Don’t Big Box Carytown
One stance on the proposed development at the old Verizon building, from the Facebook for Don’t Big Box Carytown:
An out-of-state developer has applied to put a national big-box retail chain store adjacent to the city’s oldest and most unique shopping district, Carytown. We want to preserve this historic district and its appeal by keeping large chain stores away. The proposed development would encroach on residential homes sitting just 50 feet from the site creating traffic and safety concerns.
This is absurd. Carytown already has big box stores. Walgreen’s is next door, CVS and Martin’s is across the street, another block South is Kroger. Those are big-boxey, and the empty Verizon building is a huge empty parking lot. All the big boxes that Carytown CURRENTLY HAS are located West of Nansemond. The issue seems to be that Whole Foods will put the squeeze on Ellwood Thompson’s.
Agreed. This is about Ellwood Thompson’s trying to preserve it’s own interest. The other merchants in Carytown support it, because it would bring more people down to Carytown. There is nothing “boxy” about Whole Foods when compared to what is already in that end of Carytown.
If you check the registrant info for dontbigboxcarytown.com on GoDaddy.com, you will see that whoever created the website has done so via proxy so that their identity could be protected. Hmmmm, I wonder why.
What Godaddy calls “Private Registration” appears to be standard with anything above their most basic registration, they market this as “protecting you from spam, scams and worse”. Trying to read anything into that probably grasping at straws.
Beside’s which, there’s no mystery that Ellwoods is behind this. A recent piece on Richmond BizSense says that:
Is that a new policy for GoDaddy? For example, when Charlie Diradour’s buddy reserved Diradour’s website for his short-lived run for Congress, I was able to find that the Diradour website had been registered through GoDaddy by RocketPop media — Diradour’s buddy’s business — here in Richmond.
But back to the issue at hand, how disingenous can Ellwood’s be to call Whole Foods a “bix box store” when Ellwood’s has itself taken over almost an entire city block.
Anyone up for a “Continue to Big Box Carytown” campaign?
There’s no secret about GoDaddy’s registration. Rocket Pop Media registered the domain for our client, Peter Boisseau at Boisseau Marketing Workx. While Ellwood Thompson’s remains concerned (as many of us are) about the proposed special use permit, the group Don’t Big Box Carytown is a group of concerned citizens who want to protect the neighborhoods from encroachment.
If the special use permit allows big-box retail at the Verizon site, there will be a massive impact on the Museum District and the surrounding neighborhoods, traffic from downtown, foot traffic in Carytown, and the general safety of pedestrians living less than 75 FEET from the site. Face it, none of us want our kids living adjacent and walking to school on the morning that Wal-Mart starts a Christmas sale on the next XBox.
As a matter of disclosure, I live in the Museum District and personally sought out this group of individuals to assist in their online efforts. Please join the conversation, read the facts, and sign the petition here if you’d like to know more:
http://www.facebook.com/DontBigBoxCarytown
When did Whole Foods become Wal-Mart?
That’s the point FanGuy, the SUP would permit ANY big-box to develop there. And while Whole Foods may or may not be “the” vendor, you can bet when that post office closes (only a matter of time) and the developers buy out the other two homes on the other end of the block, who do you think will “Target” that area.
Some of the same players proposing the SUP also represent other big-box chains, Wal-Mart included….regardless, let’s say it’s Whole Foods: would you want your kids walking/playing 75 feet from a busy parking deck in a residential/office-zoned space on the Sunday before July 4th??
The city has a zoning plan for a reason.
Scott,
There are currently homes 75 feet from the CVS and the Kroger. Why is this “kids playing” argument new?
Better yet, in the same neighborhood, a block or two away, there is a porn shop within 75 feet of a child day care (as well as a McDonald’s, you decide which is worse).
So tell me Scott, why is your energy to save the kids not directed at these other issues that are not new hot trendy advocate issues?
Seriously, I would like you and anyone else that is concerned about kids playing near a big box store to tell me why your energy and efforts are not geared toward kids playing, walking, and living on the same block as a porn shop in the very same neighborhood?
How many people drive out of the city once a week to shop at Walmart or Target? Come on, raise your hands. Where do you buy your underwear?
I’d love for a Target to take over that space(adjacent to the Verizon bldg/future Whole Foods). My guess, the majority of the traffic increase would be off the expressway on Cary-down Thompson-back on the expressway or Broad. I live in the Museum District and do whatever I can to shop (and eat) in the city, but Target lies just outside the city limits. And Whole Foods, waaaaaaaay outside. Increased traffic would be a boon to CT tenants for those Richmonders that know CT is there, but forget about it.
“would you want your kids walking/playing 75 feet from a busy parking deck in a residential/office-zoned space on the Sunday before July 4th?? ”
As I await your rebuttal to my argument that energy should be spent on the porn shop located 75 feet from a day care and numerous homes (a block from the area debated here), I’ll add some other counters to this marketing line.
Yes, I said marketing line. You are promoting a cause and trying to get buy-in, like selling computer services or wake boards.
Step one: Exaggerate the problem: An upscale, successful niche food joint may move into neighborhood (whole foods) and join other ‘chains’ of similar size in the same area. Change this likely scenario by stating that the main 23221 Federal Post office will probably soon close so that a Wal Mart may open on the site instead. Ewe, a Wal Mart! People won’t like that at all! Will Wal Mart want to locate in a densely populated urban high-rent area surrounded by wealthy neighborhoods like Wilton, The Fan, Museum District, Windsor Farms, and Near West End? What would arguably be one of there smallest stores, bucking the trend of the suburban Super Center? Lets get back to reality and double check the Wal Mart business plan.
Step two: Insert Fear, use “the children” card!!! (sort of like “the Chewbacca defense”)
What will the world be coming to when our children, that we chose to raise in great urban areas like the Museum District, Fan, etc, have to walk by a busy parking deck!!! Oh no, not a busy parking deck like that of the Museum, Carytowns, Retreat Hospital, not to mention the general traffic and parking activity of the urban streets themselves! That would be so horrible! (See porn shop argument to further explain how this step is just social marketing to get buy-in). Can we get back to reality here as well?
These arguments (marketing pitches) are frivolous at best. Any good ones out there? Im sort of indifferent to the whole thing (no pun intended)…but the verizon building is sort of an eye sore I guess….
As far as the Ellwoods thing goes I would support Ellwoods since its local. Since I like Ellwoods, and I think they are a strong shop with a strong following, I have confidence they would survive with competition (umm, Bevs anyone?). I would like to see their prices come down a bit anyway, that would be nice.
I commented here because people were asking about details to do with website registration, and my relationship with my client is just that. I clearly own a company that helps retailers and local businesses with their online marketing efforts. None of that is a mystery, so I’m not sure where those jabs are coming from.
Clearly you know me since the “wake board” comment, but yet “children” is a card to be played? I have a 5 year old son, I live in the district. I drive Ellwood literally every day, either in my wheelchair or my car. NO, I’m not happy about porn businesses in the museum district. There are plenty of causes, and a platform for each of them. The topic here is the proposed SUP to allow big-box retail to develop in the museum district. I personally oppose this for the reasons previously mentioned.
Again, yes, I work in a marketing capacity….disclosure complete. Again.
Have you ever been to a really badly zoned city, like Houston? Love the city, but would never live there. It’s a MESS. There are porn shops next to homes with swimming pools, with a 7-11 on the other side. The zoning is crazy.
I personally don’t want to see big-box development in the Museum District. Why not one of the old warehouses on Broad? Why not on or near the Boulevard, in one of the old buildings ready for reclamation? Those are viable options with no “neighborhood” impact like the museum district.
So, to recap: I work in Marketing/Advertising, I live and work in the district, I owned a retail shop in Carytown (and Short Pump) for ten years, and I’m raising a child less than 6 blocks from the site. I think that earns an opinion.
And yes, we’re on Facebook and Twitter. If you’d like to join in the conversation there.
Since when did Elwood and Thompson become the Museum District? The lead map shows that whole section covered with medium boxes now. There is no room for a truly big box there. BTW, Walmart does have urban stores the size of the existing grocery stores. It’s hard to imagine something with a footprint much larger than that.
Scott, for my part, we’re all entitled to an opinion, including you.
Hey, thanks! :) And I realize there are different views on this issue, which is also OK! We’re hoping for lots of frank discussion on the topic…
Scott:
Houston has no zoning ordinances (no joke), that’s why its so crazy.
I just wanted to suggest that the energy being put toward this issue, which will more than likely be a whole foods (my opinion), put toward an uglier issue like the porn shop next to the daycare.
I meant no jab, Scott. I just want to make sure people dont read the post and say “oh no, a wal mart is coming and our children are in trouble”. Sort of playing devils advocate. Im pointing out that I find it odd that you claim children wont be safe due to a busy store/traffic. This is an urban neighborhood.o
And while we’re making disclosures, I live in the Fan (20 years), I respect and like all the surrounding neighborhoods, and I have young children. And yes, Scott, we have met and hung out anumber of times years ago.
Zoning is part science and part art, with subjective and political opinions mixed in. Opinions is the imortant part. Some like the idea of mixed use, others do not. Some will argue for the environment, others will not. Hey, some people like porn shops, obviously, or they would not last next to a Daycare near the Verizon building (I do not). And of course as city leadership changes and laws change over time and exceptions are made, grandfather clauses created, every city has some sort of zoning issue somewhere.
As far as Wal Mart goes and those comments, the footprint there and the demographics are not appealing to the company’s current strategy. It’s straight foward. Read their annual report to understand the current stragey, look at the modern wal marts (they used to be smaller), and add the fact that they don’t need to squeeze a smaller less profitable store into a high rent, wealthier community and you’ll get the picture.
Want something more visual? Use google maps and do a side by side of the Short Pump Wal Mart (at 200 ft. scale each) with the verizon building and you’ll see that the wal-mart building itself, minus the parking which is actually a bigger portion of the lot, wouldn’t even fit on the verizon building + parking area lot. That is, the store itself on its own couldn’t even fit on the entire piece of verizon land and its not even close.
While we’re making suggestions, what the h*ll is up with that nasty HUGE building next to the Lowes on west broad were people sit on the sidewalk boozin’ it up all day? That lot is big! No windows at all and sort of has a marquee type front I think like movie theater or something…
The building next to Lowe’s on Brad is part of Sauer’s. At one time it was a Sears store.
Meegwell, I’m on your side. A Walmart or Target isn’t coming to that location, it isn’t large enough. An Apple store would be awesome. A hardware store would be nice.
Carytown merchants, work with the property owners to clean up the outside of your buildings. Rotting wood & peeling paint isn’t a good look. Look at the trash shoved in the space between Mongrel and Bygones…that needs to be cleaned up.
Too bad our sidewalks aren’t wider to accommodate some great planters. The “Mag Mile” in Chicago…we can only dream.
Carytown needs to become a shopping destination. Seems like it is primed to be this with all of the new lifestyle centers replacing malls…Carytown is already a lifestyle. A national store in Verizon, probably a good thing if it can draw in additional shoppers.
I believe that “nasty huge building next to Lowes” used to be a Sears in a different age.
[...] rails against Ellwood Thompson’s and then lays out one vision of how all of this might play out: Six months after Whole Foods opens in the old Ukrops, Ellwoods will either [...]