61 replies to this topic

[urbanfan]

Found an article on the city of hampton's website on some good news for Fort Monroe.  Seems the city has worked hard to keep Fort Monroe from closing and finally looks like Fort Monroe has a chance to miss this round of closings. Check it out.  Click on the link below and click on the first link.

http://www.hampton.gov/whats_hot.html

[PeninsulaKiddo]

I would say that if NASA had moved it's HQ thingey to City Center like it was proposed, perhaps all this wouldn't be happening.  Maybe that's a bit naive though, but still...  The job market on the Peninsula is going to be hurting, and that will be compounded by Fort Monroe-should it close.  I'm not sure...  My mother works for the Air Force but also used to work for the Army... In her opinion, it's looking very grim for Fort Monroe, but those jobs could stay around and move to Eustis...

[lammius]

PeninsulaKiddo, on Apr 7 2005, 04:41 PM, said:

I would say that if NASA had moved it's HQ thingey to City Center like it was proposed, perhaps all this wouldn't be happening.  Maybe that's a bit naive though, but still...  The job market on the Peninsula is going to be hurting, and that will be compounded by Fort Monroe-should it close.  I'm not sure...  My mother works for the Air Force but also used to work for the Army... In her opinion, it's looking very grim for Fort Monroe, but those jobs could stay around and move to Eustis...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's a shame.  Ft. Monroe is such a cool area.  I remember taking a field trip there in elem school.

I know I'd hate to be relocated to Fort Useless.

[freemason]

Has anyone heard about the planned renovation of the Chamberlin Hotel?

[urbanfan]

Appears that Hampton wins and loses.  Hampton will probably be losing Fort Monroe this round but it has been anounced that Richmond's air national gaurd unit (1,000 people) will be reassigned to Langley Air Force Base in Hampton and will be leaving Richmond.  This ought to help pad the base closure of Fort Monroe.
Check out the article here

[urbanfan]

Another article from wavy 10.  Looks like Langley, Norfolk naval base and shipyard, and little creek will actually gain, while oceana, ft. eustis and yorktown naval weapon station lose.  Looks like we'll fair pretty well.  We loose Ft. Monroe probably a total of maybe 1400 jobs and as far as the civilian jobs not necessarily all of those will be leaving.  Virginia beach gets a break on jet noise, with a few job losses.  I don't think this could have gone any better.
Check it out here

[urbanfan]

I can only imagine the amount of developers drooling and foaming at the mouth to get their hands on the Fort Monroe property.  Hopefully they will respect the History and Heritage of the Fort and create a museum and leave the actuall  Fort in tact.

[okinawatyphoon]

urbanfan, on May 14 2005, 12:15 AM, said:

I can only imagine the amount of developers drooling and foaming at the mouth to get their hands on the Fort Monroe property.  Hopefully they will respect the History and Heritage of the Fort and create a museum and leave the actuall  Fort in tact.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

POSSIBILITIES ABOUND FOR REDEVELOPMENT OF THE BASE IF IT CLOSES

Fort Monroe's death as a military installation could give birth to a big-dollar development or the region's best new tourism lur

HAMPTON -- It's got dozens of luxurious homes worth $300,000 to $2.5 million, all with sunrise-on-the-water views, high ceilings and hardwood floors.

There's a world-class fitness center with a recent $11 million face-lift.

And don't forget the gazebo and the marina.

No wonder Hampton Mayor Ross A. Kearney II has real estate developers begging him for a shot at Fort Monroe.

"It's one of the most prime pieces of property in the Hampton Roads area," says Dan Hassett, regional vice president of Virtexco Inc., a construction company that spent several years and $25 million fixing up the base's housing. "You've got water views all around."

You've also got an estimated 1,300 places in the 570-acre site where buried explosives might have to be removed.

Not to mention National Historic Landmark status, putting it among the crown jewels of historic and architectural sites in the nation.

That's the conundrum of Fort Monroe, now that it's officially on the Pentagon's base closure list.

If the Army marches away, Monroe has all the earmarks of the next upscale mix of expensive housing and more expensive office space, a place that could bring in the bucks that would erase the memory and effects of the 3,500 paychecks the military wants to move elsewhere.

But Fort Monroe also has those two big strings attached - historic and environmental - that might severely restrict what can be done there.

For now, Kearney and other Hampton officials say they don't want to talk much about what benefits might result from the closure. Officially, the focus is on saving the base, not selling it.

But those same politicians can't help but allude to the possibilities.

"I hope it remains Fort Monroe," Kearney says. "Yet we are prepared to move forward."

In the past few months, he says, several developers have brought the city proposals for turning the property into a tax-producing casserole of residential, office and commercial spaces.

If it comes to that, Kearney says, the quality of the proposals and the people involved show that "it's not going to be helter-skelter, with Motel 8s and things like that."

Kearney even has visions of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by luring developers to build high-rise office buildings designed for federal workers.

Under this vision, some of the 22,000 men and women who must leave leased offices in Northern Virginia because those buildings are not sufficiently protected from terrorists would come to Hampton.

The reason they have to leave the offices is that new rules for protecting Department of Defense workplaces call for physical barriers to thwart car bombers, including an 82-foot buffer around each building.

Kearney notes that there's a bigger buffer than that at Fort Monroe, plus a moat and a secure checkpoint that already meets military security regulations.

No one questions that there are already some high-end houses at the base. Hassett's company spent five years and $25 million in tax money fixing up about 100 homes there, ending in 2000......
Resto Story

[vdogg]

okinawatyphoon, on May 15 2005, 07:09 AM, said:

Kearney even has visions of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by luring developers to build high-rise office buildings designed for federal workers.


Resto Story

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yay!

[PeninsulaKiddo]

"Kearney even has visions of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by luring developers to build high-rise office buildings designed for federal workers.


Resto Story
"

Indeed, vdogg.  22000 workers in NOVA lost their jobs due to inadequate, unsafe buildings there... they could come back down heeeeeeeeeere.  haha.  that would be amazing and better than the original Ft. Monroe.  But again, I do hope they maintain the fort historically.  I played rec soccer there and it's beautiful.

[vdogg]

PeninsulaKiddo, on May 15 2005, 03:58 PM, said:

"Kearney even has visions of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat by luring developers to build high-rise office buildings designed for federal workers.
Resto Story
"

Indeed, vdogg.  22000 workers in NOVA lost their jobs due to inadequate, unsafe buildings there... they could come back down heeeeeeeeeere.  haha.  that would be amazing and better than the original Ft. Monroe.  But again, I do hope they maintain the fort historically.  I played rec soccer there and it's beautiful.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How close is Ft. Monroe to the freeway? I'm wondering if you'd be able to see any of these highrises coming in along 64.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

vdogg, on May 15 2005, 02:11 PM, said:

How close is Ft. Monroe to the freeway? I'm wondering if you'd be able to see any of these highrises coming in along 64.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The artificial island that I-64 uses to go into the tunnel (HRBT to Norfolk) is less than 150 yards off the southwestern edge of the island.  It would be an amazing vantage point coming into Hampton.

[vdogg]

PeninsulaKiddo, on May 15 2005, 04:16 PM, said:

The artificial island that I-64 uses to go into the tunnel (HRBT to Norfolk) is less than 150 yards off the southwestern edge of the island.  It would be an amazing vantage point coming into Hampton.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OMG! It would be awesome to have highrises in that immediate area. It would be just the kind of "big city" gateway this area needs. It would really give one a sense of a major metro area, kinda like that corridor leading into D.C. that passes by Crystal City, Rosslyn, etc.

[wrldcoupe4]

vdogg, on May 15 2005, 04:59 PM, said:

OMG! It would be awesome to have highrises in that immediate area. It would be just the kind of "big city" gateway this area needs. It would really give one a sense of a major metro area, kinda like that corridor leading into D.C. that passes by Crystal City, Rosslyn, etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

lol highrises surrounded by a moat. To be fair, it's a creative idea though for luring the feds from NoVa. however, high rises on a national historic landmark with interest in the site going back to capt. John Smith in 1608 and settlement in 1609??? Is anyone else even slightly concerned about that?

[PeninsulaKiddo]

wrldcoupe4, on May 15 2005, 03:39 PM, said:

lol highrises surrounded by a moat. To be fair, it's a creative idea though for luring the feds from NoVa. however, high rises on a national historic landmark with interest in the site going back to capt. John Smith in 1608 and settlement in 1609??? Is anyone else even slightly concerned about that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The fort is only a small portion of the island (surrounded by a moat) and the rest is developable land.  directly west of the original fort(s) (there are actually 2) there is probably 30 acres of land that is waterfront and possibly developable.  More land is across the eastern edge of the island.

I HOPE that the fort and some surrounding acreage is preserved for posterity or it would be horrible.

[vdogg]

PeninsulaKiddo, on May 15 2005, 05:43 PM, said:

The fort is only a small portion of the island (surrounded by a moat) and the rest is developable land.  directly west of the original fort(s) (there are actually 2) there is probably 30 acres of land that is waterfront and possibly developable.  More land is across the eastern edge of the island.

I HOPE that the fort and some surrounding acreage is preserved for posterity or it would be horrible.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I really think they are referring to that land when talking about highrises. Not the fort itself. Who knows? Developers can be quite innovative sometimes.

[PeninsulaKiddo]

vdogg, on May 15 2005, 03:49 PM, said:

I really think they are referring to that land when talking about highrises. Not the fort itself. Who knows? Developers can be quite innovative sometimes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Indeed, but I don't think the government would allow it---it would seriously disrupt the historical feel of the fort itself.  I think it'll be nothing more than a museum, which is perfectly fine.  It's a beautiful peice of preserved history.

The land on the southern and eastern edges of Monroe offer so many possibilities though.  Retail-Commercial uses; Residential; Touristy-stuff (hotels?  It is beach-front property).

[urbanfan]

The only place that they could possibly build high rise construction is in the area of the air field to the north of the real moat or along the sea wall that runs from the chamberlain hotel (a highrise) down to dog beach and then possibly a resort area along the beach maybe extending over to buckroe.  Every thing to the east is already on the national historic registrar therefore don't expect to see construction there or in the actual fort for that matter.

[JPN0731]

AHHHHH  

Highrises on the base?  This is definately a case where they would have to be done very tastefully like the one in Richmond.  No way would big ugly high rises look nice there unless they blend in with the hotel and Fort in general.  

When the area opens up, it will be one of the nicest and most historic areas in our metro area.  I hope that whatever is done preserves the dignity of the base.

[wrldcoupe4]

JPN0731, on May 16 2005, 08:35 PM, said:

AHHHHH 

Highrises on the base?  This is definately a case where they would have to be done very tastefully like the one in Richmond.  No way would big ugly high rises look nice there unless they blend in with the hotel and Fort in general. 

When the area opens up, it will be one of the nicest and most historic areas in our metro area.  I hope that whatever is done preserves the dignity of the base.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

hey where in Richmond are you referring to?