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That generated $2.3 billion in economic activity in 2009 and contributes $29.6 million in annual tax revenue for the city, according to a recent study by Chmura Economics & Analytics for the Shockoe Partnership, a neighborhood Links of London Sweetie Bracelet big group. Morton B. Gulak, an Links of London professor of urban studies and planning at Virginia Commonwealth University, said he's skeptical that the Bottom could be transformed by a large development project, although he supports the addition of a slave-heritage trail and museum and making the area a transportation hub. "I think, in the long run, Shockoe Bottom will develop into an urban chic neighborhood," he said. Links of London Raindance NecklaceThe more the development takes place, the crime will reduce." However, others contend that only a large project, such as the now-withdrawn Shockoe Center ballpark proposal, would be able to provide the road access and sewer infrastructure to overcome the fact that much of the Bottom falls within a floodplain. "I've maintained all along a major Links of London Raindance Silver Pendant-development project is kind of like the rising tide that would lift all boats," said David Napier, president of the Shockoe Bottom Neighborhood Association. Tim Davey, a principal with the Timmons Group, an engineering, planning and design firm that worked on the Shockoe Center proposal and has an office on 14th Street in the Bottom, agreed. "The big floodplain problem requires a bigger, grander vision than organic growth," he said, Given the Bottom's proximity to downtown and Main Street Station, Davey sees opportunity for a large, mixed-use development that could address the issues of crime and bolster city tax coffers. Without such a project, he fears the Bottom will experience problems with crime every few years and remain "