VB Town Center misc. thread (Virginia Beach, Norfolk: apartments, how much, house)

[D train outta nowhere]

Red Star Tavern is gone, if anyone cared. They had a decently priced HH.

Construction continuing on new parking garages/residences.

All for now - pls continue to rant/rave and converse.

[citydweller]

I lived near TC for 10 years and saw the small forest go bye-bye and the buildings go up. Although I hated to see the trees go, I really enjoyed the new restaurants to walk to. I got to know some of the waiters and became a regular. When I walked through the door they knew what I wanted to order. That said, it's a shame the retail component never really took off at least with major retailers. I was hoping for an Apple store and other nice clothing stores. I am glad the center is doing well. I am excited to see another building having been built and more housing options as well.

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by citydweller

I lived near TC for 10 years and saw the small forest go bye-bye and the buildings go up. Although I hated to see the trees go, I really enjoyed the new restaurants to walk to. I got to know some of the waiters and became a regular. When I walked through the door they knew what I wanted to order. That said, it's a shame the retail component never really took off at least with major retailers. I was hoping for an Apple store and other nice clothing stores. I am glad the center is doing well. I am excited to see another building having been built and more housing options as well.

I wonder sometimes what kind of future retail has anyways, most folks I know just order stuff on Amazon or other online retailers once they find a brand they like and are comfortable with the sizes. An apple store, samsung store, and an IKEA down there would be cool but I am not that optimistic about retail in general (anywhere) in the long run. Of course it is always hard to make predictions about the future... What do you think?

[D train outta nowhere]

I was also wondering where the starving artists at VB Art Institute must go when they want to go out to eat (and where I myself would go, for that matter). Probably have to cross the street to the ol' Pembroke.

Retailers: Many of the cool unique ones go out of business because of overhead. Businesses should start abandoning the strip mall model and run them from homes, like Leapin' Lizards up on Shore Dr. Why? For survival.

Then of course, I have no idea how much your taxes would shoot up if you, heaven forbid, tried to run a business from your home. But string a bunch of these small, independent businesses together in a neighborhood and... Dang! We're back to strip malls.

[CrazyTed]

The problem with running a business from your home is many suppliers won't sell to you without a separate store front from a residence. I run a business from my house and I run into it all the time. They won't sell to me and consider me to be a fly by night business. It's a real struggle. As for the city, they have given me no grief other than having to pay business taxes on my business property and equipment. Total pain and way expensive just to earn tools to do my job.

As for Town Center, it's ok. Just way overpriced for my budget.

[Lindsey1151]

Maybe in 10 years town center would be like downtown Raleigh, downtown Norfolk or NYC!

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by Lindsey1151

Maybe in 10 years town center would be like downtown Raleigh, downtown Norfolk or NYC!

Raleigh maybe, unlikely it will be the NYC or Norfolk in my opinion. I could live with a downtown Raleigh kind of vibe.

[Spazkat9696]

I liked Red Star but you have to pay the tax man... I do wish there was more shopping down there. Where is the new building going to go?

[UHgrad]

Originally Posted by Spazkat9696

I liked Red Star but you have to pay the tax man... I do wish there was more shopping down there. Where is the new building going to go?

The new building is half way up already, it is where that parking lot used to behind Saffron, across from AI, and caddy corner from Columbus theaters. It is going to be the headquarters for Clark-Nexson (spelling) architecture firm, hampton U, and some city offices. I'm pretty sure these are the guys that designed the convention center and put in a proposal for the arena down by the beach. I think it is supposed to have apartments, parking, and shopping as well but there will be a lot of office space with good paying professional jobs there. Definitely a plus.


Virginia Beach Town Center Main Street Office Tower construction - YouTube

Va. Beach celebrates start of 14-story tower at Town Center | WVEC.com Norfolk - Hampton Roads

Was supposed to open this fall according the the article but I'm not sure if the timetable has slipped on that.

[citydweller]

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