Good news from Fort Monroe: Preliminary designs under evaluation by Hampton’s Federal Area Development Authority envision a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly future after the military based is closed. According to the Times-Dispatch’s Andrew Petkofsky, the three plans under consideration differ “only in the size and density of the village that would center on the pre-Civil War fort structure and the historic buildings adjacent to it.”
Describing public hearings on the plans:
There was wide agreement that the fort property – essentially a golf-club-shaped island at the mouth of the Hampton Roads harbor – should be ungated and open to the public, and that it should also include a large, open park, public beaches and a waterfront walkway.
The project should include new development within strict limits and should generate enough revenue through commerce, housing and tourism to eventually offset maintenance and operational costs, Dover said. He predicted that Fort Monroe’s unusual waterfront location would make residential housing a major source of revenue.
“Housing is probably one of the strongest pillars in this mixed-used temple,” Dover said. “It’s a unique-enough environment that you can insist on the very best.”
(Photo credit: Ocean View Station Museum.)
