Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Shockoe Bottom baseball is kaput!

WWBT, Channel 12, is reporting that the Shockoe Bottom plan for a mixed use development, including a baseball stadium, is dead. Click here for more.

Update: The RT-D on the same story -- click here.

More links:

8 comments:

S. Preston Duncan said...

I recall you saying something like "dig it, there will be no stadium in shockoe bottom"

REALLY GLAD you were right.

Cheers!

Paul Hammond said...

"Kaput!", that's been said before, hasn't it.

F.T. Rea said...

S. Preston Duncan,

Thanks for remembering.

Jeff E. said...

Finally we can enjoy this precious wasteland without worrying about fools trying to use it for something besides growing weeds. It's been a perfectly good waste of space for decades... why mess with a good thing? Can I get an amen fellas? But we can't just rest on our laurels. No sir, now that this pesky matter has been dealt with let's start thinking about all of the awesome things we aren't going to allow on the riverfront. I think I'll head down to Water Street this weekend and have brunch by the Lehigh concrete silos or perhaps just stare for a spell at the empty space where the Annabelle Lee used to dock and ponder the wonderful lack of possibilities. Ahhh the sweet, sweet smell of complacency!

F.T. Rea said...

Jeff E.,

Hope you meant we shouldn't allow a developer to block the view of the James River from Libby Hill.

Stuart said...

I think what Jeff E means is that he hopes the city isn't going to change the zoning laws in that location to allow development that is currently prohibited and then provide a special use permit for building something that is still prohibited by even those new zoning regulations.

Because that would be a corrupt show of favoritism to the developer who bought that property knowing full well the zoning regulations prohibited doing what he thought he could do with the property.

Back to the Shockoe stadium plan, the funniest thing about it is that the city never even said "no" to it. The deal fell through for other reasons. If Highwoods had stuck it out a few more months I really think the Jones administration would have gotten on board. Glad that didn't happen!

Scott said...

http://chpn.net/news/2009/06/23/highwoods-walks-away-from-shockoe-center-boulevard-proposals/

“the property CAN’T be developed without something like a ballpark due to the floodplain and green space requirements.”

Where is this written in “broken-up parking lot” stone?

Given your previous statements and what we now know about what would have been the public financing in the Shockoe Center proposal, I question your credibility, Fanboy.

I am surprised there has not been more discussion of Paul Goldman’s idea- using mass transit/high sped rail and MCV’s proximity to create a world-class hospital/medical center in Shockoe Bottom.

But regardless…

Even with the Shockoe Center proposal “dead”, the baseball stadium debate is STILL distracting Richmond citizens from other, more important priorities and issues.

Citizens must demand more from leadership and media than just the continued slugfest.

http://www.vagreenparty.org/richblog/?p=379

Paul Hammond said...

Thank you Jeff_E.

Think of the weeds, think of the weeds.

F.T,

Were these the views your were talking about or these,