Truth AND Consequences: Rolls-Royce comes to RVA
Posted: November 23, 2007 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Company News, Government Institutions, New Development | Leave a comment »In some of the biggest news that Prince George County, Virginia, has seen in quite some time, Governor Tim Kaine announced on Tuesday that Rolls-Royce PLC has chosen to locate their new plant 25 miles south of Richmond City. The facility will test and assemble engines for mid-size business jets, and will have the capacity "to produce components for the F136, an advanced fighter engine for the Department of Defense’s Joint Strike Fighter." (from "Turbine-Maker Rolls-Royce to open plant in Virginia" in The Beaufort Gazette)
Rolls-Royce PLC will employ 170 people when the plant opens in 2009, and may employ up to 500 with potential expansions. The company has purchased 1,000 acres in the county, but the actual size of the facilities have yet to be determined.
Virginia won out over 7 other states that were under consideration for the plant site, and the state schools were cited emphatically as a driving factor behind the decision. That’s a great endorsement not only for the economic environment in Virginia, but obviously a win for the schools as well.
A point of contention among some (see comments at the bottom of this RTD article) is the monetary incentive that the state of Virginia has promised to Rolls-Royce PLC to get their commitment to our area. The cash value of all of the related incentives is $56.8M. Of course, with a price-tag like that there is going to be some second-guessing on how appropriately it was handled.
One of the comments on the article suggested that the money would be better spent for incubating local businesses, rather than courting a large corporation. Given my slant towards small, independent businesses, I was inclined to agree — at first.
At first glance, an investment of that magnitude could make a huge impact on many local businesses by itself, and here we are throwing it away on a large corporation that already has more money than they know how to handle. On the other hand, the local presence of a world-class company will bring not only recognition to Virginia, but also business opportunities (large AND small) and increased educational opportunities (through interaction with the state schools).
Now, I have to agree that this should not become a habit, but sometimes it makes sense to pony up the incentives to bring an international company here.
In this case, I think it makes perfect sense. Good job, Virginia!
(see the official press release from Rolls-Royce PLC here)
Is Growth in Hanover a Good Thing?
Posted: October 17, 2007 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Government Institutions, Hanover County, New Development | Leave a comment »It would seem that the majority (or a vocal minority?) would say NO!!! Of course, I’m more of a city boy, so I like the development, as long as it is done well and doesn’t turn the landscape into NoVA.
The RTD ran an article yesterday about how Hanover has reached 100,000 residents. The irony, as most people have pointed out, is that the area is so popular because of the slower pace, the good school system, the larger building lots, and sparser population. Of course, more people in the area detract from these benefits that are so popular.
I have always had a negative impression of Hanover’s ability to work with businesses. Maybe my impression is founded on their working with small businesspeople, not the big box retailers that seem to be taking over Mechanicsville so easily.
Even more interesting than the article itself was the reaction in the online comments section. The commenters remind us that Hanover is not just the 360/Mechanicsville corridor, but also Doswell, Ashland, and many other sections that each have a distinctive identity from one another.
So mark me down on the side of development, but with the caveat of recognizing that the planners seem to be doing a fairly decent job of controlled growth, which is important.
Cinemas, Cinemas….Everywhere!
Posted: September 29, 2007 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: New Development, Retail, Shopping Centers | Leave a comment »There’s a recent growth spurt in the cinema sector here in Richmond lately, or at least in the plans for new cinemas. In today’s RTD, “Lease signed for cineplex” lays out the plans for Regal Cinemas to open a 16-screen digital theater complex at Westchester Commons, at the intersection of 288 and Midlothian Turnpike.
As I’m counting (and I may be missing a theater or two, please chime in if you know of one that I’ve missed!), that makes four either announced or opened within the past year.
The others that I know are:
- Regal’s 16-screen cineplex at Southpark Mall, which opened in July 2007
- “Movieland” at Boulevard Square (the old Richmond Steel facility)
- unknown branding or official naming, but the location is at the corner of Mechanicsville Turnpike and Creighton Road — across Creighton from the Kroger/American Family shopping center
And of course, each of these cineplexes have the accompanying retail and sometimes residential component coming along with them.
In the case of the Westchester Commons theater, it is part of a much larger development being developed by Zaremba Group, Watkins Center, which will contain more than a million SF of retail space, 1,600 residential units, and 2 million SF of office space (per Zaremba’s website). The entire development is scheduled to be open for business in spring of 2009. Here are the plans for Westchester Commons, as supplied by Zaremba Group.
UPDATE: New Shopping Center in East Henrico
Posted: May 5, 2007 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Henrico County, Hotels, New Development, Retail, Shopping Centers | Leave a comment »More information has been released and has been reported by the RTD regarding the plans for The Shops at White Oak Village. With all of the comparisons to local area shopping malls, I thought this was going to be a "lifestyle center" like Stony Point Fashion Park or Short Pump Town Center.
The article in the RTD ("Sam’s, Penney plan new stores") from this past Friday, however, highlighted a number of the stores going into the shopping center planned to open in latter part of 2008 near the Laburnum Avenue exit off of I-64 (the one in the East End, not Northside). These are not your typical "mall" stores, but more like one of these big box strip centers (a la the strip centers that pop up around the big shopping malls).
Target, Lowe’s, Ukrop’s, Sam’s Club, and J.C. Peney have all been confirmed as new tenants. The site is 136 acres, and is planned to house a total of 913,606 square feet of retail, as well as a 150-room hotel. Other possible tenants (not confirmed) are Red Lobster, Circuit City, Panera Bread and Ruby Tuesday.
June 2007 is the expected start date for construction.
New High Schools for West End
Posted: February 16, 2007 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Government Institutions, Henrico County, New Development, Residential | Leave a comment »Two new high schools are slated for the ever-developing West End of Henrico. One of the newest high schools in that area, Deep Run, is expected to have 1,853 students as of next fall — and that’s already 3 students above the intended capacity.
The first new high school is planned for 2010, on the site south of Springfield Road, off of Staples Mill Road. The contract for that site was approved last month for $13.6M.
The second site is 205 acres on Kain Road, slightly northwest of Short Pump Town Center. The proposed purchase price (including site reviews and other costs) is $26.7M, and the intended usage would be not only a new high school for 2016 (or earlier), but also a public park and a fire station.
See "Henrico targets Short Pump site for future school" in this morning’s RTD (or yesterday’s shorter, online version "Henrico considers large land purchase") for more details. It’s a very interesting read, even just to keep informed on who the players are in Henrico’s development.
Where is the Baseball Stadium Going?
Posted: December 12, 2006 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Government Institutions, Henrico County, New Development, Redevelopment | Leave a comment »Well, if the newest plans reported in the RTD this Sunday are adopted, then it won’t be going far.
Richmond City owns 60 acres of property around the Diamond, 30 acres of which currently houses the "Parker Field Maintenance Complex" — the city’s public works and maintenance operations center. Relocation plans for these outdated facilities have already been announced — well, maybe "plans" is too strong of a word. I think that "intentions announced by city officials" is a better way to put it.
There are a few options that open up with the moving of the Maintenance Complex, including:
- build a new stadium in place of the complex
- turn it over to developers for "an urban district of homes, shops, and offices alongside a sports and entertainment complex"
If the City opts for #2, then it can either refurbish the existing stadium or continue to argue about other possible sites.
While I see the benefits of both, I agree with Wilder that we are running out of time to find a solution to the ballpark issue. If we don’t move on this now, and use this opportunity to move forward, then we might as well just scrap the idea of a new ballpark altogether. This is the perfect opportunity to have a new stadium and not ruffle any feathers about historic preservation.
(Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, Sunday 12/10/06, "Plans pitched for stadium on Boulevard")
News on Condos (not such a surprise)
Posted: November 20, 2006 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Investing, Multi-family Housing, National News, New Development, Redevelopment, Residential | Leave a comment »Condos, condos, condos…. If you read this blog at all, then you know my viewpoint on the ongoing fad of converting everything to condos. (and if you don’t, then just keep reading)
I don’t have a lot to say about it right now, but I wanted to point you to an article on MSNBC.com from a couple of weeks ago: "Scramble for affordable apartments" — and especially to this quote from the article about residential condo development:
In smaller markets such as Portland, Ore., Richmond, Va., and Omaha, Neb., demand has outpaced development.
I’ve been saying it for a while, but it’s nice to have something in the news backing me up on it.
High-Rises Planned Along James River
Posted: October 16, 2006 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: New Development, Redevelopment, Residential, Restaurants | Leave a comment »A Northern Virginia developer wants to build two 18-story buildings at the bend of the James River [beside Libby Hill Park].
Falls Church-based USP Rocketts LLC is planning the development, which
would have up to 260 condominium units as well as a health club and a
restaurant, on the vacant lots next to Great Shiplock Park on Dock Street in the East End, according to its request that the city rezone the property.– from N.Va. firm plans towers locally reported by the RTD
A request for permission to exceed the height-cap will need to be approved by the city, and nearby residents are not thrilled by the idea. Regardless of the developer’s intentions to pour money into the surrounding area (including Libby Park and Great Shiplock Park), the overriding concern is the blocking of "the river view that inspired William Byrd to name the city he founded after Richmond-upon-Thames, just outside London."
The proposed site is the 3000 block of Dock Street, the former site of the Tarmac Concrete plant.
College Areas Good for Investing
Posted: July 8, 2006 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: Hotels, Investing, Multi-family Housing, New Development, Office Buildings, Redevelopment, Residential, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers | Leave a comment »While students are the not always the best tenants, there are lots of good reasons to buy investment properties in college areas.
College enrollments expected to rise by almost 1.6 million students, or
15 percent, over the next 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of
Education, and the number of graduate and professional students is
growing even faster, at almost 25 percent.
With the increase in students, there will of course be a rise in professors, administrative staff, space needed by the colleges, and supporting industries (research, retail, restaurants, etc.). While the article at REALTOR� Magazine Online -Daily News- College Town Properties Are a Smart Buy focussed on small college-dominated towns, this is a very good sign for Richmond. With Randolph Macon, VCU, UR, VUU, and the community colleges here, the areas around each of these schools will feel the impact.
Now is the time to jump in and start investing for the future growth, especially since the market has slowed down just a bit.
[Source: Dow Jones Business News, Jennifer Openshaw (07/04/2006), cited in the article mentioned above]
WSJ.com – Arenas of Dreams: But Will Teams Come?
Posted: June 27, 2006 | Author: Nathan Hughes | Filed under: National News, New Development, Redevelopment | Leave a comment »There was an interesting article on WSJ.com the other day that should resonate with anyone following the news in Richmond regarding the debate over the Baseball Park initiative. This is an issue that cities across the U.S. are struggling over.
It would be interesting to see some kind of official reaction to this information from both/all sides of the local debate.
Link: WSJ.com – Arenas of Dreams: But Will Teams Come?.
But while arenas with big-time tenants may bolster a city’s self-image and quality of life, evidence shows they have a minimal economic upside. Most operate at a loss.
In "The Economics of Sports Facilities and Their Communities," published in 2000 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, authors Andrew Zimbalist of Smith College and John Siegfried of Vanderbilt University argue that "independent work on the economic impact of stadiums and arenas has uniformly found that there is no statistically significant positive correlation between sports facility construction and economic development."
The authors cite several studies, including one by sports economist Robert Baade that found "no significant difference in personal income growth from 1958 to 1987 between 36 metropolitan areas that hosted a team in one of the four premier professional sports leagues and 12 otherwise comparable areas that did not." The authors’ conclusion: Arenas put a drag on the local economy by hurting spending on other activities in the city and boosting municipal costs such as security.