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Ideas flow on how to make Hampton Roads "cooler" [The Virginian-Pilot :: ](Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) March 18--VIRGINIA BEACH -- More free cultural events. Bike lanes and paths. A deeper network of public transportation. Those were among the attractions that panelists suggested would help bring more young people to Hampton Roads during a seminar this morning. "We have all the ingredients for the cake, but we don't have the wherewithal to put it all together," said Alonzo Brandon, 51, vice president of advancement at Old Dominion University. ____ Got ideas? Share them in the comments ____ The consensus among some of Brandon's younger employees, he said, was that "the region was nice, but they had no plan to live here for more than five years." Will Christopher, business development director of GBS Connected, a technology company in Virginia Beach, ticked off obstacles including "imaginary boundary lines" between cities, the lack of a professional sports team and "the current conservative generation of mostly white males who have a tough time relating to millenials." Yet Drew Ungvarsky, founder and creative director of Grow, a multimedia marketing agency in downtown Norfolk, said he recently hired four people who were living in Amsterdam, San Francisco and Washington. "Apples to apples, New York-to-Norfolk, San Francisco-to-Norfolk, we lose every time," said Ungvarsky, who has lobbied for such amenities as bike lanes and food trucks. But young people, he said, are attracted by Norfolk's "unrealized potential." They think: "To me, it looks almost like a city I want to live in, but it's not quite there yet," Ungvarsky said. The forum, "The Cool Factor," was sponsored by Cox Business and Inside Business, a weekly newspaper and website owned by Landmark Media Enterprises LLC, which also publishes The Virginian-Pilot. The seminar, at the Founders Inn and Spa, attracted more than 260 people. ___ (c)2014 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) Visit The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) at pilotonline.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |