Sperity Real Estate Ventures

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VCU Economic Developments Foster More Than New Ideas in Richmond

We found this pretty interesting article on workitrichmond.com the other day about VCU’s latest technological and economic developments happening across the Richmond region. Over the past 15 years, the university has been pushing for technological advancements such as new medicines, new business partnerships and student work opportunities to create lasting relationships between local businesses and the university.

In the last year, VCU’s Technology Transfer office has helped kick start their economic development efforts. The office is a resource that helps connect students with an industry and works to transfer their ideas and inventions from the university to the local business community.

Some of VCU’s recent successes include:

  • A new FDA regulatory clearance for EViTAR, a catheter for drug and cell delivery.
  • Commercialization of EmergenOx, a device which provides medical-grade humidified oxygen in emergencies.
  • Licensing by Finis, Inc. for the marketing of SwiMP3, a waterproof recreational audio-device that transmits sound, using bone conduction.

Since VCU is a thriving creative community, the assistance of this program is essential because it provides students with resources and counseling to help get their ideas developed and sold into the Richmond marketplace.

Nicole Colomb, who has been hired to oversee VCU’s new push for economic development efforts, said forging closer ties with the business community will benefit the region by raising the university’s stature while creating jobs and attracting industry here.

(per the article in WorkIt, Richmond)

The Tech Transfer office has become a great resource for economic development across Richmond, as serves as a liaison between local businesses and VCU. As a resource for students to connect and create new ideas, the office generates innovations in the local economy.

So what do you think VCU’s Tech Transfer program can do for Richmond? A more creative marketplace, stronger regional economy, more entrepreneurship and more RVA based businesses and ideas.

 

 

 

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VCU’s da Vinci Center helps Richmond become a top 5 for job creation

 

 

 During Rep. Eric Cantor’s  visit to Virginia Commonwealth University’s da Vinci Center for Innovation on Monday, he declared Virginia as an epicenter of job creation and entrepreneurship, according to an article on workitrichmond.com.

A recent survey by Gallup showed Richmond, Va. in the top five metro areas for job creation out of the 50 largest United States Metropolitan areas. Richmond came in third behind Pittsburg, Pa. and Oklahoma City, Ok. as number one. More than 30% of employers are hiring and just over 14% are laying off workers.

Cantor, the R-7th and the House Majority Leader, toured the da Vinci Center-a collaboration of VCU’s School of the Arts, Business and Engineering-and was impressed with the presentations by two groups of students. “What I saw was a remarkable effort to bring the many assets of VCU together toward creativity and innovation,” he said.

The students are participating in a paid summer internship program, a program he also said encourages the want for students to create job opportunities that contribute to the markets growth in Richmond. Once the presentations were completed “Cantor asked how many of them are interested in becoming “job creators” later in life. Almost all of them raised their hands,” according to the workitrichmond.com article.

Each group is collaborating on real world projects for two Richmond businesses using their diverse backgrounds. One group is working on a project with The Martin Agency to make Tylenol dosing simpler and more accessible for parents. The other group is evaluating the Mary Frances Youth Center and coming up with ways to help the organization stay out of debt.

Future job innovators, like these VCU students, add to the growing list of Richmond jobs and job postings seen on websites like Indeed.com. The job search website stated that “the Richmond, Va. job market is strong compared to the rest of the U.S.”  Job postings had a national decline of 32% while Richmond’s only had a 19% decline.

According to a The New York Times’ Economix blog post, surrounding Richmond cities, like Virginia Beach, have the highest proportion of employers laying off workers.

The da Vinci Center will continue to merge creativity, diversity and business minded students together  to help create innovative projects for job creation in the fall for the launch of its master’s program. Kenneth Kahn, the center’s director, said students will “come in with an idea and leave with a business.”


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First Time Home-Buyer? There’s a Class for That.

Good news for any prospective home buyers who may be worried about their credit score and applying for a home mortgage loan – the Richmond Times Dispatch recently reported that new education classes are now available through Community Housing Partners of Richmond (CHP).  The cost? Completely free.

These “Real Estate 101” classes are taught by CHP Housing Counselor, Schirra Hayes, who aims to help those people who are thinking about purchasing a home and have no idea where to begin. The classes are designed to teach new prospective home buyers about the entire home-buying process – from start to finish – and how to stay on track as a responsible homeowner.

The classes are held every Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m, at Community Housing Partners office building, located at 100 W. Franklin Street.

According to Hayes, home buyers need to make sure their credit file is up to date and in shape, and in taking two sessions of his class, it would qualify first-time home owners for a Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) mortgage application and many other programs.

“Lenders nowadays want to see a really good credit score to circumvent what happened in the mortgage crisis a few years ago,” said Hayes, with Community Housing Partners in Richmond.”

FYI, home buyers must attend both classes – Tuesday and Thursday) to receive a VHDA Home buyer Education Certification to qualify them for a home mortgage.

To learn more about the VHDA or register for a class, contact Hayes at (804) 343-7201, ext. 2035, or email him at shayes@chpc2.org.

And, of course, if you ever have any questions about finding a home to buy, you can always call Bandazian & Holden at 804-358-5543.

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RVA To Adopt Mass Transit by 2015

Good news, RVA!  After years of city-wide planning and discussions forums by various Richmond-based transportation groups like GRTC, VDOT and VHSR, mass transit is finally coming to Richmond.

Officially underway and expected to launch in 2015, GRTC will be implementing a “Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)” system from Willow Lawn to Rocketts Landing, with Main Street Station as a passenger drop-off/pick-up hub.

The first step towards bringing mass transit to Richmond, the idea of BRT is to have a large passenger bus run on a dedicated track lane that will bring large amounts of travelers to point-to-point destinations.

Ultimately, the BRT system will lay the foundation for an INTER-city passenger rail service, the “Light Rail,” to connect the whole Central VA region; from Norfolk to Petersburg to Fredericksburg to Washington, DC.

In a recent interview with Danny Plaugher, Executive Director for Virginians for High Speed Rail (VHSR), we discussed VHSR’s recent 16th Annual Meeting, “Connecting Virginia: How Regional Intercity and Light Rail are Changing Virginia.”

“VHSR hosted the meeting, because we felt there is so much positive news happening right now, in terms of rail development throughout Virginia.  Norfolk launched a Light Rail system called “The Tide” in August 2011, and in less than a year has exceeded more than one million riders.  More than 50,000 riders used the Light Rail service this past weekend alone.

Richmond needs to take this same initiative.  As an organization, VHSR wants to highlight all of our successes, including Norfolk, and focus on utilizing these models in other VA cities such as Richmond.”

As for what VSHR’s 2012 plans mean for Richmond business, Plaugher reveals the City’s latest plans for mass transit, details of where BRT will run and answers some burning questions weighing on the mind of Richmond residents.

[Read more…]

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Starting a business in Richmond? You don’t want to miss this!

Being involved in helping start-ups in Richmond, we often get invitations to attend sessions put on by the Economic Development departments of the local governments. When we get them, I’ll make sure to post them here for your reference. The ones I’ve attended in the past have been extremely helpful and great brush ups on the resources that the localities provide for small business.

Here is the email from the City of Richmond that we received regarding the upcoming event:

As part of our  ongoing efforts to provide you with valuable information & resources, the City of Richmond Department of Economic and Community Development-Business First Richmond Program is pleased to announce another in our series of free educational seminars.

The City of Richmond Department of Economic & Community Development and the Virginia Department of Business Assistance will host the first in a two part series on establishing and  growing your business.   Part I in the series the” Entrepreneur Express Seminar” will address the basic concerns of establishing a business in Richmond.  The seminar will be held Wednesday, October 12, 2011 from 8:30 am to noon at the Police Training Academy, 1202 W. Graham Road, Richmond, Virginia 23220.  (See Entrepreneur Express Seminar Flyer for details)   Please share this information with your clients and colleagues.

To sign up (free!), you can either register online by clicking here, or call 804-371-0058.

Oh, and make sure to let me know if you’re going to be there! Leave a comment here or at least be sure to come up and say hello when  you see me there.

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Virginia ABC laws changing soon

Bar at Deanna's

*image courtesy of Alan Turkus (http://www.flickr.com/people/aturkus/)

A common complaint in the restaurant industry here in Richmond is about how outdated and difficult (and sometimes just plain nonsensical) the ABC regulations are, especially for start-ups. Well it might finally be time for that to change:

…the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board is for the first time in 20 years reviewing and updating all of its regulations in an effort to rewrite or eliminate any antiquated and burdensome restrictions. And they’ve asked the state’s merchants to help, giving them until Oct. 17 to propose changes.

Read more at the Washington Examiner

You heard them, folks. If you have an ABC license, then they want to hear from you! Be a part of the updates in the ABC laws. If you’ve seen what can be done better, now is your chance to speak up.

Where to speak up? I’m not exactly sure. I checked the Virginia ABC website and didn’t see anything specific about the initiative, but calling them directly would be a good place to start. If you do know the reporting process, please leave a comment with the information.

(Thank you to Richmond BizSense for pointing out this article in their morning email. If you’re not receiving it already, then you might want to rectify that.)

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7 key items to keep your corporation or LLC legitimate

No one likes to do paperwork. (well, almost no one — if you find that rare individual, hire them and keep them!)

In order to keep your corporation or LLC compliant, there are things that must be done consistently. These requirements are not onerous, but they are easy to overlook in the hustle of your day-to-day business.

I have seen a number of closing on business deals that are delayed because the corporate books weren’t kept up, or the annual fees weren’t paid and the corporation has to be re-instated. Be sure to set an appointment in your calendar once every 6 months to review all of these items and be sure that there is nothing that you need to catch up on.

Small Business Trends has a great post from this past week about this exact thing (here), so I won’t rehash it all over again. Here are the key points they make:

1. File your initial/annual reports (also known as a “Statement of Information”)

2. Keep up to date with your corporate minutes and resolutions

3. Record any changes for your corporation/LLC by Filing “Articles of Amendment”

4. Make sure you’re legal when conducting business out of state

5. Don’t commingle your personal and business finances

6. File DBAs for any name variations

7. Don’t forget to close an inactive business by dissolving your corporation/LLC

Read the full post for the details behind each of these pointers and consult with your accountant or your attorney, or whoever helps you with your corporate records.

If you are thinking of selling your business, this review should be on your checklist to take care of at the beginning of the selling process.

Take the little bit of time now to stay in compliance and avoid any red tape nightmares later when you find out that you didn’t!

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Small rental property owners breathe a sigh of relief

There is always a lot of new legislation passed every year that sounds like a good idea at the time and generally goes unnoticed, and every once in a while the consequences of that legislation become horrifyingly apparent afterwards.

This past year, the legislation that was causing so much heartburn for small property owners was a new IRS requirement that anyone with rental property file a 1099 for any repairs that add up to $600+ over the course of the year. (see my post about it here, from December 2010)

Good news — the provision was repealed before it could take effect!! (here is the actual legislation that was passed to repeal the IRS provision, in case you would like to read it)

Hats off to the Realtor community for standing against this for the good of the mom-and-pop investors, who are the ones would be most affected by those proposed requirements — and for Realtor Magazine’s blog for bringing the repeal to my attention. From their description of how everything unfolded, it seems as though everyone understood that this was good to do:

When the provision was included in the small business bill, REALTORS® were among the first and firmest opponents of it, helping to ensure that Congress understood the provision was an example of over-reach that was never intended to burden mom and pop property owners. Members of Congress and President Obama got the message and, in a rare example of agreement between not only Republicans, Democrats, and independents, but also between House and Senate chambers and between the legislative and executive branches, lawmakers agreed the provision needed to come out.

Nice to know that we don’t have this provision coming up to haunt us over the next few years, isn’t it?

 

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How to make zoning easier to understand

Government regulations are typically so complicated that not only can the lay-person not understand what they mean, but they are written in such a way that even people that think they know what is meant are left arguing completely different interpretations.  Zoning regulations are no exception.

In fact, in NYC the zoning regulations are so convoluted that “In a recent case, a judge said the word “development,” which appears at least 2,500 times in the [zoning] resolution, did not mean what the city said.” (source: New York Times article — we’ll see more about that article in just a minute)

The Planning Commissioner for NYC, Amanda Burden, is attempting to make the zoning regulations a little more accessible to the general public by issuing a new city handbook with plain explanations and cartoon drawings that illustrate what particular zoning designations look like and what they mean.  Check out the coverage in the New York Times about what she has been doing to bridge that gap.

While this may not be the right approach for every locality, the idea is one that every local government should take to heart:  Start building tools that puts control of the government back into the hands of the people.  Sure, we elect officials to represent us and we should not be ruled by mob mentality (see: California), but the people also need to be able to understand what is being done — especially when we are expected to interpret these rules and abide by them.

I have seen far too many business and property owners try to follow the rules that have been laid out, only to find a health inspector or building inspector come in with a totally different understanding and cost the owner thousands of dollars in hard cost and lost business because the rules were not clear enough.

What do you think, Richmond? Have you had any issues with the local zoning regulations (city or county)? What would you suggest could be done to make the rules more clear?

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Redevelopment plans for Carytown get nod from Museum District

The redevelopment of the old Verizon building at 10 N. Nansemond Street has been hotly debated and contested. (see: the official site for the Carytown Place; Don’t Big Box Carytown‘s website; & this post and the accompanying comment thread on Caramelized Opinions for a good summary & feel of the debate)

The Museum District Association had originally ruled to oppose the redevelopment based on the original plans, but Friday they sent out a press release announcing the reversal of that position.  The gist of the situation can be summed up from this one paragraph in the press release:

The Board voted 13-1 in November to oppose the original SUP and subsequently provided the applicant with detailed requests for further changes to make it more amenable to the neighborhood. The applicant responded by altering the SUP to remove vehicular ingress/egress on Nansemond Street as well as reduce the number of available uses of the property to 10 uses. The applicant also agreed to limit the usable floor space of any one tenant to no more than 25,000 square feet, ensuring there would be multiple tenants in the building and ruling out a single, larger “big box” tenant.

The whole press release can be read here on the MDA’s website (right now it’s at the top, but it will shift down the page as new releases are issued).

What do you think? Are you satisfied with the MDA’s ruling, or are the changes in the plan not enough for you? In that case, what changes would be enough to get your support for the development?

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Important! New IRS requirements for all landlords

PaperworkAnyone receiving rental payments from either residential or commercial properties will need to review the newly-enacted small business legislation called HR5297 with their accountant and how it expands 1099 reporting requirements.

Currently, only real estate professionals that engage in property management services have to use 1099 forms to report any service provider that they pay more than $600 in a given tax year.

The changes will be enacted over the next two years as follows (details from the NAR Issue Brief released recently — can be found online here or hosted on my site here):

2011 Rule: ALL persons who receive rental payments must provide Form 1099. This affects ALL owners (both individuals and businesses) of rental properties, both residential and commercial. Thus, “mom and pop” investors and those who invest in real estate for their personal portfolios are subject to the new reporting requirement. Only aggregate annual payments of $600 or more for services (but not goods) must be reported.
2012 Rule: All businesses, including real estate businesses, self-employed individuals and independent contractors will be required to make a 1099 report of any aggregate annual payment of $600 or more to any person from whom they acquired goods and services.

Please keep in mind that I am not an accountant, so before you act on any of this information (or panic. or dismiss.) please consult with your accounting/tax professional.  But when I saw this come across my desk, I thought it was important that you are aware of these new rules!

(*Warning! Sales pitch!*) And, by the way, here at Bandazian & Holden, we have dealt with these reporting requirements from when they were first enacted for real estate professionals in the property management field, and we are accustomed to handling the necessary paperwork for our clients.  If you don’t feel like dealing with it on your own, let me know and come on board with us. (*End of warning. Enjoy your day!*)

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How important is biking and walking to you?

If you think biking and walking should be more prominent in Richmond City’s transportation planning, then I encourage you to get out to this and participate!

Received in my email this afternoon:

Department of Planning & Development Review

CITY OF RICHMOND
News Release

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
For Immediate Release

City to Hold Public Forum on Pedestrian Biking and Trails

Richmond, VA – The city of Richmond will hold a public forum on Monday, September 20, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Carillon in Byrd Park. The forum is being held to encourage input from residents on ways to make biking and walking an integral part of the city’s transportation system.

In May 2010, Mayor Dwight C. Jones established a Pedestrian Bicycling and Trails Planning Commission to provide his administration with advice on ways to make the city more pedestrian friendly. The commission divided into work groups: Economic Development; Public Policy/Legislation; Infrastructure and Physical Design; Grants and Funding; Outreach, Education and Safety; and Metrics and Evaluation. The workgroups have studied the plans and strategies of the city of Richmond, other jurisdictions as well as those of other countries.

On Monday, four of the Commission’s work groups will present some of their recommendations for public consideration. They are: Public Policy/Legislation; Economic Development; Infrastructure and Physical Design; Outreach, Education and Safety.

Residents who are unable to attend the forum can provide input through a survey that will be posted after the public forum on the city’s website at www.Richmondgov.com.

Contact: Tammy Hawley (804) 646-3110
Tammy.Hawley@RichmondGov.com

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Official recommendations on the privatization of ABC stores

Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell, has been getting a lot of news coverage lately over his push to privatize ABC stores statewide:  RTD from 9/3/10, NBC12 from 8/19/10, Hburgnews.com from 8/26/10, Style Weekly from 6/29/10.

This proposal still has a ways to go and many levels of bureaucracy to push through before it becomes reality, but McDonnell ‘s senior staff members have been studying the issue to make recommendations.  Here are their official findings (the full version), which were released today.  You can find the presentations that were made through this link. (although it doesn’t look like it will stay the top story but for so long)

I pulled out a number of points from the press release that I found to be the most intriguing:

  • 1,000 retail licenses will be auctioned off to the highest bidders
  • The licenses will be broken into three categories: 600 licenses for large establishments such as grocery stores; 150 for smaller establishments such as package stores and wine and beer shops; 250 for convenience stores/retail pharmacies
  • No one company will be allowed more than 25% of licenses within each level
  • 1,000 licenses will still give Virginia 1.8 outlets per 10,000 adults, far below the private state average of 3.8 per 10,000 adults
  • Majority of new license holders will be existing stores; Virginians will primarily see new shelves in retail establishments, not new establishments.
  • 332 licenses will be guaranteed for areas currently served by an existing ABC outlet
  • The additional 668 licenses will be granted based on population density
  • The wholesale side will also be privatized, allowing the Commonwealth to completely focus on law enforcement and regulation of distilled spirits
  • There is no tax increase in the privatization proposal
  • The Commonwealth will also make an additional $33 million on the sale of the ABC warehouse in Richmond and 19 state owned outlets
  • The number of ABC enforcement agents will be increased by 25%
  • The Commonwealth, through the ABC board, will maintain health, safety, law enforcement and marketing regulatory authority over private distilled spirit sales and distribution

Also, the point that has been making the most buzz lately is the idea of a 4% tax on the gross liquor receipts for restaurant operators.  That seems to have been taken out of the recommendations (given the 9th bullet point listed above), unless it’s a matter of semantics and they’ve buried it by not calling it a tax.  I didn’t have time to go through, but I’m sure there will be lots of other people combing through the details of this proposal word for word.

Another point that is of particular interest to me is the sale of the ABC main warehouse.  I wonder who will be listing that? *ahem* Mr. Governor, I’d be happy to take a look at it for you!

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Don’t let them catch you dancing!

Everyone can now rest easy, dancing will no longer be tolerated in the City of Richmond! (Well, when I say “everyone can now rest easy”, I really mean everyone except for those pesky dancers.)  From what I hear, dancing brings about all sorts of immorality so I am relieved that we won’t have dirty dancers parading around making light of the city’s laws. (My research really is confined to movies from the first half of certain movies from the 80’s)

I’m actually a little confused because visitors or transplants to the city are always complaining about how there aren’t many dance clubs here anyways.

Style Weekly has plenty of information in this week’s edition here, including a Q&A follow up session with a representative from the Mayor’s office.

As a tribute to the new City ordinance, here’s a video of some scenes from the movie Footloose:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROSYW25vhc]

Actually, this ordinance is nothing new here in the Richmond metro area.  Chesterfield and Henrico have been issuing permits (or NOT issuing permits, depending on who you talk to) for a couple of years now.

Here are a few links about the stink from last year about Chesterfield and dance permits:

(thanks to Richmond Good Life’s time-capsule archives for those links!)

Henrico has the same type of ordinance and dance club permits, but I recently had a tenant that had to apply for one and it wasn’t a huge ordeal.

If you’ve run against any of these dance ordinances or know of how it’s handled in other areas, I’d love to hear about your experiences.  Leave a comment!

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More details about the Cities of Service Leadership Grant

As a follow up to my post from a few days ago regarding the Cities of Service Leadership Grant (which you can find here), I wanted to share some more information about it.

This time, the info comes straight from the City of Richmond, via this press release:  “Richmond Awarded Grant to Aid Neighbor-to-Neighbor Initiative” (thanks to @RichmondSprite for bringing this to my attention)

And on an unrelated note: Happy Fourth of July,  everyone!

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Congratulations, Richmond, you’ve just won $200k!

Congrats, Richmond, on being chosen to participate in the second round of cities to be funded $200,000 over two years as part of the Cities of Service! (link to original story — thanks to David Necessary for the tip on Twitter)

What does that mean, exactly?  I’m glad you asked because I just happened to look it up!

Here is the “About Us” page on Cities of Service — and here is the information on the Cities of Service Leadership Grants

To sum it up,

Cities of Service is a bi-partisan coalition of the mayors of large and small cities from across our country who will work together to engage citizens to address the great challenges of our time. Founded in New York City on September 10, the coalition and its member cities will respond to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act’s historic call to action by finding new and innovative ways to harness the power of volunteers to help solve pressing local challenges.

And the grant program is:

The Cities of Service Leadership Grants provide recipient cities with $200,000 over a two-year period to hire a Chief Service Officer, a senior city official dedicated to developing and implementing a citywide plan to increase volunteerism and target volunteers to address their city’s greatest needs.

So I guess the next questions are: 1) When will this CSO be getting started?, and 2) Who will it be?

Does anyone have any observations from seeing this CSO working in any of the cities involved in the first round of funding?  I’d love to hear what has worked and what could be done better.  If we’re going to do this here in Richmond, let’s do it right!

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Breakin’ the law! Or not… (new real estate laws)

July 1st each year is when most of the new legislation that was passed by the State of Virginia takes effect. This year (as every year), there are a number of changes that will directly impact the real estate business.  — Side note: Thank you to the Virginia Association of Realtors, RPAC, and the local associations for all of their hard work in getting these laws proposed and lobbying to get them passed!

VARbuzz has a great summary, so be sure to go there for the full list.

Here, I want to highlight a few of the new laws/updates that I found particularly interesting and/or encouraging:

* Brokers who do the right thing won’t be punished (amnesty for honesty). A real estate broker who discovers, either through a self-audit or through a third party retained by the broker, that the firm or a member of the firm has violated a law or regulation will no longer be penalized if the broker satisfies certain requirements:The broker must notify VREB within 30 days of the discovery of any noncompliance, and he must submit a written plan explaining how the issue will be fixed. This may include entry into a voluntary compliance program. Any voluntary compliance or other remediation must be completed not more than 90 days after the date the plan is submitted to the VREB, and must be certified by the broker or a third party in order to create immunity from enforcement. *Note that bill does not protect the broker if the noncompliance was intentional or the result of gross negligence.*

* Landlord and tenant laws changed. A number of changes were made to landlord and tenant laws this year. Some key revisions:For leases governed by the Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act:

* Landlords are now allowed to provide information about tenants to a commissioner of the revenue and, in the case of a military tenant, to his commanding officer.
* A landlord may withhold a reasonable portion of the security deposit to satisfy unpaid water and sewer bills.
* Interest rates on security deposits are updated for 2010.
* Utility charges are treated as rent.
* The definitions of “commencement date” and “effective date” of leases are added to the Act.
* Several other things were clarified as to landlord-tenant law generally:
o the bifurcated rent and possession practice in some courts
o what property managers and Realtors® can do in court without a lawyer
o that interest runs on all judgment amounts

* Vested rights are better protected. If a local government issues a permit (other than a building permit) for a property improvement, it can’t change its mind and later declare those improvements to be illegal (although it can find them to be nonconforming).The law also clarifies that a property owner may replace an on-site sewage system for an existing building in the same general location, even if a new sewage system would no longer be permitted in that location. However, if access to a sanitary sewer system is available the property owner must connect to it.

*If a rental property occupied by a tenant is foreclosed upon, the landlord must transfer any security deposit to the new owner of the property, and the new owner, on termination of the lease, must return any security deposit and any interest owed to the tenant in accordance with the provisions of the lease. Interpleader actions limited to disposition of an earnest money deposit may be brought in district court even in cases where the amount of the deposit exceeds the ordinary jurisdictional limits of district court cases.

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Google LOVES Richmond!

Or they will, if we do things right…

There is a contest underway from Google where the stakes are high: one or more communities somewhere in the USA will be the test market for Google’s high-speed fiber network.  Here is the teaser from http://gigarva.com (who, in turn, took it from Google’s site, where it no longer seems to appear):

Google is planning to launch an experiment that we hope will make Internet access better and faster for everyone. We plan to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Our networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We’ll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

The nomination phase is over, and now we need to get everyone in Richmond (and anyone outside of Richmond that wants to support our efforts here) talking online about why Google should pick us!  The next step of the process is going on now, and Google has been releasing updates on where each of the top nominated communities stand.  The winners of this phase are being determined based on the online buzz that each community generates around their nomination (see Google’s recent analysis of the data so far in this .pdf file).

Here is Richmond’s official video for the promotion of the program.  I think they did a great job with it! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkZ78Y_TiyA]

Do I have your attention now?  Good, because here is how you can help:

  1. Become a fan of 1GBforRVA on Facebook & write posts on their wall
  2. Find blogs that mention it and leave supportive comments (*ahem*…this one you’re reading is a good start!)
  3. Write a post on your own blog/Facebook/Myspace about why Google should pick Richmond
  4. Follow @1GBforRVA on Twitter and interact with them there
  5. Tweet about why you think Google should pick Richmond and reference @1GBforRVA at the end
  6. Find a local online forum and talk about the 1GBforRVA initiative. Start discussions
  7. Make videos about why Google should pick Richmond and post them online
  8. Talk to your friends and family about the 1GBforRVA initiative and encourage them to participate

It doesn’t have to be anything complicated, and maybe you just have time to leave a single comment here or on 1GBforRVA’s Facebook page, but even that will help.  Google is looking for an active online community that wants them to come here. (if you’re short on ideas for why Richmond is a great choice, check this out)

Let’s show them that Richmond can rally behind a common cause and that when we want something, we make it happen.

Ready? GO!

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Don’t be left out of these decisions — VOTE!

This is a big year for politics.  Yeah, I didn't expect that would be news to anyone this year, but it made for a good way to motivate people for this next call to action:  VOTE! 

It is important every year, and for every special election that comes up.  This year it is especially important because we are electing a new president at a very crucial time for our country and a new mayor to take charge of Richmond.  Despite your particular slant on politics, or mine for that matter, participation is key.

From the website of the Virginia State Board of Elections:

How do I find out if I'm registered to vote in Virginia?
   If you have questions about your voter registration status, contact your local county or city general registrar.  If you believe that you are registered to vote in Virginia, you can verify your voter registration status on-line from our website. 

 Where Do I go to vote?
   To determine your polling place location, contact your local county or city general registrar's office.  You may also get information about your polling place by using our on-line Where Do I Vote application.

 How do I register to vote in Virginia?
   Registering to vote in Virginia is easy and convenient.  To register to vote in Virginia, you must fill out and submit a voter registration application.   If it is determined that you qualify to vote, your local county/city general registrars will add you to the county/city voter registration database.  For more information about becoming a registered voter contact your local county or city general registrar.

On that last point, the voter registration deadline for the upcoming election on November 4, 2008, is this upcoming Monday, October 6.  Per the VSBE website, "Applications must be in the voter registration office or posted marked by that date."  Being this close to the deadline, I would suggest that you register either online or in person.

The second part is equally as crucial — when November 4th comes, get to your local polling place and vote!

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When legislators go crazy, but oddly harmless at the same time

File this under:  "Some people just have too much time on their hands."

A county in the state of New York is considering legislation that would require restaurants to list the prices of daily specials.  Apparently even that isn't going far enough for some folks, and these same legislators are tempted to require lists of prices for desserts, cocktails, and coffee.

I wonder when this same county is going to regulate the font on the menus and the quality of the paper that they use?

Has anyone else found this to be a problem in their restaurant experiences?  I can't think of an example where the consumer "needs to be protected" from not having a list of prices.

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A note on political mud-slinging

I found this post at Seth's Blog this morning to be particularly interesting.  All of his posts are compelling — I encourage you to check out his blog if you don't already follow it yourself.  This one about negative campaigning by politicians is an insightful look at whether or not it is effective, and what makes a negative campaign more effective than another.

My favorite quote from the post resonates with my own view of the unfortunate situation:

The reliance on negative stories in politics makes me sick. I think we
should be above that. The fact that negative stories have influenced
every election of my lifetime, though, means that I'm wrong, we're not
above it. If politicians are going to tell negative stories, they might
as well pick useful ones. [my emphasis]

I try not to pay attention to the negative campaigning in general, but I wonder if the same reasoning that Seth uses in his article can be applied to Richmond politics.  Are there negative statements that are being made about any of the candidates that, regardless of the truth of the statement, may shake up that candidate's base?  I hesitate to ask for fear of drawing out the political negativity that may come with the answers…

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City Council votes on hot projects

Two high-profile votes came before Richmond City Council last night — one for a four-story condo/apartment complex in the Springhill historic neighborhood and the other regarding the proposed public marina site beside the Rocketts Landing development.

Manchester on the James – 200 unit residential complex

This has been flying under the radar for quite some time.  I remember seeing stories about this proposed development from a couple of years ago, but I haven't heard a peep about it until this vote last night.

Although, this posting from 01/18/08 on River District News explains some of the more up-to-date information that I apparently missed.  The original proposal was for a 17-story high rise with "luxury condos".  The revision was to a 4-story building with smaller units.  The shift in focus to more of a rental use rather than owner-occupied units is what provoked the ire of nearby residents.

From an article in this morning's RTD:

Crosland, a Charlotte, N.C.-based development company, plans the
complex on a 2-acre block bounded by Cowardin, Riverside Drive, West
19th Street and Stonewall Avenue. The company plans to build and market
the complex as condominiums, but it also asked for the ability to offer
apartments to provide market flexibility. The project calls for
ground-level retail along Cowardin and a 320-space parking deck.

Despite the protests of the neighbors, City Council passed the proposal and Crosland LLC should begin construction on the 200-unit complex before too long.

Property beside Echo Harbor to be purchased — but will there be a marina?

City Council voted to back the plan for the City to purchase the Lehigh property, 1.6 acres at 3111 Water Street.  The property is located immediately adjacent to the Richmond Intermediate Terminal, where the mayor has proposed the hotly contested public marina.

The Council reserved the right to allow a private developer to develop part of the site, and deliberately stayed silent on their stance regarding the proposed marina.  So, the saga continues.

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Another chance to give your 2 cents about the future of Richmond

Just received via email:

>>>

DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN PUBLIC HEARING

1:30 pm MONDAY, MAY
19, 2008
5th FLOOR
CONFERENCE ROOM
CITY HALL
900
E. BROAD STREET

The City
of Richmond Planning Commission
will hold a public hearing on the Revised Draft Downtown Master Plan. The Commission will
consider adoption of the plan and recommendation for approval to City Council. 
The public is encouraged to attend the public hearing to share thoughts on the
plan with the City Planning Commission.

 
A copy of the revised draft plan is available for review at
the following locations:

Online:
 (http://www.richmondgov.com/departments/communityDev/DownTownMasterPlan.aspx)

 

City
Hall (900 E. Broad Street)
5th
floor, Room 510

Libraries
Main Branch (101 E. Franklin
Street)
Hull Street Branch
(1400 Hull Street)
Belmont Branch (3100 Ellwood Avenue)
East
End Branch (2414 R
Street)
North Avenue Branch
(2901 North Avenue)
Ginter Park
Branch (1200 Westbrook Avenue)
Broad Rock Branch
(4820 Warwick Road)
Westover Hills
Branch (1408 Westover Hills
Boulevard)
West
End Branch (5420
Patterson Avenue)

For more
information contact
Brooke Hardin, City of Richmond
Telephone:
(804) 646-6310
E-mail: Brooke.Hardin@richmondgov.com

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The final countdown for Sixth Street Marketplace

As reported by Style Weekly in "Street Talk" this week, the final deadline has been set for closing the remaining vendors at Sixth Street Marketplace.  The original deadline was August 9, 2007, but that has been extended three times due to lengthy relocation agreement negotiations and the search for two city agencies currently housed in the Blues Armory.

The deadline,  as it stands now, is May 12.  Deals have been struck with approval from all sides regarding the relocation packages (forgiving 50% of back rent owed and $25k for relocation expenses).  There are seven remaining food vendors that were part of the negotiations.

It's good to see that things are moving forward, and the city can finally put the space to good use.  Now if only I could remember what the new use was supposed to be……  Does anyone else remember?

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Henrico is giving away money!

Henrico County is giving away money for new businesses, and for redevelopment projects!

…and so is Richmond City, and Chesterfield County, and Hanover County. 

Per Henrico County's website regarding the Enterprise Zone program in Virginia:

What is an Enterprise
Zone?

The governing body of any county, city
or town may make written application to the Virginia Department
of Housing and Community Development to have an area or areas
declared to be an Enterprise Zone. The purpose of the Virginia
Enterprise Zone Program is to stimulate business and industrial
growth in such areas, which would result in neighborhood,
commercial and economic revitalization. Upon the recommendation
of the Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and
Community Development the Governor may designate the proposed
areas as Enterprise Zones. Upon designation of an area as
an Enterprise Zone state and local incentives become available
to qualified business firms that participate in the Program.

The trick is learning the details of the different programs that are
available.  Given that we are talking about free money (grants) and
cheap money (loans), and that these are government programs, there is
quite a bit of red tape and a complex set of regulations regarding how
to qualify for the programs.

I'm no expert on the intricate regulations involved, which is why I am attending the Henrico County Enterprise Zone Spring Workshop at Belmont Recreation Center on May 7th.  It is FREE to attend, but you have to register beforehand (and space may be limited).

If you're interested in the program, you may have to pull some strings since the registration deadline was April 3rd (SORRY — it's been very busy here, despite all the dark clouds cast by the media).  You could still call 804-501-7615 or email to arz@co.henrico.va.us and see if they have any open spots.

Otherwise, if I can find a good way to summarize what will be an enormous amount of useful information, I will post a follow up on here after the workshop!

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Bailing out irresponsible investors?

I've been on the fence for a while about whether the proposed mortgage "bailout" is the right thing to do. 

I believe very much in the free market economy and that what we do with our money is each individual's responsibility.  The thought of using taxpayers' money to subsidize bad investments is horrifying to me, and only encourages unscrupulous behavior.

There is a large contingent of the general public that believes the same as my initial reaction, and some of them have gone public on a site called Angry Renter.  There is a petition that you can sign that will be presented to Congress in opposition to what they are describing as, "
Congress is getting ready to pass a multi-billion dollar bailout of homeowners and their banks. That's right, Congress is going to use your tax dollars to bail out big banks and keep housing prices too high!"

A post on the Inman Blog echoed my doubts pretty much exactly:

No doubt, on the surface it does appear as if irresponsible investing
will be subsidized by taxpayers. But what angry renters may not realize
is that they will pay for these mistakes whether there is a government
bailout or not — in the form of depreciating home values, loss of city
revenues, and a dragging economy.

While I'm still on the fence, a little too able to see both sides, I'm curious to hear what you all think of the situation.  Is this a tax on the responsible, to bail out the irresponsible?  Or is it a necessary part of stabilizing our economy?

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When are you getting your money?

Whether you agree with the tax incentive program or not, I doubt anyone is going to turn down money from the government.  Of course, you have to file your tax return this year in order to get a tax rebate check.

We have all seen the general info repeated in the news (and pretty much everywhere else) that the tax rebate checks will be anywhere from $300-600 per person.   Here is what the IRS website has to say about the rebate checks:

Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus
payments to more than 130 million households. To receive a payment,
taxpayers must have a valid Social Security number, $3,000 of income
and file a 2007 federal tax return. IRS will take care of the rest.
Eligible people will receive up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples),
and parents will receive an additional $300 for each eligible child
younger than 17. Millions of retirees, disabled veterans and low-wage
workers who usually are exempt from filing a tax return must do so this
year in order to receive a stimulus payment.

But when will you get your money?

The IRS has put out a schedule (see below, or click here) showing how the last two digits of your social security number will determine when your money is sent out.  Also, the method of payment will be determined by whether or not you provide your direct deposit info on your tax return.

Also, see this USAToday.com article that gives more details on how your actions may delay or facilitate the process.

DIRECT DEPOSIT

Last two SSN digits: Payment will be transmitted:
00 through 20 May 2
21 through 75 May 9
76 through 99 May 16

 

 

 

PAPER CHECK

Last two SSN digits: Payments will be mailed by:
00 through 09 May 16
10 through 18 May 23

19 through 25

 May 30
26 through 38 June 6
39 through 51 June 13
52 through 63 June 20
64 through 75 June 27
76 through 87 July 4
88 through 99 July 11

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Getting shorted on tips?

We’ve all seen the rants about customers that don’t tip, or the customers that are so cheap that they don’t tip properly.  This post isn’t about rehashing those same tired complaints, even as unfortunately on-the-mark as they are.  (Anyone that has been a waiter or bartender can attest to the truth of those anecdotes.)

This is about tipped employees getting their fair share of what they have worked so hard to earn, and about keeping yourself out of trouble if you are a restaurant owner.  Starbucks just learned a $100M lesson in California, and employers everywhere need to take note.

If there is a shared tip pool involved, then only certain employees can participate.  Here is the section on tip pooling from Fact Sheet #15 from the US Department of Labor:

Tip Pooling: The requirement that an employee must retain all tips does not preclude a valid tip pooling or sharing arrangement among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), busboys/girls and service bartenders. Tipped employees may not be required to share their tips with employees who have not customarily and regularly participated in tip pooling arrangements, such as dishwashers, cooks, chefs, and janitors. Only those tips that are in excess of tips used for the tip credit may be taken for a pool. Tipped employees cannot be required to contribute a greater percentage of their tips than is customary and reasonable.

The basis of the argument in the Starbucks case in California was that shift-supervisors were sharing in the tip pool, which is against California labor law. 

In fact, a call to the Richmond District Office of the US Department of Labor verified that it is not California labor law that dictates this, but instead it is Federal law.  I was referred to the description quoted above, where only "waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), busboys/girls and service bartenders" can participate in tip pools.  That’s not to say that other employees can’t be tipped, but they cannot participate in a tip pool.

Employers, take the lesson to heart before it costs you both in back-pay and legal fees!  (I’d like to point out here that I am NOT an attorney, but that’s why I called the US Department of Labor to get their opinion.  There are always gray areas, and that’s why there was a court case over this.  Check with your attorney to make sure you’re covered.)

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How Minnesota bars are still smoking-friendly

Despite the recent smoking ban legislation in Minnesota, some bars have fought the ban in a very creative way.  There is a provision in the ban that allows for participants in theatrical productions to smoke in restaurants and bars.  The bars are working around the legislation, legally, "by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them ‘actors’."  (see the full article on TheWashingtonPost.com)

Again, this demonstrates that there is a segment of the population that looks forward to smoking in public and they will go out of their way to frequent establishments that cater to their wants.  Those that prefer non-smoking restaurants and bars have demonstrated that there is also a market for their wants, as well.  The local market has responded with a number of alternatives for smoke-haters — and I think that’s wonderful!

I applaud the efforts of the Smoking Resistance in Minnesota, and I hope that their results are instructive to the rest of the country doesn’t fall on deaf ears.  Here is a quote from the article that demonstrates the desire for smoking establishments, and the harm that a smoking ban can do to the livelihood of anyone that gets in the way of the anti-smoking groups:

Proving anew there’s no business like show business, Anderson said her
theater-night receipts have averaged $2,000 _ up from $500 right after
the ban kicked in. Similarly, Bauman said revenue at The Rock dropped
off 30 percent after the ban took effect, then shot back up to normal
once the bar began allowing smoking again.

Here’s a message to the Virginia legislature regarding the *thankfully* failed smoking ban from this year and last year:  Keep your mitts off!  The free market is working in this case, and there is no need for legislative agendas/egos to get in the way of that.

So you don’t like smoke getting into your clothes? 
-Neither do I, but if I want to go to a smoky bar then who are you to say that I can’t?

Protection for the employees?
-Then why isn’t air quality the issue instead of what people are legally consuming?

I don’t really like special interest groups (then again who does unless they agree with you?), but on this one I hope the smoking lobbyists keep fighting the good fight.

I don’t smoke, and neither does anyone in my immediate family.  I don’t encourage smoking, but dammit it’s a perfectly legal activity.  If you can’t stand the thought of anyone smoking, then go for a full prohibition.  At least then you’re being honest.  (Not that I think prohibition would work, but it would be funny to see it tried.)

Thanks to Vivian J. Post’s blog for the heads up on the article!

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How is Circuit City like the City of Richmond?

Q: How is Circuit City like the City of Richmond government?Compare_2

A: They both share a very unfortunate self-destructive behavior — rewarding poor management with large raises and retention bonuses. 

Now…that’s not entirely fair.  The behavior isn’t self-destructive so much as it is harmful for the people that have entrusted these folks with their livelihoods and well-being.

I was flabbergasted back at the end of 2007 when I read the news that the executives at Circuit City were being rewarded with retention bonuses after a series of very, very bad decisions that had been handed down over the previous few months.  If it were my company, I would have been much more likely to pay those same executives extra to walk away and stop causing so much harm to the reputation and morale of the company.  I wouldn’t have asked them to stay, and I certainly wouldn’t set up incentives to keep them in place.

I’ve always thought that the public sector could learn a lesson or two from the private sector, but if I knew this was the lesson they were going to learn then I never would have wished for it.  After all of the debacles that the city has been through at the hands of the current executive leadership, why would anyone think that these same officials deserve a raise —  much less raises of 13-20%?!  (Read the entire article from yesterday’s RTD by clicking here.  There are a lot of details that add to the shamefulness of the situation.)

I guess the City of Richmond has Circuit City to thank for blazing the way in rewarding ineptitude.

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Poor, poor, strip club owner…

Sam Moore, owner of Velvet in Shockoe Bottom, has been getting a lot of press lately.  If you prescribe to the “any press is good press” motto, then Velvet has been getting way more attention than his Hummers and rooftop spotlights could ever give him.

Take the following articles in the RTD as examples:  Example #1 (2/26/08), Example #2 (2/27/08), Example #3 (2/28/08).  That’s a lot of coverage…  (edit:  AND there’s another article in this morning’s RTD, on the front page no less!) [new edit (7/31/10): most of those RTD links are dead now, but here are some from that same time-frame that are live — 2/25/08 & 2/24/08]

I don’t know Sam in any personal or business sense, so I don’t have any way to know if he deserves the bad rap he’s been getting lately.  It does, however, seem awfully suspicious that as soon as the news breaks that he is looking to open a Hooters-style restaurant in the old Julians building (2/13/08), his business in Shockoe Bottom is raided and everything hits the fan.

The overly anxious coverage of the charges against Sam Moore reminds me of the equally eager coverage of Nat Dance over the years of Nat Dance and Club 534 and Club Cotton.  (The latest example can be read here.)  Now I’m not saying this is a conspiracy by the newspaper, or even that the paper is in on it.  Rather, I think that there is a force behind it whose hand is bluntly obvious, even if the players involved aren’t.

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Latest Plans for the Boulevard

A short but very interesting article in this morning’s RTD discusses the redevelopment plans for the area around the Diamond on Boulevard.  The focus of the article was more on the deadline yesterday for developers to submit their bids on the project, but I found the details of the City’s plans for the area to be more interesting than the names of the developers

(Although, it is interesting that Douglas Development Corp. has bid on the project.  That’s the firm owned by Douglas Jemal.  They are firmly entrenched in DC and Maryland, and have been buying up properties downtown over the past couple of years.)

Per the advertised qualifications for the bids, the City has outlined their vision of the redevelopment:

  • a new 8,000-seat baseball stadium closer to I-95 — When I first read that,  I couldn’t imagine it being very much closer than the Diamond is now, but it could be moved back towards the I-95 South entrance ramp.
  • redevelopment of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control headquarters, perhaps to include the relocation of the Richmond Coliseum to this site
  • demolish the Diamond, using the 27-acre site for a mixed-use development
  • demolish the city maintenance complex, resulting in another 27-acre site for redevelopment
  • build a parking deck beside the Arthur Ashe Center

It will be interesting to see it all move forward, and to see the renderings that the chosen developer presents.  If anyone has further insight on the project, I would love to hear more!

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Is the “Strong Mayor” system still the way to go?

Since Norfolk has been considering the switch from city-manager to strong-mayor, now may be a good time to reflect on the same decision we grappled with here in Richmond a few years ago.

Vivian J. Paige of Norfolk compares the two systems on her blog in a post that fairly well describes where she comes down on the issue:  "Norfolk strong mayor? Um, no".  Take a minute to read through her post, even if it’s just to get your bearings on the differences between the two systems.

While Mayor Wilder has not endeared himself to……well, to anyone, but does that mean that the experiment has failed?  What do you think?

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Congratulations to our newest public servant!

The newest addition to Mayor Wilder’s team has been pulled from the ranks of local bloggers.  Jon Baliles, son of former Governor Baliles, is the author behind the popular Richmond blog, <River City Rapids>.

Mayor Wilder tapped Jon recently as his new Public Information Manager.  Read all the details on his post on <River City Rapids> and here, in an online exclusive by Style Weekly.

I have been reading Jon’s blog for a while now, and it’s exciting to see someone so excited about the City getting to be a part of the ongoing development.

Congratulations, Jon!

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More Downtown Planning goodness

As I mentioned last week, there was a open forum at Main Street Station held by the City to get public input regarding the Downtown Master Plan as it relates to Shockoe Bottom and Shockoe Slip.  It was good to hear representatives of City Planning talk about the overall plan and see their reactions to the public opinion, but generally speaking there wasn’t a lot of new info to be had.

Once I thought about it, though, the setup wasn’t to have the City tell us what they had in mind, but in fact we were there to enable the public to provide feedback to the City. 

Several citizens were happy to step forward and express what concerned them most regarding the current situation in the Slip and the Bottom.  Understandably, the main thoughts were regarding equitable enforcement of building codes and keeping crime down.  There was a general sense of frustration that the city harrasses some building owners when they are updating, and then not raising a finger to address the many dilapidated buildings that haven’t been touched in decades. 

As for the issue of crime prevention, the Plan calls for more trees and the return of on-street parking.  I did learn why the trees had mostly been removed in the Bottom, and why on-street parking had been more limited lately.  Apparently, having trees and on-street parking ended up obscuring the current street lamps, and it was easier to have those obstructions removed rather than installing new lights.

Here is the literature the City passed out for the meeting: Download Shockoe.pdf

But wait, there’s more!  There are three more upcoming District Meetings:

Broad Street and Jackson Ward
Tuesday, February 12
6:00pm-8:00pm
The Jackson Center Building/DHCD Board Room
501North 2nd Street

James River (River, Islands, and Riverfront Area)
Tuesday, February 19
6:00pm-8:00pm
Main Library
101 East Franklin Street

City Center (VCU Medical Center, Capitol Area, Biotech Park, and Central Office District)
Wednesday, February 20
6:00pm-8:00pm
City Hall/5th Floor Conference Room
900 East Broad Street

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For the future of Shockoe Bottom & Shockoe Slip

With all of the buzz going on about the master plan and what the City has up its sleeve about the future of Richmond, wouldn’t you like to know what is going to happen to your favorite areas?  One such area is being discussed tomorrow night (Thursday, 2/7/08) from 6pm-8pm at Main Street Station in Shockoe Bottom.

It’s one of a series of neighborhood meetings that is being held around town to discuss in more detail the City’s Downtown Master Plan.

If you have any interest in Shockoe Bottom or Shockoe Slip (that’s you, business owners!), then I encourage you to be there and be heard.  If you see me, say hello.

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Is this how to make mass transit cool in Richmond again?

I am a big believer in mass transit.  When I visit other cities with bus systems and metros and see the people actually using them, I am jealous.  I wonder why we can’t do that here in Richmond…

Of course a subway system is not practical at this point, but we do have a bus system that covers a great deal of the city. 

There are issues that plague the GRTC bus system from many sides, but it really comes down to one main issue — right now, it is perceived as a last-chance, lower-class mode of transport.  The counties feel that wherever the bus routes touch is going to wither away — i.e., Cloverleaf Mall area.  That restricts the usability of the bus system by potential riders, since they can’t get but so far on a GRTC bus within the Richmond region.  This perception hurts ridership even without the restricted routes, though.  Many people wouldn’t be seen dead on a bus, and others feel like that’s exactly what would happen if they dared go on a bus.

There have always been a group that doesn’t care about that image, and usually those people don’t have their perception tinged by the Richmond-bias.  So I guess it’s more fair to say that they aren’t aware of the stigma, rather than just not caring about it.  They come from areas where public transit is not frowned upon.

The image is difficult to change, and just gets worse as the years go by.  On the RTD website today, though, is a short article that just may give us a glimpse of how to break through that barrier — Richmond looks to bring back trolley service. (Thanks to wrldcoupe4 for the heads up on that!)

This certainly isn’t a new idea for Richmond, but the difference this time is more of a personal insight for me.  I don’t know if it will happen or not, but it occurred to me when I read the article today that the answer to making public transit "cool" may be to offer an exciting style of traveling en masse.  Even if the trolleys are put in service, and even if they become wildly popular, the trick may still be to convert the trolley riders into bus riders.  A lot of ifs and maybes, but it’s better than nothing.

Anyone else with suggestions on how to bring mass transit back into the mainstream?  — And here’s an added caveat:  how to do it without spending buckets of money.  (It would be nice to do something with existing resources, rather than having to add more crazy taxes.)

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Updates, including a new club in Shockoe Bottom

Here are a few items to keep you up-to-date:

-If you haven’t already, check out the "Letters" section of today’s Style Weekly for a rebuttal to Je Depew’s "Back Page" about the failure of JUMPIN’ J’S JAVA in Church Hill.  The two authors of the letters are Bill Hartsock (a Church Hill resident), and Andy Howell (former owner of AVENUE 805, currently involved in CAFE RUSTICA).

-There is a new club open in Shockoe Bottom.  FALLOUT is an industrial, fallout-shelter themed restaurant/bar, taking the place of BOTTOM’S BILLIARDS at 117 North 18th Street.

-There is some activity at the old WILDCATS/MOONDANCE location at 9 North 17th Street.  I couldn’t tell what was being done exactly, but there is definitely something brewing…

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The State of Virginia speaks on education (3rd in a 4-part series)

Another key speaker at the Virginia Conference on Economic Leadership was Dr. Thomas R. Morris, Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia.  His remarks were more in-depth than most political rhetoric that you hear about reforming our schools.

In fact, Dr. Morris cautioned the audience that reform was not the issue.  Instead of reform, we should focus on raising expectations.  He mentioned that there are two levels of diplomas that a high school student in Virginia can earn, standard or advanced studies.  Dr. Morris suggested that we should push to have a higher percentage of students striving for the advanced studies diploma, rather than setting their goals at "just" finishing high school.

Even beyond the advanced studies high school diploma, the next step is to move a higher number of students into the secondary education system and into industry certification programs.

Falling in line with his boss, VA Governor Timothy Kaine, Dr. Morris endorsed pre-K education as a way to set children up as being "ready to learn" when they start kindergarten.  Of course, not everyone agrees with that logic…

The overall feel of the talk, though, was one of a fresh look at the approach we usually take on education "reform", and why we need to change our perspective.  Otherwise, we will change for the sake of change, rather than actually moving forward.

See also:  What’s the plan for VA’s economic development? (1st in a 4-part series)
See also:  Northrop Grumman speaks on workforce development (2nd in a 4-part series)

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Comments on The Crupi Report

I just finished reading The Crupi Report, and there is quite a bit that I agree with…and some that I don’t.  Instead of taking this post to get into the individual points that I am for or against, I wanted to share my most immediate gut criticisms of the report:

  1. What was up with the misspellings?  I noticed a handful sprinkled throughout the report (and I wasn’t looking for them) — "lose" was mispelled a couple of times, i.e.
  2. What is the "medium of house prices"?  I assume Dr. Crupi meant "median", but I can’t be sure.  Maybe he meant average?  Who knows…
  3. There was a quote from "A black leader" that said "I drank from the back of the bus, but it doesn’t define my life."  I get the meaning and appreciate it.  But, am I missing some piece of historical reference here or is that a mixed reference — i.e., sitting at the back of the bus and having to drink at a different water fountain?  Given the other mistakes in the report, I don’t know whether that is a misquote or the actual words he/she used.  Either way, it’s  wouldn’t have used it in the report as-is.

My point is not to be nit-picky, but come on, these are pretty simple mistakes to catch and correct.  Why undermine your credibility by letting them slip through?  I certainly don’t think that my writing is perfect, but I’m not getting paid to produce reports that are going to be read by an entire region.

Getting past the simple mistakes, I enjoyed the overall theme of urging cooperation and overarching vision as necessary for the strategic growth of the entire region.

One of my favorite quotes from the report was:  "It is ironic that while people in the counties recognize that the city can influence it with negative pollitical and economic images, they under-appreciate the benefits of what would happen if those same images were positive."

I am anticipating a great future for the Richmond-metro area, and I think that this report was a great way to generate interest and involvement by the general populace.

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New Downtown Master Plan released today

The new Downtown Master Plan was presented today.  See the following link for a quick RTD article about it: Richmond leaders see vision of downtown – News – inRich.com.

Here are links to the different parts of the plan:

It looks like a night of reading reports, between this new release and catching up on The Crupi Report.  I hope to have some insightful feedback for you within the next couple of days.

[edit, 5/17/10: I realize that the links for the Master Plan no longer work, but I don’t seem to be able to find where they’ve put it. If you find it, please add a link in the comments below! — NVH]

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How to influence the future of Richmond

There aren’t many times in a region’s development where the leaders sincerely ask for guidance and input from the general populace.  Granted, this has been an initiative organized by a group of local business leaders and headed up by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, but it is getting a lot of attention from the general population and recognition by the local governments.

If you are watching for the report delivered last Monday to be mentioned in the local news or blogs, it has been referred to as "The Crupi Report".  Dr. James Crupi was brought in "to re-examine the
greater Richmond area and make recommendations that would enhance its
future development and competitive position." — (see the article about the report on Richmond.com, or another article here from RTD)

I still need to sit down and read the report for the details, and I am hoping that the majority of people in the region do the same thing.  For your own You can find the report over at the GRCC‘s website by clicking here.  Over the next several months, those same business leaders who commissioned the report are looking for reactions from all of us.

An open forum on the subject is scheduled for Tuesday night at 7pm at the Richmond Times Dispatch’s Public Square, which will be held at their Hanover production facility.  (Click here for the announcement of the Public Square)  The address is
        8460 Times-Dispatch Blvd. Mechanicsville, VA 23116.  See you there!

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Truth AND Consequences: Rolls-Royce comes to RVA

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)

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Richmond Restaurant Wins National Award

As I have mentioned before, I get excited when I see a local business getting national recognition.  This time around, the recognition comes in the form of being honored with the Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative Award.  You can click here for all of the details on the New Freedom Initiative, and here for the details on the award itself.

The short version is that the Initiative was instituted "to promote the full participation of people with disabilities in all
areas of society by increasing access to assistive and universally
designed technologies, expanding educational and employment
opportunities, and promoting increased access into daily community life."  (from the White House’s press release on it) The Award was designed to recognize businesses that make innovative use of public-private partnerships to further the goals of the Initiative.

This year, Positive Vibe Cafe on Huguenot Road was recognized with the New Freedom Initiative Award.  Their mission is to train and employ people with disabilities in the food service industry, and they have done it with a style that has gained national recognition — not only in the form of this award, but in all manners of press.  The RTD reports that in the two years since opening, they have trained and/or employed more than 150 poeple with cognitive or physical disabilities.

Just by working on this mission, Positive Vibe Cafe has done a great service to the community.  Compounding that with the national press in recognition of their success exposes more people to their ideas, and may spawn similar operations in other parts of the country.

Congratulations, Garth and Max Larcen, and everyone at Positive Vibe Cafe on this prestigious award!

(Oh, and did I mention that the food is really good there?!  If having some of the top chefs in Richmond working on the menu isn’t good enough for you, then just stop by on one of the days when one of those chefs has stopped in to pull kitchen duty.)

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So you want to help the schools?

Here is a way you can help!  Donorschoose.org is connecting donors with school programs that need funding.

Here is an excerpt from the "About Us" page from DonorsChoose.org that explains their concept:

DonorsChoose.org is a simple way to provide students in need with
resources that our public schools often lack. At this not-for-profit
web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or
experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom
reality when concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen
Philanthropists, choose projects to fund.

The site has been getting quite a bit of helpful publicity, part of which you can see at their news page.  Craig Newmark, from Craigslist.org fame, is one of the powerhouses behind DonorsChoose.org.  He recently appeared on The Colbert Report to promote the new site (they begin talking about DonorsChoose.org about halfway through the clip, in case you want to jump right to it):

Here is an excerpt from the "About Us" page from DonorsChoose.org that explains their concept:

DonorsChoose.org is a simple way to provide students in need with
resources that our public schools often lack. At this not-for-profit
web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or
experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom
reality when concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen
Philanthropists, choose projects to fund.

I have chosen a couple of projects to begin with:

  • "Balancing Act" for scales needed in the science classrooms at T.H. Henderson Middle School in Henrico County
  • "Knocking Out Math Facts" for math classroom supplies at Swansboro Elementary School in Richmond City

These are both rated as "Low Income" schools — follow the link for more information on how they qualify schools as Low Income.  I started with a modest  challenge amount, only $1,126.  Along the way, I hope to add more projects and continue this as long as it is making a difference (forever?).

There are several ways you can help the schools:

  • Encourage friends who are teachers to look into the program and submit projects for funding.
  • Let me know if you see any projects at local schools that either you think should be added to the challenge.
  • DONATE!  There is a thermometer on the upper right hand of my main page, or you can follow this link to the challenge.
  • If you have your own blog/website, you can create your own challenges which fund projects that you choose.  They are running a Blogger Challenge to encourage people to become involved.

The most important part is to get involved somehow.  Any of the above ways would work.  In the end, it’s about supporting the children and the teachers who put everything into their work.

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Is Growth in Hanover a Good Thing?

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.

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VA Sales Tax Holiday Puts Some Green Behind the Green

Es_logo_2
The sales-tax holiday on energy-efficient products starts today, 10/5/07, and will run through Monday, 10/8/07.  The official cap on the tax-free purchases is $2,500 and is only good on certain products that bear the Energy Star logo, which denotes that it has received a blessing from the Federal government as being energy-efficient.

Here is a list of products that are eligible, from the VA Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy site:

  1. Ceiling  Fans
  2. Compact  Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs)
  3. Dehumidifiers
  4. Dishwashers
  5. Programmable  Thermostats
  6. Refrigerators
  7. Room  Air Conditioners
  8. Clothes Washers

Don’t forget that there are also Federal tax credits on certain energy-efficient purchases, regardless of the state sales-tax holiday.

There are quite a few exceptions to the tax-free sales, for example commercial-grade items and computers do not fall under the state program.  Similar to the back-to-school sales-tax holiday, individual retailers can opt to pay sales tax for consumers on some products that are not covered officially.

Regardless, this is a great way to kick-start some tax-payers into being energy-efficient without breaking the bank or setting up ongoing subsidies.  I applaud the state for enacting the sales-tax holiday.

At the same time, I hope that this does not become a free-for-all in having sales-tax holidays for every pet project that comes along.  It’s exciting and newsworthy if there are a couple of sales-tax holidays each year, but the novelty loses its power to drive purchases if there is a sales-tax holiday declared once a month.

See also:  Effects of VA Sales Tax Holiday, posted 8/9/06

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The Fan Party Patrol is BACK!

Normally, a title like that would indicate some sort of pub crawl, or party bus, or something fun like that.  This time it is a follow up on "‘Party Houses’ in the Fan", a posting from this blog dated 9/13/06, that highlighted the Fan District Association’s self-appointed mission to monitor the public nuisance from private parties in the Fan.

The FDA’s website has announced that the Party Patrol is back, although I’m not really sure where it went in the first place…  I know that I consistently get hits from web searches looking for information on the Party Patrol, even though the blog I posted was over a year ago.  So, I thought it was time for an update.

To start with, you should probably visit the FDA’s official history and background of the Party Patrol.

Here is the announcement from the FDA website (minus the contact #’s…you can get those from their website):

The Fan District Party Patrol is Back

         

The Fan District Party Patrol returns, effective immediately.
            The patrol is a joint sponsorship by the FDA, City of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.
              The patrol’s goals are to help reduce both under age drinking and binge drinking.
              One of the by products of the patrol is to increase the probability for a good nights sleep
              for both home owners and renters
              in the Fan District.
              The patrol will be running Friday and Saturday nights and other nights during the week.

There is also the matter of the "Fan Party Map".  Notice any favorite haunts there?  (I’m way out of the college party scene, so I don’t expect that I would recognize any of the addresses.)

Again, I’m not really sure if this "Party Patrol" and the ensuing map is a good idea or a bad idea.  I’m not here to discount the efforts of concerned citizens, but it does raise some questions.  (yes, the same questions I had before — because I haven’t seen any truly insightful answers as of yet) 

*Once a property is listed, is there a procedure for getting a property removed from the list once there is no more problem — or does it stay on the list forever? 
*How
will this list stigmatize an area?  (i.e., if I am a property owner a
half a block removed from a heavily "infested" area, how will this public info affect my property
value?)

It is telling, however, that all of the chatter I’ve seen online about
the Party Patrol over the past year has been negative, or at least
mocking.  I would be interested to see what effects it has had, good
and bad.

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Ending One-Way Streets: The Interview

My post this morning apparently drew some attention from the local media.  Okay, okay, it was probably more the story about the City’s new draft of the master plan for downtown that drew the attention of the local media.

BUT — your friendly, neighborhood business blogger was interviewed by Sandra Jones at CBS regarding the issue of changing the one-way streets to two-way streets downtown.  The segment will be aired during the 5:30pm news on CBS tonight.

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Ending One-Way Streets in Richmond?

Wow. 

That was about all I could come up with when I first read the Times-Dispatch article, "New Richmond plan includes two-way traffic", this morning about the new master plan for downtown Richmond.  Notice that it wasn’t "WOW!".  It’s really more of a "what the hell are they thinking?!".

Really?  No one-way streets?  Sure, the one-ways can be a little bit of a pain in the ass sometimes, but they really aren’t that big of a deal.  It certainly isn’t confusing downtown.  I can’t imagine some of the streets that are one-way and very heavily used turning into two-way streets.

My main concern is that heavily travelled streets that right now see a little bit of congestion (ever been on Main Street around 5pm on a weekday?) are going to be bottle-necked if they have to give up half of the travel lane in a particular direction.

I like some of the other ideas they came up with, such as making the streets friendlier to pedestrians than they are to auto traffic.

The conversion of the one-way streets is first on the agenda, according to the Mayor.  I would like to hear your opinions on the one-way streets.  Are they really that big of a concern?  Is getting around downtown Richmond really that confusing?  (And if it is, then I must be some kind of super-genius when it comes to directional sense — and anyone who knows me should be able to dispel that idea.)

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New Postal Rates

The general postal rate goes up $.02 effective Monday, May 14, 2007 (from $.39 to $.41).  But…it’s not as simple as an across-the-board shift this time.

All sorts of rate changes are being put in place, such as a different scale for heavier items (a 2 oz package will cost less to mail than it did under the old system). 

Also, a size-based system is starting Monday.  I think it sounds rather difficult considering that everyone currently uses scales, rather than rulers, to gauge the cost of shipping.  I’m sure it can work, if everyone gets on board, but I also expect there will be a lot of mailings that are returned for lack of enough postage in the early part of this transition.

See the USPS’s release about their new rate schedules here.

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Implications of a Smoking Ban

Source: TimesDispatch.com | Kaine defends smoking ban.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Thursday that he proposed a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants primarily to protect workers _ not customers.

I hate the term "slippery slope" because it is so overused, but it would be put to good use in this instance.  If this is truly the reason, and I believe that it is, then the next logical step would be to ban smoking anywhere somewhere is employed.  That has pretty far reaching implications.

 

From what I understand, it is already illegal to smoke in line to pay at any retail establishment.  What’s the next piece that will be carved out?  A quote in another article I read said it best, that it will get to the point to where a person will have to be an attorney to know whether or not they can smoke at any given place.

If this is seriously being considered, then perhaps we should just cut to the chase and ban smoking altogether?

I still think that the issue here is not the smoking itself, but the air quality.  Why not just legislate air quality and allow proprietors to install smoke-eaters if they want to permit smoking in their place of business.  The end result is clean air in either case.

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Why There Are No Bars in Virginia

No, really — there is no such thing as a bar in Virginia.  As a very deliberate result of the Virginia ABC Board’s regulations on the food/alcohol ratio, there are only restaurants that happen to serve food.

At the end of every year, restaurants must file
a mixed beverage annual report that details alcohol sales and shows the
ratio of food to liquor. ABC stipulates that each restaurant must sell
enough food and soda to account for at least 45 percent of liquor and
non-liquor sales, beer and wine excluded

A recent Food Fight article (which is the source of the previous quote) in Brick [EDITOR’S NOTE, 7/2/16: The Brick Weekly website is gone, so the links have been removed] gives a good overview of the impact this has on local business owners, and views from both sides.  Mostly, it is a government regulation, and just like anything else with the Health Board or the ABC Board, as a restaurant owner it is better to just learn to live with the rules and jump through their hoops and just get back to making money.

God help anyone that can help change the system and these arbitrary limits, but it’s not worth trying to make waves until you are firmly established and can work from the inside.

I still don’t feel like I have a grasp on why this rule is in place, except for the typically cynical view that Richmond is behind the times and too much under the influence of the “Moral” Minority.  The reasons that I have heard so far just ring hollow.  (i.e., This law is not necessary for keeping bars from popping up on every corner.  There are building codes and regulations on usage that can handle that.)

Something just feels wrong about my gut reaction against the regulation, so if someone can explain it, then please do.  I’m all ears (or eyes, in the case of reading responses).

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More Developments for Boulevard

So it looks like Boulevard is on the rise.  There are enough projects going on that even if one or two fall through, the momentum is still there.  It’s exciting to see the area that is the introduction to Richmond for many people coming into the area off of I-64/I-95 finally being developed the way it should.

There are a couple of options on the block for the city-owned property adjacent to the Diamond.  I have posted before about the proposal for the new baseball stadium there.  From an article in the March 2007 issue of Richmond Magazine, there is another proposal that entails VCU using the same land as a tennis complex.  The "plans include a field house, six to eight indoor tennis courts, 12 to 14 outdoor courts and a center-court stadium, as well as a possible student-housing component".

The Boulevard Square cineplex and retail development mentioned in previous posts is still on track, from what I understand.

There is a new restaurant that is being built out along that corridor, as well.  I had heard rumors of this, but Style Weekly confirmed it with more details last week:

[Cole Bucholtz] and the owners of River City Tattoo, Jessika and Rob Weaver, are opening Strong Hill Dining Company
in a building that once held Motor Europa. The three are renovating it
from the ground up, bringing in all new kitchen equipment, a bar,
booths and tables. Plus, they’re planning to install a rooftop patio
and a small private dining room for parties.

I have even heard rumors of other moves that could be very interesting, but can’t be verified at the moment.

Even smaller pieces have fallen into place over the past couple of years, with the retail shops getting face-lifts and gaining new tenants, filling in the holes.

Any suggestions as to what could keep this momentum hot?  I’m all ears.

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New High Schools for West End

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.

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New Minimum Wage in VA

If approved, there will be a new minimum wage rate mandated by state law here in Virginia — with none of this tiered nonsense like the new federally updated rates.

The current rate (which is the same on the Federal level and for Virginia) is $5.15/hour.   Effective 7/1/07, the Virginia minimum wage rate will be $6.50/hour.

Once the Federal rate hits $6.55/hour in mid-2008, the Virginia rate will mirror the Federal rate — and of course, the same is true when the Federal rate bumps up to $7.25/hour in mid-2009.

I jumped at this when I first read the article, thinking that it had already passed, but of course there are several levels that the legislation must go through.  And there was this caveat from the RTD:

A subcommittee of the House of Delegates Commerce in Labor Committee,
however, rejected a handful of bills aimed at increasing the state
minimum wage last week, and the full committee refused to consider
them. That leaves the outcome of Colgan’s bill in doubt, because, even
if it passes the full Senate, it must go to the House for its
consideration.

Maybe it’s not such a sure thing after all.  I’ll keep my eyes open for any follow ups saying whether this bill passes, or is killed.  If any of you hear anything, please keep us posted via the comments!

(More info at "Minimum wage bill advances" at the RTD)

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UPDATE: “Chippenham Place” (Cloverleaf Mall)

Last week, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved Crosland’s initial plans for the redevelopment of Cloverleaf Mall.  The plans include at least 500 residential units and 200,000 SF of commercial space.

From an older report, the outparcels that have been consistently active will remain, and Kroger has signed on to build out their largest store yet in the Richmond-metro area.

This certainly sounds like it is moving along nicely, and it will help the area turn around after years of decline.

For a more thorough report of the announcement, read "Cloverleaf’s Newest ‘Place’" on Richmond.com.  Here is a clip from that article that I found gives us some insight on the timeframe we are looking at for the redevelopment:

“It’s not
unrealistic for a project of this size to be absorbed over a period of
four years perhaps even until build out,” [James Downs, vice president for Crosland’s retail division] said. “The commercial
component, however, we see moving forward immediately.”

(For previous posts about this topic, see Something’s Moving at Cloverleaf Mall on 12-28-06)

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New Minimum Wage Rate

Last Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 over the next 26 months.

$5.15  current federal minimum wage
$5.85  60 days after the bill becomes law
$6.55  1 year after the initial hike
$7.25  2 years after the initial hike

This is the first update to the federal minimum wage in a decade, although some states have enacted their own minimum wage rates that were higher than the current federal rate.

(Source:  House votes to raise U.S. minimum wage from Nations Restaurant News)

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Something’s Moving at Cloverleaf Mall

This bit of news slipped by me when it hit the RTD a couple of weeks ago, but thanks to the Chamber of Commerce pointing it out I’m all up to date! 

After a long period of silence about the status of Cloverleaf Mall, there is movement.  In January, Chesterfield County officials expect to have a signed purchase agreement from Crosland Inc., who will be redeveloping the site.  The buyers have been involved since May 2006, and have several versions of a proposal that calls for redeveloping the aged mall into a mixed-use development.

Several plans have been proposed since Chesterfield purchased the property in 2004, all of which include a "pedestrian-friendly community that blends residential and business components".  The county has said that it will be subsidizing the redevelopment, in order to make it work.

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Loan Sharks or Saviors?

There has been quite a bit of noise lately about payday lenders and their very high (some would say "predatory") interest rates.  Last Tuesday, 12/5/06, House Bill 619 was defeated in the Virginia House of Delegates.  The purpose of the bill was to repeal the Virginia Payday Loan Act of 2002, which had exempted these payday loans from the maximum interest rate of 36%.

Anyone with a checking account, an ID, and evidence of a job can borrow against their next paycheck, with a "payday loan".  The concept is simple enough, and sounds like it does the job exactly as the payday lenders proponents say it does.  They say that these loans help people in real financial distress dig themselves out of a hole.

The problem is that the interest rates and the policies are set up such that cause these individuals who borrow this way end up in a downward spiral that is very difficult to break.  The opponents of payday lenders say that other options exist for individuals that need to borrow, and that the payday lenders are taking advantage of people that have no choice.  Every state around Virginia, has agreed and banned payday lenders with similar legislation — Maryland, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

I am a big believer in allowing market forces to decide what is necessary and what is an unsustainable business model.  BUT, there are situations where the public needs to be protected from themselves — and this might be just such a situation.

What does everyone else think about this?

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Where is the Baseball Stadium Going?

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:

  1. build a new stadium in place of the complex
  2. 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") 

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IRS Wages War on Small Businesses

According Business Week online, the IRS is amping up its focus on auditing small businesses, over and above the usual rate of audits system-wide ("The IRS Sets Its Sights on Small-Biz").

Everson, who’s serving a five-year term, says cracking down on small
businesses now will minimize the national deficit and avoid an eventual
tax increase.

I’m on the fence about this.  On one-hand, the "little guy" shouldn’t get away with tax evasion just because he thinks he will escape notice.  On the other hand, "avoiding an eventual tax increase" is a great rallying-cry, but the cost of these audits on thousands of "little guys" will eat up quite a bit of the recovered monies.  (whoops….just noticed they said that further down in the article — it’s stil true, though!)

"Pressure is being applied to find the money that they claim is there,
but what if it isn’t there? Think of the pressure which that puts on
the IRS to get tougher. You don’t want to be the person that gets
audited the day after that message goes out. It’s like saying ‘We
couldn’t find a problem, so find one,’" says Paul Hense, a certified
public accountant and chair of the NSBA.

I’ve always wondered about this phenomenom, but I think it’s just luck of the draw.  As they point out in another part of the article, the key is not to apply pressure to find what isn’t there.  Instead, the push should be to better qualify the audit targets before the audit is done.

In any case, it’s always scary hearing about the IRS on the warpath (or even politely knocking at your door).  It’s just another reason to keep your nose clean and be best buddies with your very competent accountant.

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UPDATE: New Downtown Hilton Hotel

People have been asking me for an update to my post from 5/2/06 ("New Hilton Hotel redevelopment of Miller & Rhoads") which outlined the redevelopment of the old Miller & Rhoads department store downtown into a sparkling new Hilton hotel, along with lots of new condo units (just what we need) and new retail space.

Anyone driving by the site on Broad Street can see that not a whole lot of progress has been made.  One would think that the project has just been forgotten.

In fact, the construction has just been delayed a few months due to various factors:  the recent rise in construction costs, difficulties in financing, the softening in the housing market, and tax credit issues.  The developers expect to have everything in place and to begin construction in December.

And as a side note:  This hotel will be a full-service upscale Hilton, but developers are not revealing which sub-brand name they will be using.

(Source:  "Downtown Hilton Delayed to December" in 11/8/06 edition of Style Weekly)

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DNC laws affect everyone

Before a recent article about the Do Not Call Registry in National Realty News, I never thought that the DNC legislation would apply to me.  Just like they said in the article, I assumed that as long as I stay away from cold calling and telemarketing (in the sense of calling random people to see if I can sell them something) then I should be fine.  Apparently, there are more ramifications than I thought.

“The
FCC website is very clear regarding the DNC laws.  We’ve sent out a
message and our enforcement is vigorous,” notes FCC Director, Office
Media Relations, David Fiske. 

Any outbound call
that you make to someone whom you do not have an established and direct
business relationship with – to a past client referral, to a person who
walks into your open house, or to someone who calls on a for sale sign
– must first be run against the DNC registry.

“You
need to first get a SAN and run every call – including referrals –
against the DNC registry at least once every 31 days.  You’ve got to
have a written compliance policy in place and train your employees.
You also need to have a system in place that documents all calls made,
proof of established clients and consumer inquires, and an internal
real-time do not call list” says Kaye.

My question is this — if a potential client calls and leaves me a voicemail asking me to call them back, and they are on the DNC registry, am I supposed to ignore them?  If the phone number they leave is the only contact info I have on them, and they have it registered, does that mean that I have to ignore their explicit request for me to contact them?

I am trying to be good about following up with people (clients or not), so I definitely don’t need my hands tied with this legislation.  I certainly understand the intent behind it, but it sounds as though this has gotten out of hand.

Here are other articles referencing the impact of the DNC registry (specifically on the real estate industry, but it applies across the board):

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VOTE! — (see inside)

The Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce has put together a comprehensive document  that lays out the choices we have before us this election day.  Please take advantage of this information: Download we_110106_legupdate-1.doc.

I especially recommend using this information because it is unfiltered, and as far as I can tell, just the facts — without any of that pesky biased interpretation.  They list the candidates and to which party they belong.  For the proposed amendments, they offer only the official wording and no interpretations of what the amendments may or may not mean.

Above all else, I want to use this opportunity to remind you to get out and VOTE this upcoming Tuesday!  (Unless you don’t agree with me, in which case stay home!)

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Tip reform coming?

Tipping practices affect us all — whether you work in the restaurant industry or you just eat in restaurants.  Everywhere you turn, people are giving their thoughts on how to tip, when to tip, how much to tip, etc…….

As a former waiter (and sometimes a current bartender), I know both sides of the tipping issue.  I’m not here to bore you with yet another rendition of "Server vs. Customer".  This is the place you come for news, and that’s what I have for you!

Yakup Ulutas, a restaurant manager in Atlanta, has founded a website (www.fairtip.org) to spearhead what he hopes will become a movement to tack on a mandatory 20% tip onto food service bills.

He believes this movement will be the cure-all for:
-servers being paid fairly
-the IRS being able to track tips earned for taxation
-the question of increasing servers’ minimum wage

Now, I understand the validity of the points Mr. Ulutas makes in his interview* with Nation’s Restaurant News.  The  idea of mandating  a tip percentage doesn’t sit well with me, though.  First off, I  don’t  believe that  it would work as legislation — that would be like a tax to subsidize salaries for restaurant employees.  Secondly, the variability of tips is what makes the  job financially rewarding.  It’s like any other sales-oriented job with commissions.  Sometimes you have a $300 night and sometimes you have a $20 night.  It just comes with the territory.

*in order to access the article, there is a short sign-in form — if you don’t want to fill it out, just take a look at www.fairtip.org

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VCU Moves Forward

As reported in the RTD in "VCU projects get green light", everything is moving forward with the second phase of the Monroe Campus.  This is the big construction project that is 11 acres east of Belvidere Street, which will:

  • move the award-winning VCU Adcenter
  • construct new 440-bed residential complex
  • construct new 685-space parking deck
  • construct new medical science building
  • construct new research building

I know there are some that shudder at the thought of VCU "steam-rolling" into all of these areas that they have been working on over the past several years.  It’s exciting, though.  A lot of these areas are underdeveloped or abandoned, and VCU’s presence is revitalizing these areas that have been more or less left-for-dead.  Kudos to Trani and the VCU board!

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Effects of VA Sales Tax Holiday

The sales tax holiday here in Virginia had a great turnout this past weekend.

For those of you who don’t know, an annual sales tax holiday was approved by the General Assembly to begin in 2006, being held on the first full weekend in August.  Only certain items are exempt from the sales tax (per the Virginia Department of Taxation website):

During Virginia’s Sales Tax Holiday, purchases of school supplies selling for $20 or less per item, and articles of clothing, including footwear, selling for $100 or less per item, will be exempt from sales tax. All retailers selling these items MUST participate in the Sales Tax Holiday. Sales tax exemptions do not apply to items selling for more than the amounts listed.

For items that are not exempted, retailers had the option to pay the sales tax themselves.  Many local retailers exercised this option, and used it for a great promotion.

Of course, everyone loves saving money.  This weekend (the sales tax holiday ran all day Friday, through midnight on Sunday) proved to be very successful for area retailers.  It looked like Christmas-time in the shopping mall parking lots.

The Richmond Times-Distpatch reported that Wal-mart benefitted quite a bit, with the "sales of boys and girls apparel…[rising] more than 200 percent at Richmond-area stores".

It’s good to hear that the super discount retailer did well, but I was really more interested to hear how the independent retailers fared.  From reports from the Retail Merchants Association, they did well, too: "31 percent of the retailers surveyed said their sales jumped 30 percent or more."

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City Budgets for Shockoe Bottom

I have heard a lot of dissent about the way that Shockoe Bottom has been ignored by the city.  Sure, sure, the business owners in the Bottom feel slighted from the lack of assistance in response to promises made after Gaston.  But I have heard a lot of people complain about the lack of focus on keeping the streets clean.

There is even a special property tax (only assessed to property owners in the Bottom) that is supposed to go to keeping the area nice.  Maybe the tax isn’t enough, I don’t know.  But something needs to be done to retain existing businesses and to attract new businesses.  (And, yes, I am aware that this "special" tax is assessed in other areas, but I don’t think that most people know about it.)

In any case, this news that Style reported on yesterday was a welcome announcement (now we just need to be sure that it is spent the way it is intended):

Link: Style Weekly : Richmond’s alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion.

City spokesman Linwood Norman says that in the budget passed June 27, $1.9 million is set aside for drainage improvements in Shockoe Bottom. And $3 million is earmarked for The Main Street Plaza, a kind of pedestrian connector between the 17th Street Farmer’s Market and an expanded Canal Walk. Norman describes the project as a “cathedral” walk marked by elaborate brickwork and lighting that compliments the $54 million Main Street Station across the street.

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New regs for flipping properties

The FHA has addressed a lot of "malpractice" in the practice of flipping properties.  Reportedly, some investors are profitting well at the expense of the FHA.

But the FHA found that too many property flips using its insured
mortgage program involved outright fraud — hyped appraisals, shell
games where property flippers never actually took legal title to the
house before selling it for huge profits, sometimes overnight.

Link: Realty Times – Real Estate News and Advice.

To rein in such practices, FHA proposed — and last week adopted in final form — new restrictions. Specifically, FHA will now require that:

    * Only owners of record — listed as such in the local court house real estate recordations — may sell properties that will be financed using FHA insured loans.

    * Any resale of a property may not occur 90 or fewer days from the last sale to be eligible for FHA financing.

    * For resales that occur between 91 and 180 days where the new sales price exceeds the previous sale price by 100 percent or more, FHA will require additional documentation of the property’s true value before insuring the mortgage.

    * The agency may also require additional evidence of the accuracy of appraisals whenever properties are re-sold at high price gains within 12 months.

The FHA 90-day no-flip time restrictions will be waived when the sellers of properties to be financed are:

    * HUD itself, disposing of its REO (real estate owned) acquired property portfolio.

    * Sales of properties that were acquired by the sellers through an inheritance.

    * Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or other federally-chartered financial institutions disposing of REO.

    * Local or state housing agencies.

    * Nonprofit organizations that have previous approvals to purchase HUD REO properties at a discount.

    * Properties located in a presidentially-declared disaster area, provided FHA has issued a formal announcement of eligibility for a specific disaster area.

Real estate investors, particularly those who specialize in rehabilitations of rundown structures in central city areas, had complained to HUD about possible negative impacts on their business activities stemming from the new rules. But HUD decided that banning most 90-day or under flips, and by scrutinizing flips between 91 and 180 days of acquisition where the price markup exceeded 100 percent, FHA should be able to protect itself against the worst abuses.

Investors with questions about the new regulations can call 1-800-CALL FHA for guidance. The rules are contained in HUD Mortgagee Letter 2006-14, issued June 8.

I, for one, am glad to see that the hucksters are being shaken out of the industry.  We need to uphold the ethical standards that so many of us take for granted.

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TimesDispatch.com | White Oak: Short Pump East?

Link: TimesDispatch.com | White Oak: Short Pump East?.
White Oak: Short Pump East?
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Jun 15, 2006

LOCAL NEWS: Henrico County

The Henrico County Planning Commission is scheduled to decide tonight whether to recommend rezoning for a proposed shopping complex in eastern Henrico that would be nearly the size of Short Pump Town Center.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the county administration building, 4301 E. Parham Road. The public is invited to speak on the case before the vote.

Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises Inc., the developer of Short Pump Town Center, proposes to build the 950,000-square-foot White Oak Village complex on 136 acres along Laburnum Avenue just south of Interstate 64.

It is the site of the former Viasystems Technologies Corp. plant, which closed in 2001. Forest City plans to raze the plant.

By comparison, Short Pump Town Center is about 1.1 million square feet. The total square footage of White Oak Village would be slightly less than that of Virginia Center Commons but more than that of Regency Square mall.
Click here for great deals from Dell!

Once the Planning Commission either recommends approval or denial, the rezoning case then moves to the county Board of Supervisors for the decisive vote.

For full coverage, see tomorrow’s Times-Dispatch.

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Expansion of Henrico County Enterprise Zones

Henrico County is currently voting on the expansion of their Enterprise Zones.  These zones are areas especially designated for special programs that are designed to lure new business into the area.

In Henrico, companies that build or renovate in
Enterprise Zones are eligible to receive a variety of state and local
benefits, including – among others – free architectural drawings to
suggest exterior improvements; a seven-year tax exemption; grants
totaling up to $30,000 or 33 percent of total renovation costs
(whichever is less); employment and training assistance and various
other county advice.

Several areas within Henrico County already offer such benefits for relocating businesses and starting up new businesses.  The proposed expansions are as follows:

  • a western expansion of 131 acres along the eastern side of Staples Mill Road between Wistar Drive and Parham Road;
  • a central expansion of 563 acres along portions of Laburnum Avenue, Mechanicsville Turnpike and Nine Mile Road;
  • an
    eastern expansion of 697 acres stretching along Williamsburg Road
    (generally between Nine Mile Road and Charles City Road) and along
    Audubon Drive.

The expansions are being voted on this week!  Keep an eye out for the results.

Keep in mind that the City of Richmond
and other surrounding counties also have designated Enterprise Zones,
and so does the State of Virginia.

For the full story, see the 5/17/06 edition of the Henrico Citizen.

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Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School

Congratulations to Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for their mention in this past week’s Newsweek magazine — and subsequent clipping in this week’s Style Weekly.

Here is what Syle Weekly had to say about the mention, and I think it sums it up nicely:

There’s Newsweek’s top 100 high schools, and then there’s the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School.  Maggie Walker was named, along with 20 others, among "The Public Elites" in Newsweek’s ranking of public high schools May 8.  Why?  Because "so many of their students score well above the averageon the SAT and ACT" tests, the editors wrote.  In other words, it wasn’t fair to those 100 "average" schools.

My thoughts exactly.  I was amused to see the same sentiments echoed in Style, but I’m glad to see Maggie Walker getting some recognition for their acheivements.

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