year-old hotel that city officials have said isn't the best use for the location.

In 2004, a non-profit organization comprised of the city, Portsmouth's Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the private Portsmouth Partnership purchased the hotel for $6.7 million.

Lincoln officials have said it will take four years to build all phases of its project.

[Raleigh-NC]

That is a very nice cluster of buildings :okay: Lovely proposal. I assume this project will appear to the lower right of the photo below. It will look really nice and add to the skyline!!!


http://www.internationalsar.com/images/portsmouth.jpg

[vdogg]

New office tower for Va. Beach Town Center:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1116/846925261_c80e59265f_o.jpg

About 21 stories and 350,000 sq ft, this tower will front Va. Beach Blvd. Office demand has been so high for town center that there is not a single leaseable square foot left. They plan to bring the development agreement before council this fall. Ground breaking will be in 2008 as soon as the Virginia pilots space is ready and they can move out of there. Most of this space is already spoken for.

[Dale]

^ Shouldn't town Center be mostly built out in a couple of years ? Or at least 2/3 built out ?

[vdogg]

^ Shouldn't town Center be mostly built out in a couple of years ? Or at least 2/3 built out ?There is one more vacant lot after this one and this office tower is planned for it (Block 11).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v428/guynvb/Virginia%20Beach%20II/tcii.jpg

Block 9 still has yet to be built on but construction on it should begin next year. Here are the specs:

"All this, in turn, has advanced the plans for Block 9 which is anticipated to have two levels of retail with fashion on the ground floor, entertainment on the second floor and residential or office space above. The preliminary leasing of that block has started, and initial tenant reaction has been very strong. As a result of the activity and success of The Town Center, the current retail space is approximately 88 percent leased and occupied. The Westin Hotel and Residences will add further retail square footage to the development with most of the first floor retail related to the needs of the hotel guests."

There is one more "maybe" and that is block 1. Taco Bell currently sits on that land and they're not trying to come up off it. :lol: We'll see how that pans out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Schematictc-1.jpg

Here's another view to show you block 9 better:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Schematictc2-1.jpg

This is columbus center 2. Nothing major there. It starts construction this fall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/2ColumbusCntr.jpg

[vdogg]

nevermind

[Dale]

Very, very impressive, vdogg. Thanks for the aerial, and the high-tech notations. :lol:

Seriously, this has become quite an intensive urban node.

[vdogg]

Very, very impressive, vdogg. Thanks for the aerial, and the high-tech notations. :lol:

Seriously, this has become quite an intensive urban node.

LoL, paint was kickin my ass last night, i'll tell ya. :lol: I finally got something remotely legible though that I could post. Below is a much better rendering and an article.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Towertworeal.jpg

VIRGINIA BEACH

Finally, it's done.

The City Council this week voted to buy The Virginian-Pilot's property at Town Center and swap it for offices in the Westin Hotel & Residences. The city will then turn the land over to Armada Hoffler, which hopes to break ground next year on an office tower of about 21 stories.

The public cost of the deal is $300,000.

"We think that this is going to be a great addition to Town Center," said Lou Haddad, president of Armada Hoffler, which is the development firm behind the downtown district.

Bruce Bradley, publisher of The Pilot, declined to comment.

The complicated, three-way deal has been talked about for years, but the final details were still under revision just hours before the council approved the plan Tuesday night.

Here's how it will work:

The Virginia Beach Development Authority will buy 15,000 square feet of first-floor space in the Westin for $1.68 million. The authority will pay $945,000 to build out the space for The Pilot, which allows the newspaper to defer some taxes on the exchange. The paper also gets $1.635 million in cash, five dedicated parking spaces valued at $115,000, and $300,000 for moving expenses.

The city also agreed to work with The Pilot on the creation of a sign and a crawling news ticker - similar to the one at Times Square in New York City - at the corner of Columbus Street and Independence Boulevard. No sign has been approved, but city officials hope an arrangement can be reached.
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Once all the interior construction work is completed, the Development Authority will swap the space for The Pilot's 1.3-acre parcel along Virginia Beach Boulevard.

Armada Hoffler will pay the city $4.375 million to buy what is known as the Beacon building. The two-story structure houses The Pilot's news and advertising offices in Virginia Beach.

Armada Hoffler won't pay for $300,000 in moving expenses. Virginia Beach decided to pay for that through its Economic Development Investment Program.

Next to The Pilot's new space, but unrelated to the newspaper, the city will acquire another 10,000 square feet in the Westin for $1.12 million. Armada Hoffler will buy that space back from the city, too.

Until last week, the Development Authority was to take out a bank loan to pay for the land swap and then Armada Hoffler would pay back the loan, with accrued interest. Armada Hoffler instead decided it could take out the loan for the authority. The new financing plan provides more security for the city should Armada Hoffler run into any financing problems.

"It's their money that's at risk," City Attorney Les Lilley said.

Haddad said he anticipates the newspaper will be in its new offices by next summer. Ground on the new office tower could be broken soon after.

Haddad estimated the tower would have 350,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet reserved for retail. It will look similar to the current Armada Hoffler tower, but without a spire.

Once the Development Authority controls the Beacon building, the only Town Center property not owned by Armada Hoffler or the city would be the Taco Bell at Independence and Virginia Beach boulevards.

Richard Quinn, (757) 222-5119, richard.quinn@pilotonline.com

[Raleigh-NC]

Congrats on the new proposal :okay: BTW, I liked those aerial photos, too!!!

[haldcottingham]

Does anyone have photos from inside the complex from all angles? I was there last September for the RNR Half Marathon, but forgot my camera. Thanks!

[vdogg]

Light rail clears federal hurdles (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=129637&ran=105414)

http://media.hamptonroads.com/media/content/pilotonline/2007/08/0803lightrail500x325.jpg

The city's long-sought starter light-rail line has finally cleared federal administrative hurdles and is now just one step away from reality.

The proposed $232 million transit project is currently before Congress for a required 60-day review. If it survives, which several congressional insiders predict it will, residents could "Ride the Tide" starting in early 2010.

If no objections are raised, local officials will sign a contract accepting $128 million in federal rail funding, and start construction this fall.

An additional $38 million would come from the city, $29 million from the state and $37 million from other federal sources.

"We've been waiting years and years for this," said City Councilman W. Randy Wright, who has led the light-rail charge for more than a decade in Norfolk.


A rendering of the Plume Street Station, one of the planned stops along the system’s route, just east of MacArthur Center in the downtown area.

The 7.4-mile line would run from the Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown and along a rail corridor parallel to Interstate 264 to Newtown Road at the Virginia Beach city line. It's expected to carry up to 12,000 passengers a day. An average of 38,000 people a day now ride Hampton Roads Transit buses.

"We're a little more than cautiously optimistic," Wright said. "We need to be careful and let the system finish the process."

The project will be reviewed by congressional committees but does not require any action.

"All prior arrangements have gone through without a problem, so I am optimistic that light rail will finally come to South Hampton Roads," said Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News.

Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk, who has helped shepherd the project through the federal process, said the review is "pretty much a formality."

Drake said she looks forward to when the line could be extended to the Norfolk Naval Station. "That would help tremendously with our transportation problems."

She added that she hopes the Virginia Beach City Council "will look at this issue once this continues to move forward."

Light rail has been batted around since the 1980s. After several fits and starts that at times included Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, the Norfolk starter system evolved in 2000 as the most viable starting point of a what officials say will ultimately be a regional system.

"This has been a long-term process - a marathon, not a sprint," said Michael Townes, HRT 's president and CEO. "We're getting down to the end, and I see the finish line in sight."

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com

[Raleigh-NC]

^^
Excellent news for you guys :okay: Seems like the political climate favors this proposal and that is normally the toughest part. I am truly happy to hear of this initiative and I wish you best of luck in getting this on time, within budget and with more riders than anticipated. I was hoping for something more than 7.4 miles, but it is a great start, particularly if it connects important destinations.

[vdogg]

Demolition imminent, preservation alliance tries to force delay (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=129561&ran=4058)

As the city and a private developer prepare to raze three historic buildings downtown for a new hotel and convention center, preservationists are mounting a petition drive to force the city to delay the demolition and talk about other options.

They're seeking an ordinance that would set meetings with the public over a 120-day period to discuss the potential for incorporating the buildings into the project's design.

They said the effort is a last resort, as there are signs that demolition is imminent.

One of the buildings, last occupied by Ikon Document Services and originally by Watt Rettew & Clay furniture, was placarded as unsafe by the city Fire Department this week, with "demo" written on the signs. Windows have been removed from the Decker and the Bee-croft & Bull buildings.

And excavators and portable toilets have arrived.

Well, looks like the Hilton is finally underway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/norfolkhilton.jpg

[Dale]

That design makes my left eyelid twitch involuntarily.

[emutiny]

I used to pick up the Hampton Roads rock station when i was doing some work at Lake Gaston. I remember hearing the bridge and tunnel conditions and wondering what Hampton Roads was all about.

[vdogg]

Well, it's a done deal. The grant will be signed tommorrow at 1:30pm. Construction begins in November.

Brand new light rail video (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=133507&ran=248279&tref=po)

Just click on the link below and then click on the stations to animate. :)
Light rail gets green light (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=133595&ran=113558)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/ridethetide.jpg

NORFOLK
Interactive:
Take a video tour of Norfolk's light rail

For years, light rail existed only in planning documents and on city wish lists. Now, it’s real.

How real? Federal transit officials are coming to town Monday to hand over a bundle of cash to build it.

Not real enough? Construction is scheduled to start in November.

The $232.1-million starter light rail line cleared the final hurdle in Congress on Saturday .

In early 2010, “The Tide” will begin moving passengers along a 7.4-mile route from Eastern Virginia Medical Center through downtown and along an existing freight rail corridor to Newtown Road at the Virginia Beach city line. It will have 11 stations and is projected to carry 7,130 to 11,400 passengers a day.

Many wondered whether that day would ever come – even those closest to the project.

“It’s hard to believe this day is here; I’m beside myself,” said Councilman W. Randy Wright, who shepherded it through technical, financial and political reviews for nearly a decade. “I’m almost speechless.”
P O L L
“Look around America – you don’t see many cities our size getting rail projects,” he added. “Certainly, we’ve beat the odds. At many times, it seemed like insurmountable odds.”

Hampton Roads Transit’s original plan was to run the train all the way to the Virginia Beach oceanfront, but Beach voters rejected the idea and the Beach council backed out. Norfolk decided to proceed on its own.

Then federal rules changed, and the project was basically put on hold for three years while authorities scrutinized the cost, the ridership and the benefits. What resulted is the least expensive light rail project, in cost per mile, put up for approval by the Federal Transit Administration.

“We’re due a celebration,” Wright said.

It will start Monday with a signing ceremony for $128 million in federal money for construction. An additional $33 million will come from the city, $31.9 million from the state and $39.2 million from other federal sources. If there are cost overruns or upgrades, Norfolk will have to pay for them. Monday’s festivities will also include a lunch, an evening party and street banners, among other things. Downtown businesses pitched in to pay for some of the celebration.

“Norfolk has taken a very bold leadership role, not for its own well-being only but for the well-being of the region,” said Cathy Coleman, president of the Downtown Norfolk Council.

Although the rail line can succeed on its own, according to FTA calculations, the goal is to expand it into other parts of Norfolk and into adjacent cities.

“Our core city of Norfolk recognized this regional transportation effort had to start,” Coleman said. “It helps put us on the map as a progressive city. It elevates our stature as a progressive region.”

Extensions to the Norfolk Naval Base, Old Dominion University and Norfolk International Airport will be considered. Opinions of light rail may be softening in Virginia Beach since the 1999 referendum, although the Beach council has not formally discussed the possibility of an extension there.

Since the vote, MacArthur Center became established and residential development boomed in downtown Norfolk, and Town Center was built in Virginia Beach.

Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf said she’s heard from businesspeople, particularly around Town Center, who want light rail, as well as from residents.

“Our demographics are changing; we’re having more people come from other parts of the U.S. who are used to riding transit,” said Oberndorf, adding that she does not yet have a position on light rail.

For now, HRT is focused on building the first segment.

Last week, HRT’s commission voted to buy nine new light rail cars from Siemens Transportation Systems Inc., piggybacking on Charlotte’s order for vehicles for its rail line under construction in North Carolina. The cost, including support and spare parts, is $36 million.

Also, the first of 11 construction contracts has been advertised for building an elevated section of the line between Harbor Park and Brambleton Avenue near Norfolk State University. About 30 contractors turned out for a pre-bid meeting. That contract will be awarded in early November, and construction is expected to begin in mid- to late November.

By late January, a total of five contracts are to be awarded. Come February, construction activities should be under way along most of the route.

HRT officials said that communicating with the public during the construction period is critical because there will be inconveniences, traffic congestion, noise and disruptions to businesses and neighborhoods.

To open dialogue, two community meetings are being planned for late October, before construction starts. More will be held as the project progresses, said James Toscano, HRT’s vice president of communications.

HRT will also launch an improved Web site on Monday.

Even before the first track is laid, light rail has already started to benefit and shape the city.

Three planned developments – the Wachovia Center on Monticello Avenue and the Belmont at Freemason, and the Residence Inn by Marriott on Brambleton Avenue – were influenced by the light rail line, said Roderick S. Woolard, the city’s economic development director. “We see light rail as taking the city of Norfolk to another level – opening up transportation-oriented development opportunities,” Woolard said. Such development incorporates mixed uses around transit stations.

“If you look at cities across America with rail, whether it’s below ground, grade level or up in the air, they are the great cities of America,” Wright said. “We may not be major leagues in baseball, basketball or hockey, but we’re in the major leagues of transit now.”

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588,

debbie.messina@pilotonline.com

[Raleigh-NC]

Congrats on this major deal :okay:

[g-man430]

You lucky bastards. All we're going to get is BRT. I'm so jealous.

[Dale]

Hampton Roads is kicking ass!

[g-man430]

^^So are the Mets. I mean Mutts. :lol:

[vdogg]

Wachovia Center has been somewhat redesigned.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Wachovianight.jpg

[Dale]

Boy, I'll say it's been redesigned. Looks to be 22-25 stories ?

[vdogg]

Is light rails next stop Va. Beach? (http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=136584&ran=226930&tref=po)

VIRGINIA BEACH

City leaders are looking at Norfolk’s progress on light rail and reconsidering their opposition to extending the line to the resort city.

Several Virginia Beach City Council members said they are interested in reopening discussions with residents about bringing The Tide line to Town Center and the Oceanfront. The move is a shift in thinking in a city where light rail has been the third rail of politics since voters defeated a proposal in 1999.

“A lot of things have changed since the referendum,” said Councilman John Uhrin, who represents the Oceanfront. “We now have destinations along the route … We have Town Center and Granby Street . I think it’s time to have those discussions again.”

Uhrin and Councilman Jim Wood said they want to hold meetings starting early next year to gauge the public’s interest in light rail and have asked Hampton Roads Transit officials to provide information and give an update on Norfolk’s plan.

“I would say that it’s on the table, but in a very preliminary manner,” Wood said.

HRT’s plan originally called for a $1 billion light rail line to run from Norfolk to the Oceanfront with a stop at the Norfolk Naval Base. But the plan lacked support from many Oceanfront business leaders, and voters in November 1999 rejected plans to study light rail by a 12-percentage point margin. A week later, the Virginia Beach City Council pulled out of regional discussions on light rail and has rarely discussed the issue in public.
P O L L

That left Norfolk officials to pursue the transportation system on their own. In September, Norfolk’s $232.1 million starter line received $128 million in federal transit money and HRT awarded the first construction contract Thursday. The Norfolk line will end at Newtown Road, on Virginia Beach’s border.

Norfolk City Councilman W. Randy Wright, a light rail advocate, said he has been meeting with Beach officials and Town Center business leaders in recent months encouraging them to get on board.

“I think it’s to the advantage of both cities to extend the light rail line,” Wright said. “You’d be able to connect the two financial hubs of the cities. … Town Center and downtown Norfolk.”

Last weekend, during their annual retreat, Virginia Beach City Council members started talking about light rail again.

“I think Norfolk has done the heavy lifting,” Uhrin said. “From my understanding … The first leg is definitely the most challenging one to get funded and get on the ground. After that, extensions to that node would be easier.”

Councilman Louis Jones said he supports holding public meetings about mass transportation but thinks Virginia Beach should hold off committing to light rail until Norfolk’s system is a proven financial success.

Jones said he also wants some guarantee from Norfolk that any rail system would connect to the naval base. That would help base workers who commute from Virginia Beach and ensure the city a certain number of riders, Jones said.

Any light rail extension to Virginia Beach is contingent on the purchase of land from Norfolk Southern Corp.

City attorneys and Norfolk Southern officials have been negotiating for a 10-mile stretch of right-of-way for four years and are still millions of dollars apart. Norfolk Southern is asking for about $40 million, City Attorney Les Lilley said during the retreat.

The state’s Department of Taxation assessed Norfolk Southern’s land in Virginia Beach at $6.4 million this year.

Beach officials said they would be pleased with a per-mile deal similar to the one Norfolk has worked out with the railroad company. Norfolk will pay $5 million for a five-mile segment and extend a discounted parking plan to the company at a city garage. The parking discount is worth $2.6 million.

Beach council members said acquiring the property is a priority this year, whether they go with light rail or another form of public transportation.

Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121,

deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com

[Raleigh-NC]

I wish y'all best of luck getting a longer line that will cover more territory. It is always nice to do this as early as possible, instead of extending the line at a later time. Thanks for the update.

[krazeeboi]

Wachovia Center has been somewhat redesigned.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Wachovianight.jpg

I liked the previous design MUCH better. Blah.

[cityman1100]

Doesn't look that bad lol...

[Prosciutto]

Great news for Norfolk!:cheers:

Top U.S. Transit Official Announces $18.9 Million in Funding to Keep Norfolk’s Tide Rolling In

04-21-08
Contact: Paul Griffo
Telephone: (202) 366-4064

Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson today announced an additional $18.9 million in fiscal year 2008 federal funds to keep The Tide, Norfolk’s light rail project, moving forward.

“The Federal Transit Administration is dedicated to the success of this project,” Simpson said. “In fact, we are so dedicated that we found $18.9 million in unallocated federal money that we are bringing to the table today.”

Last year, Simpson signed a full funding grant agreement that committed the federal government to provide $128 million for the project through 2010. The agreement allocated $57 million to the project for fiscal year 2008, but that amount was trimmed to $23 million during appropriations. Today’s grant restores some of what was cut in the federal budget process, bringing FTA’s contribution to the project to $75.7 million to date.

Simpson was joined by Congresswoman Thelma Drake (R-VA), Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) President and CEO Michael S. Townes to tour the Harbor Park construction site of the light rail line.

The Tide is a 7.4 mile system that runs from the Eastern Virginia Medical Center, east through downtown Norfolk to Norfolk State University, and continues along the Norfolk Southern right-of-way adjacent to I-264, to Newtown Road.

The $232.1 million project includes 11 stations, three new park-and-ride structures, a maintenance facility, and the purchase of nine rail vehicles. HRT plans to begin operating the line in early 2010, with service at seven-and-a-half minute intervals during peak periods. The Tide will serve between 6,000 and 12,000 riders per day.

http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_8104.html

[Raleigh-NC]

Excellent news :okay:

[vdogg]

What was to be a Hilton is now the Westin Hotel and Conference Center. This will go in downtown Norfolk with full construction starting this year (site work is already completed).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/NorfolkWestin.jpg

[Dale]

How tall ? Looks to be 30 stories or so.

[krazeeboi]

I hope detailed renderings will be released soon. From the model, it looks to be better than the proposed Hilton.

Norfolk seems to be on a bit of a roll as it concerns highrises lately, I've noticed. What's the status of Granby?

[vdogg]

How tall ? Looks to be 30 stories or so.

Estimates have ranged from 25-26 floors. We won't know for sure until the official announcement later this week. The conference center goes in the bottom floors, with very high ceiling heights, which is why it is so much taller than it's neighbors.

[vdogg]

I hope detailed renderings will be released soon. I've noticed. What's the status of Granby?

Granby fell victim too the housing market and is now stalled, though the developer says he's persuing financing through other means. About half the piles for the project have already been driven. This is the only project downtown that is stalled however, everything else is moving along.

[krazeeboi]

^Thanks for that update. I truly hope the developer can pull it off; it will be a classy-looking structure.

[vdogg]

Ok, so make that 23 floors. The 7 floors of conference center are quite tall so this building will have a 300+ foot presence, but it's no where close to 30.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/newWestin.jpg

[krazeeboi]

I like that. Looks like it will be right down the street from the Marriott. I attended a convention there several years ago (11 to be exact).

[Raleigh-NC]

I think that is a beautiful tower :okay: Love the setbacks and the overall design!!!

[vdogg]

The movement towards extending the rail line to the Beach has gained considerable steam

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/house-committee-oks-light-rail-extension-near-oceanfront


The House Transportation Committee unanimously approved today a proposal to extend the light rail system now under construction in Norfolk to within blocks of the Oceanfront.

The measure now goes before the full House of Delegates.

The legislation was introduced by Del. Robert Tata and state Sen. Frank Wagner with little apparent discussion with local elected city leaders.

Tata and Wagner are calling for a major expansion of a $232.1 million rail system already under construction that will run 7.4 miles from downtown Norfolk to Newtown Road. The Tide is expected to begin operating in early 2010.

Tata said he envisions the rail running all the way to the Virginia Beach Convention Center. He said it would offer a hassle-free commute to those who live in Virginia Beach and work in downtown Norfolk.

Under the bill, HB6028, the extension would be built with public and private money . The legislation calls on the state to solicit a private partner. The company would theoretically recoup its investment and a profit by being given a contract to run the rail and charge riders a fare.

[vdogg]

Ok, so make that 23 floors. The 7 floors of conference center are quite tall so this building will have a 300+ foot presence, but it's no where close to 30.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/newWestin.jpg

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/09/westin-norfolk-be-secondtallest-downtown

OK, we've got the official numbers directly from the developer. It will be 26-stories and 315ft tall, making it downtown's second tallest building (behind the 340ft dominion tower, Granby Tower of course stalled and was never built) .

[Dale]

Wow, not bad.

[RON-E]

i like how they have worked in the stone and the glass, very classy!

[madtony26.2]

What's the latest on the town center, VA beach plan? Weren't there a couple offices that were going to be built on the western part of town center?

[madtony26.2]

is there anybody out there?

[jcal5]

Norfolk recently released its proposed plan for redeveloping downtown.

They have a powerpoint presentation with details and renderings. See here (http://www.downtownnorfolk.org/business/downtownnorfolkplan)

According to their plan, they want to redevelop the government center (which I think really needs to be done. Those government buildings are big ugly buildings that look like they are straight from the 80's or earlier.)

The rendering for the new Gov't Center is on slide 20 of 35. Looks VERY impressive.

Also, look at slide 23 for their rendering of the space surrounding the Tide's MacArthur Station. Very nice!

I think its time Norfolk started looking at large-scale updates for downtown. It could really use a facelift!

[madtony26.2]

I definitely approve!

[Infoman]

This thread is dead as a door nail... :lol:

http://www.shoppingcenterbusiness.com/articles/FEB09/story6.shtml
Town Center For The Peninsula
One of the South’s largest metro areas gets a new town center.

[StevenW]

I want to hear from some Norfolk forumers. My step-son and his wife are going for a couple of days/nights and I was wanting to know, from the locals, where a good place to stay was? Best accomodations? Price is an issue for them. They want a good deal for two nights. Plus, any great places to eat while they are in Norfolk. No typical fastfood restaurants. Any help from anyone that has been there and knows something about this, is greatly appreciated. :yes: Thank you. :)

[krazeeboi]

You may want to ask the folks on city-data.com.

[StevenW]

Thanks. :)

[vdogg]

Wachovia Center has been somewhat redesigned.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/vdogg/Wachovianight.jpg

There is now a controllable webcam located here (http://www.norfolk.gov/wachovia_center/default.asp) for those who wish to look at the progress.

[Mobius57]

There are also some of us over at ubanplanet.com in the norfolk section.

[madtony26.2]

This thread is dead as a door nail... :lol:

http://www.shoppingcenterbusiness.com/articles/FEB09/story6.shtml
Town Center For The Peninsula
One of the South’s largest metro areas gets a new town center.

I drive by the site pretty often. It's definitely under construction, and has made quite a bit of progress.

http://www.peninsulatowncenter.com/default.htm

[Mobius57]

Are there any updates on the westin?

[vdogg]

Are there any updates on the westin?
No. My realm is over on UP and that's where I post all of my updates. I just posted that link because I thought people would be interested.

[Mobius57]

The EIS contract was awarded today to extend the Tide Light Rail on both ends. Both extentions would add up to 20 more miles to the 7.4 mile starter line.

Heres the article.
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_wavy_vb_light_rail_20090423

www.ridethetide.com

[Mobius57]

Here are some Norfolk Construction Update Pics

Wells Fargo
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3358/3579241786_22fdda73e1.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0034.jpg
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/Picture164.jpg

New Apartments on 21st
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0057.jpg

Belmont @ Freemason *Light Rail will run through the middle*
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0035.jpg

Belmont with wells fargo in background
http://static3.bareka.com/photos/medium/23051298.jpg

Cool but low quality pic
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/Picture151.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0017.jpg

Cruise Ship in port!
http://static4.bareka.com/photos/medium/22896927.jpg
http://static2.bareka.com/photos/medium/22896897.jpg
http://static3.bareka.com/photos/medium/21895334.jpg
http://static3.bareka.com/photos/medium/22940954.jpg

Light Rail
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0018.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0019.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0020.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0021.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k150/ah159/IMGP0015.jpg
http://static4.bareka.com/photos/medium/21895327.jpg

[varider757]

This is the latest rendering for wells fargo center in norfolk
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/Southwest-Rendering-Final-AW_200907.jpg
This was taken this week:
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/3719824677_d2a26f7f74_b-1.jpg

[hpal3]

I am glad to see as a native, formerly of Chesapeake, all the nice development in Downtown Noflok. The light rail is going to do wonders for the skyline due to spured development. I moved away from Tidewater some 28 years ago and just recently came back for a weekend stay at the beach. I was plesantly surprized to see the VB Town Center From the expressway. Not that I see all this development going on in downtown, my next visit will require a stop with my camera.:)

[hpal3]

http://www.vbgov.com/file_source/dept/planning/090901_CityCouncilPresentation_00-final.pdf

[Professor L Gee]

http://www.vbgov.com/file_source/dept/planning/090901_CityCouncilPresentation_00-final.pdf

That plan has me intrigued. :)

[spencer114]

Damn, VA Beach is gonna build a really city. This plan looks great. Tidewater is looking so good these days. From Newport News to Hampton to Norfolk...you guys are kicking ass down there. I love to take out-of-towners to Tidewater. They always love it and say how clean it is... The light rail is looking amazing. From the boardwalk to Portsmouth, it is all looking so nice and thought out there. I'm very excited about the future.

[StevenW]

Very, very, very nice!!!! :master: That plan looks awesome! I love it! :yes: Go, Va. Beach! Go! :)

[hpal3]

That plan has me intrigued. :)

Damn, VA Beach is gonna build a really city. This plan looks great. Tidewater is looking so good these days. From Newport News to Hampton to Norfolk...you guys are kicking ass down there. I love to take out-of-towners to Tidewater. They always love it and say how clean it is... The light rail is looking amazing. From the boardwalk to Portsmouth, it is all looking so nice and thought out there. I'm very excited about the future.

Very, very, very nice!!!! :master: That plan looks awesome! I love it! :yes: Go, Va. Beach! Go! :)

Its all conceptual at this point. If half of that plan gets developed it will be amazing.

[hpal3]

Their five-hundred footer looks impressive already! I can't wait to see density
and additional height developed around it!!!:cheers::cheers:

[StevenW]

^^ Yep. Density! Bring it on! I love me some urban density! :D

[hpal3]

^^ Yep. Density! Bring it on! I love me some urban density! :D

Have you ever been to the Tidewater area Steven???

[hpal3]

By Aaron Applegate
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 2, 2009
VIRGINIA BEACH

How to redevelop 450 acres next to Norfolk was the subject Thursday night as the Beach sought input from the public, though the obvious subtext was whether the city should pursue light rail.

The land, which planners call the Newtown "strategic growth area," sits near the Norfolk light-rail station, which is under construction just across the city line at Newtown and Kempsville roads.

As about 100 residents and business owners talked around tables strewn with maps and colored sticky dots, light rail clearly was on their minds.

A planned flyover of Interstate 264 to link Greenwich Road and Cleveland Street is also a major element in planning the future of the mostly industrial area. That new link would directly connect the Newtown area with Pembroke and Town Center, a high-profile city redevelopment effort.

On light rail, opinions were mixed.

Virginia Beach is buying the old Norfolk Southern rail line that crosses the city for $40 million. The City Council has not taken an official stance on light rail, but planning for it is moving ahead.

At Richard Laslo's table, his group couldn't get enough red dots on the light-rail line map. Red meant "negative." He said he's against light rail unless it's paid for with private dollars.

Eric Anderson, who owns an office building on Greenwich Road, said folks at his table generally felt light rail would be good for business in the Beach.

Many residents of the Point O'View neighborhood near the study area who came to the meeting said they were against rail plans, citing traffic and noise.

With or without light rail in the Beach, city planners said the Newtown plan will give the city its first crack at high-density, urban-style development around the Norfolk station.

The company the city has hired to do the study will present detailed ideas in December. The city has undertaken similar planning efforts at the Oceanfront, Burton Station and Pembroke/Town Center.

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com


http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/public-weighs-newtownarea-work

[krazeeboi]

Many residents of the Point O'View neighborhood near the study area who came to the meeting said they were against rail plans, citing traffic and noise.

This is funny. The purpose of light-rail, in part, is to help reduce congestion, and light-rail trains aren't any noisier than your usual traffic. You'd think there were plans to build a mini Mall of America in the area judging from their comments, LOL.

[varider757]

This is funny. The purpose of light-rail, in part, is to help reduce congestion, and light-rail trains aren't any noisier than your usual traffic. You'd think there were plans to build a mini Mall of America in the area judging from their comments, LOL.

Yeah. The thing about VaBeachers is that many of them have never been exposed to urbanity and still living in the old days when va beach was just a small town next to big city Norfolk. Once the Light rail opens up in Norfolk they will see how clean and quiet the system is and be begging for it to stop by their house.

Oh and by the way, Pictures of Norfolk Light Rail Transit from today.

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/IMG00033.jpg
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/IMG00034.jpg
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/IMG00037.jpg
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/IMG00040.jpg


Standing on the Harbor Park Station!
http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk12/baseballgrayson/IMG00027.jpg

[hpal3]

great pics. i dont understand why people bitch about the light rail?? makes no sense:bash:

[g-man430]

great pics. i dont understand why people bitch about the light rail?? makes no sense:bash:

Tell me about it. I have never understood why people are anti-transit. :nuts: I wish more metro areas had light rail transit. I rode the one in Charlotte last year and loved it. Smoother and just as fast as the subway in Atlanta.

[varider757]

great pics. i dont understand why people bitch about the light rail?? makes no sense:bash:

I think the main problem around here that the Light rail travels along an abandoned Norfolk Southern ROW and the people used to have to hear freight trains all day long and they think the light rail will sound like a freight train.

Also they don't want to raise taxes to fund it.

But it's coming anyway. Plans to extend the starter line all the way up to Newport News/ Hampton with commuter rail up to Williamsburg (Busch Gardens), to the Va Beach Oceanfront (Next step coming very soon), to Old Dominion University and the Naval Base (After extension to the Oceanfront), commuter rail out to Chesapeake, North Carolina, and Downtown Suffolk.

Wanna read more about the Hampton Roads Transit Plan:

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/02/hampton-roads-public-transportation-plan-unveiled

It's projected that about 820,000 residents would live close enough to use the higher-speed transit services.

In South Hampton Roads, about 320,000 residents would live within walking distance of an expanded light-rail system.

[Mobius57]

Varider! nice to see you! good pics! We need to get together somethime to go throughout the city!

[urbanaturalist]

Very nice plans for Hampton Roads and VA Beach. The way they took downtown VA Beach in those renderings and turned that lowrise area into a dense vertical area is just astounding :nuts:.

[hpal3]

Very nice plans for Hampton Roads and VA Beach. The way they took downtown VA Beach in those renderings and turned that lowrise area into a dense vertical area is just astounding :nuts:.

Lets hope the economy comes back soon. If the demand is there and we have
developers on board, Downtown Norfolk and Virginia Beach Town Center are
going to morph into something quite nice!!!

[hpal3]

By Debbie Messina
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 31, 2009
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/leaders-agree-push-highspeed-rail-norfolk


Ending months of discord between South Hampton Roads and the Peninsula, regional leaders on Friday agreed to push for bringing much-coveted high-speed trains to Southside Virginia.

The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization endorsed routing the trains south of the James River through Suffolk and Norfolk, while at the same time improving conventional passenger rail service on the Peninsula.

"We've managed to come together in a way that should enhance passenger rail to both sides of the water," said Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim, who has taken the lead advocating for high-speed rail.

Hampton Mayor Molly Ward said, "Sometimes you need to make compromises and move forward."

If state decision-makers concur and funding is secured, trains capable of traveling 110 mph could run along the freight corridor that roughly parallels U.S. 460. There would be stops in Bowers Hill, near the Suffolk and Chesapeake border, and Harbor Park in Norfolk, where the line would connect with light rail.

On the Peninsula, additional trains and service improvements would be added to the twice-daily Amtrak passenger service that roughly follows Interstate 64 into Newport News.

Cost and ridership estimates have not been released.

Both would link with train service in Richmond and Petersburg and beyond along the I -95 corridor. The state's first rail priority is upgrading service to high speed between Petersburg and Washington at $1.8 billion. High-speed trains already run from Washington to New York City and Boston.

With only five months before applications are due to federal authorities for a share of an $8 billion stimulus fund for high-speed rail, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization held a special meeting Friday to try to come to a consensus.

The vote was unanimous. Elected leaders from four Peninsula localities, including Newport News and Williamsburg, were not present.

Ward said the support was not there for designating the Peninsula as the region's high-speed rail corridor.

"You do what's best for the region and the commonwealth," she said. "You don't make any progress when you just say no."

Connecting to the expanding high-speed rail network is critical to the region's future economic viability, leaders say.

The vote will be forwarded to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, which will select the preferred route before March. That board is not bound to follow the planning organization's recommendation.

March is the deadline for applying for the federal stimulus money. Applications totaling $102 billion already have been submitted nationwide.

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation has studied alternatives for bringing higher-speed rail to Hampton Roads for four years.

The results of that study are under review by the Federal Railroad Administration and are expected to be released soon.

One of the options is the scenario endorsed by the local planning organization. Others include upgrading the current Amtrak service on the Peninsula to high speed and initiating conventional rail service in South Hampton Roads; and just upgrading the Peninsula train service without southside service.

The state has not released the price tags of the various alternatives but said they range from $330 million to $844 million.

State and local leaders acknowledge that it would be difficult to go from no service to high-speed service on the south side.

Instead, it is likely that rail service would be introduced in phases, starting with conventional passenger rail at 79-90 mph, moving to emerging high-speed rail at 90-110 mph, possibly to regional high-speed rail at 110-150 mph.

Virginians for High Speed Rail, the state's leading rail advocacy group, supports emerging high-speed service to both sides of Hampton Roads.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.

[hpal3]

The site of the failed Granby Tower condominium project isn't the only land the federal government covets.

Raj Randeria, a Norfolk hotel developer who had planned to build a 15-story Hampton Inn on Brambleton Avenue adjacent to the Granby Tower site, said federal officials have told him they're going to seize his land, too.

As was the case with Granby Tower developer Buddy Gadams, federal officials told Randeria they will use his land to build an expansion for the Walter E. Hoffman Courthouse.

Randeria said he's invested about $2.4 million in the $18 million project, including nearly $1.1 million he paid for less than an acre of land four years ago. Federal officials have offered him $1.08 million, he said.

Randeria announced the project two years ago and had hoped to begin construction last year. However, he has had difficulty getting the project financed, he said.

Randeria said the letter he received from federal officials is similar to a letter Gadams received.

Gadams was told he had until next Tuesday to accept a $6.1 million offer for his land - nearly 2 acres. Federal officials said if he doesn't accept the offer, they will condemn his property under eminent domain law. Randeria said his deadline is also Tuesday.

Gadams and Randeria would be required to file suit in federal court to receive anything more than what the government has offered. Federal law allows the government to take land for a "public purpose," such as a highway or courthouse.

Randeria said he doesn't want money and doesn't want to go to court - he wants to develop his hotel.

"But I know they are going to take my land," he said. "I will deal with them because they are so much more powerful than me.

"A courthouse is a public use under the law. I understand that they have the right to my property. But I spent 2-1/2 years putting this together. I invested a lot into the project. I don't want to lose my shirt."

Gadams is being represented by Norfolk attorney Joe Waldo. Randeria said he also plans to retain Waldo.

Gadams said Thursday that the 50 or so people whose deposits for Granby Tower condos he is holding will receive refunds, with interest. He had sold more than 150 units two years ago, he said.

Planned for 34 stories, the $180.5 million project would have been the city's tallest building.

"I've already returned the money to everyone who's asked for it," Gadams said. "I'm still holding the money for 50 people who believed in this project."

He said the U.S. General Services Administration has refused to share a copy of an appraisal of his land. "They've just said, 'Trust us, it's fair,' " he said. "I don't believe it's unreasonable for them to share that information with us."

Gadams said he would prefer negotiating with federal officials to a drawn-out court battle.

"I want to move on with my life as soon as possible," he said. "All I want is for the GSA to negotiate in good faith so that I can do that."

Mayor Paul Fraim said he is concerned about two valuable parcels of land going off the tax rolls. Federal property can't be taxed by cities.

He also said he's surprised that the federal government has not told city officials they were condemning the two properties, nor have they shown the city any documentation indicating the need for a larger courthouse.

"A federal judge called me and said they don't need the space," Fraim said. "Maybe they do, but this is not the way the government should be dealing with this issue. They ought to be talking with us every step of the way."

Fraim said he plans to contact members of the Senate and House of Representatives and ask them to prod the GSA to begin a dialogue with the city.

GSA officials did not return e-mails seeking comment.

Pilot writer Tim McGlone contributed to this report.

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/10/feds-want-second-norfolk-lot-courthouse-expansion

[hpal3]

Norfolk needs a new tallest!!!!!

[varider757]

Norfolk needs a new tallest!!!!!

Yeah they do. BUt I think Virginia Beach is gonna be the skyscraper skyline city in Hampton Roads.Norfolk will continue to have it's dense 25-30 story skyline while Virginia Beach builds 40+ towers.

[varider757]

From Sky06 on Urbanplanet.org

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/topic/15925-Norfolk-Light-Rail-Transit/page__view__findpost__p__1095272

[hpal3]

Love those pics. Thanks.