‘We do not want light industrial’
Some residents balk at redevelopment plans for former Hampton school
HAMPTON — Developers want to turn a former school for deaf, blind and disabled students into industrial warehouses. But some area residents have made clear they don’t support the project.
City Manager Mary Bunting and representatives from NorthPoint, a Kansas-based commercial real estate developer, met Monday night with about two dozen people who live near the property that once housed the Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled.
NorthPoint wants to purchase 40 acres of land that runs along Shell Road and is owned by the Hampton Economic Development Authority to build two multi-tenant warehouses. NorthPoint would also purchase a 23-acre section of adjacent land the city previously sold to another company.
The city would keep 10 acres to build a playground and create a buffer between the homes and the warehouses.
“We do not want light industrial. We do not want the pollution. We don’t want the unsafe conditions for children and pedestrians when it’s already dangerous,” Ursula Barkers, 66, said.
Barkers and several other residents were concerned about the traffic the warehouse would bring to an area that already has traffic, but no sidewalks.
NorthPoint has been hosting community meetings to listen and try to build support for the proposal before it heads to the planning commission and, ultimately, the City Council.
Chuck Rigney, Hampton’s economic development director, told those in attendance that Port of Virginia officials were “very interested” in the project.
“I would say that coming into a bit of a bumpy road here nationally, and internationally, the port is the one thing that we are absolutely counting on to keep us somewhat sane and whole,” Rigney said.
“If I really didn’t think NorthPoint was a quality company, I’d be embarrassed to be in this room. I’m not.”
NorthPoint representatives said if the project moves forward, it would create 200 construction jobs and bring 250 permanent jobs to the area.
But for several residents, including Joan Weaver — who has lived in the neighborhood since 1962 — the potential jobs aren’t worth it.
There’s no guarantee the newly created jobs would go to people already living in the community.
Marc Gloyeske, vice president of development at NorthPoint, estimated four to six tenants would share the two buildings, but said the company would build the space without a specific tenant in mind and then try to lease it. Businesses could rent the space for purposes such as package handling, storage, light assembly and light manufacturing.
Bunting told citizens the city would put proffers in place to limit what could be done with the property. The agreed-upon conditions would prevent NorthPoint from building smokestacks or using the property for heavy manufacturing.
Bunting said the city’s real estate assessment team told her this kind of development likely would not decrease property values.
Other suggestions for the land, such as a school or park, aren’t really feasible because the city needs to expand its tax base, Bunting said.
“If you don’t have commercial (properties) within your city, then all of the taxes to pay for the services that we all want have to come from the residents,” Bunting said. “Things like making it a school would not add to our tax base — it would actually cost money.”
In 2017, the City Council voted to update its basic land-use plan to allow the land to be used for businesses. At one point, the Hampton Redevelopment and Housing Authority planned to use it as a mixed-use development with single-family houses, townhouses, apartments for the elder and retail stores but the plan never came to fruition.
NorthPoint was drawn to Hampton because of its proximity to the Port of Virginia.
“The Port of Virginia has grown so much in the past several years and with supply chain issues, it’s continuing to grow,” Gloyeske said. “We see that as a driver for this type of industry in the future.”