Showing posts with label stadium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stadium. Show all posts

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Robertson's Town Hall Meeting - Davenport & Company Presents

On Saturday, Council Vice President Ellen Robertson held her monthly town hall meeting at 10 AM at the Bank of America building in downtown Richmond.

The topic of today's meeting was a presentation from Davenport and Company discussing their analysis of the proposal from Highwoods Properties to build a baseball park in Shockoe Bottom.



Above, Ellen Robertson introducing David Rose and Roland Kooch from Davenport and Company and encouraging the citizens in attendance to have an open mind.



Above, David Rose, Senior Vice President Davenport and Company, discussed the results of the $100,000 analysis of Highwoods Properties' proposal to build a ballpark and additional development in Shockoe Bottom.



Above. After the presentation Mrs. Robertson invited David Hicks, Senior Policy Advisor for Mayor Jones to make comments regarding the project from the perspective of the the administration. Mr. Hicks comments were noncommittal and he emphasized the Mayor's desire to bring high speed rail to Richmond.

Below, watch the entire meeting.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Richmond Mayor Jones Releases Preliminary Results of Shockoe Center Study



At a 2 pm press announcement on Monday, Mayor Dwight Jones presented to members of the media and interested citizens the conclusions of the Executive Summary from a $100,000 study of the Highwoods Properties proposal to build a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom. The study was prepared by Davenport and Company, ERA AECOM, and Chmura Economics and Analytics; the same firms that previously supported stadium development in the Bottom in a previous study.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Times-Dispatch's Public Square on Baseball in Shockoe Bottom

On Tuesday evening, May 12, 2009, The Richmond Times-Dispatch held a Public Square Meeting on the topic of the proposal to build a baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom. The video below includes the entire debate portion of the meeting. In support of the project were master developer Highwoods Properties Vice President Paul W. Kreckman and investor Bryan T. Bostic with Richmond Baseball Club LLC. Speaking in opposition to the proposal were Charlie Diradour from Lion's Paw Development Company and Jean Wight, an attorney and historic preservationist.



In the video below are the complete recorded comments made by the audience.



Editor's Selections

This 12 minute video contains what I considered the strongest arguments in opposition to the proposed Shockoe Center Baseball Stadium in the Bottom.



The speakers are Brian Glass, a retail real estate broker; Herb Seiver of Tappahannock, Virginia; Terrell Bowers, a self employed realtor and investor; and Gustav Franco of Glenn Allen, Virginia.

Who is John Dodge?

The video below contains what I have identified as the "angriest" speaker at the event, John Dodge. He did not identify himself as living in Richmond, he simply said, "I've been here 27 years." I was not able to find any ready information about John Dodge from google. Mr. Dodge was the poster child for the forum on the Times-Dispatch's front page for May 13, however he was not quoted in the paper's story about the forum. I always think it is important to know who an individual works for because there is always a chance that the individual speaking may have an economic stake in a situation. Mr. Dodge was followed by Gary Armstrong, a Senior Vice President at First Market Bank and Chair of the Chesterfield Business Council. Mr. Armstrong wasn't mentioned in the Times-Dispatch article either. Why not mention these two seemingly important individuals?

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Fan and Museum District Associations Organize Info Session on Proposed Shockoe Center Ballpark

On April 22, 2009 Paul W. Kreckman from Highwoods Properties [the master developer of the proposed project] and Bryan T. Bostic [an investor with Richmond Baseball Club LLC] discussed the proposal to build a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom with interested citizens at Albert Hill Elementary School.

The meeting was organized by the Museum District Association and the Fan District Association and was attended by Council members Bruce Tyler [1st District], Charles Samuels [2nd District], and Marty Jewell [6th District].

The first video is the presentation given by developer Kreckman and investor Bostic. Mr. Bostic begins speaking at 32:00 minutes



The second video includes questions that were asked by assembled citizens in attendance.