Here are a few:
Con:The lofts are still under construction. There are a lot of bad smells and noise. This morning we were assaulted by hammering at 9:30 a.m. as they replaced tile flooring in the halls.
Pro: When you find something wrong (and you will) they will send someone up usually the same day to fix whatever it is- broken disposal, furnace, loose cabinets, flooded apartment etc.

Dogs are allowed!
Pro: You can have a dog up to 55lbs! Dogs are awesome. There is a fenced in dog run to turn your canine loose.

Con: The dog run isn’t much. It is on a crazy slope behind the dumpster near the train tracks and it is more mud than grass right now.

Also, lazy residents let their dogs poop in the island in the parking lot or in the flower beds along the complex- then they fail to pick up after fido. There are many responsible pet owners here, but we are often the ones picking up the poo of others (not fun, but necessary).

Free internet and Cable! OH MY!

Pro: FREE

CON: The internet is spotty sometimes and you can crash the network but downloading or uploading too much. The cable kind of sucks. There are 40 channels, no Bravo, no HBO- I am pretty sure they get free HBO @ Todd’s, but I live @ Southern Stove so I can’t speak for across the street. You can’t upgrade because the Direct TV is fed from co-ax cable instead of a box. There is no channel guide, so if you are a tv aficionado you are going to be disappointed.

I highly recommend taking a look at different times of day so you can see who your neighbors will be. There are no freight elevators, so don’t expect to be able to bring in 12 ft sculptures or anything. I could barely get my queen size box spring in the elevator. Remember that exposed brick doesn’t hold heat or ac as well as plaster and that some apartments don’t have any exterior windows.

On the upside the community is young, hip and friendly. It will be interesting to see how we will all fit in that tiny pool.

As for New Towne claiming the Stove Works, why not? This is Richmond, and we love naming our sections of town.

But that Hermitage corridor is kind of of a gray area, though coalescing its own identity with every passing month, or new business opening.

Once some blogger moves into the Stove, maybe a building-centric site will pop up.

With regard to elections having anything to do with it, most associations cross multiple Council districts, and often multiple planning districts as well. It is because of the fragmentation of neighborhoods that the coordination of associations toward common ends is so important. Collective voices have more impact.

I would hope that property owners and renters alike would be aware of their neighborhood associations and support them ans the goof works they do.

If a community is not large enough to elect it’s own City Council Representative, then it’s improper to correct people for not using the name of the neighborhood.