Swanky Power Plant

Thursday, July 24, 2008

A quick update:

The Power Plant building could be substantially completed by September (not the elevator, though). The developers are in talks with restaurants to take some of the space. It's the first building at Rocketts to be entirely commercial (that is, there are no residences).

Below is a rendering:

Also, start warming up that spike serve. Two sand volleyball courts will soon provide a beachy diversion near the Power Plant.

 

Signage

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The Cedar Works sign gets a fresh coat of paint.

Rocketts Resident represents at Muddy Buddy

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Rocketts Landing resident Brian Wetmiller,  27, and his brother Matthew won first place in their age bracket at last weekend’s Muddy Buddy Race.

The run/bike/obstacle course in Chesterfield’s Pocahontas Park – which includes a trudge through a giant mud pit – has a cult following. Participants come from as far as Washington D.C. and Raleigh to compete. Many of the racers are fast and in great shape. (I know because I was there last year).

The Times-Dispatch’s Bill Lohman described it, “The early-morning event was serious in the sense that entrants run and pedal as fast as they can under less-than-ideal surfaces and conditions. But it had a festival feel, with more than a few participants competing in costumes. There were superheroes with capes, as well as a couple of Smurfs. One participant ran and pedaled in a pale-green bathrobe and a hot-pink shower cap. He appeared to be fast.”

Brian is a Cedar Works resident.

Barge chugging to town

Thursday, July 10, 2008

A barge might soon start chugging up the James from Hampton Roads to the Richmond port, which is a few miles downriver from Rocketts.

According to a story from Inside Business, a Norfolk business man has convinced the state to put some money behind the idea as a way to reduce truck traffic on Interstate 64.

“Initially, the barge will carry international shipping containers between the state-controlled NIT and the Port of Richmond once a week.”

The barge has been dubbed the 64 Express. If fully loaded, it could take 128 big rigs off the roads.

The journey from Hampton Roads up to Richmond would take between 12 and 15 hours.

Will Richmond become more like the Northeast?

Thursday, July 03, 2008

I was up in New England this weekend – and I saw the future of Richmond, and Rocketts Landing.

Well, not the delightful 70 degree summer weather, sigh.

I flew to Boston and immediately boarded a bus for New Hampshire. If gas prices keep rising, Virginians will start riding buses between cities, too. But where I really had a glimpse of things to come was on a lake in rural New Hampshire.

A former railroad track along Lake Mascoma has been turned into a bike/walking path. The Virginia Capital Trail will likely run along a current railroad grade along the James River. There’s something innately appealing about walking along water. I didn’t take a dip in Lake Mascoma, but I could have. That’ll be a nice option in Richmond.

I also spent half a day in Cambridge, which is just outside of Boston. The streets are alive with pedestrians and shoppers in a way no Richmond area – save perhaps Carytown – can match. The neighborhoods are dense, with mostly three-decker houses, and that means there are more than enough people to support coffee shops and pubs. And like Richmond, universities are a major employer in that area (Harvard and MIT), so there’s a youthful vibe.

Of course, Boston is not perfect. Many of my friends who are buying homes can’t afford to live within a 45-minute drive of their jobs.

And when they go bowling, they use pint-sized balls.