Long-awaited changes for Newport News
City will see projects ranging from new streets to updated library facilities over the next few years
Newport News’ North District is slated to see a handful of major projects over the next several years.
They are a mix of redevelopment, transportation improvements and some pri vat e development. Some are nearly complete, some underway and some are in the early phases.
The first change residents will get to use is one they’ve likely seen on Interstate 64. On Dec. 8, the city plans to have a ribbon-cutting for Atkinson Boulevard, which connects Jefferson Avenue and
Warwick Boulevard by a new bridge crossing over rail lines and the interstate.
The idea for the nearly $70 million bridge originated in the 1980s but funding only became available in recent years. The city’s contribution was about $4 million, and the state paid the bulk of the rest. City engineers have said the 1,700 foot, four-lane bridge is the largest project Newport News has managed.
Meanwhile, the project to replace Denbigh Boulevard, which has limited traffic to one lane in each direction during construction, is expected to be complete in the summer of 2021.
This summer, the city also broke ground on a transportation hub near Bland Boulevard. Planned for completion in 2022, the $47 million hub will be Newport News’ new Amtrak station. Officials have highlighted its proximity to Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport as well.
Development in the northern part of the city was a tipping point that contributed to the city construction plan initially failing to pass about a year ago. Before the City Council voted 4-3 against a proposed Capital Improvement Plan in the summer of 2019, Councilwoman Sharon Scott said the northern section of the city was neglected.
In her 17 years on the council, she said, the district had only seen three capital projects, and she objected to pushing back a pair of Denbigh projects. The timeline for those projects did not change in the 2019 plan, but a year later those projects are on the front burner.
The city’s construction plan for the next five years includes planning dollars for the new Grissom Library and a new Fire Station No. 11. The existing fire station and library are undersized and a few streets away from Warwick Boulevard.
The fire station is expected to cost just under $6 million, with construction money scheduled to come as early as the summer of 2021. Grissom’s timeline is longer, with planning dollars available this fiscal year and an expected $15.2 million coming in the 2023 fiscal year. Also in that fiscal year, the city slates just over $8 million for the completion of the Denbigh Community Center.
In 2018 and 2019, city planners hosted several community meetings to gather input for a Denbigh-Warwick Area Plan, and municipal facilities were a central focus of discussions. In that process, the city identified several areas that could be home to future city development — the Sherwood Shopping Center, the former
Kmart and the space next to the Denbigh Community Center.
Planners have turned focus further north to the Lee Hall area. The Lee Hall Area Plan was passed in the 1990s without much implemented since, and the city’s hosted community meetings related to the plan. In one meeting conducted over Facebook, Carolyn Poissant said the city did not want the plan to go on a shelf again and is seeking ideas, big or small, that could be implemented.
In the presentation, she highlighted historic resources in Lee Hall and said an element of the area plan is to reestablish some of the historic character in the area. She said the area’s train depot is planned to open in the spring and some other properties have potential to be community amenities.
One factor spurring the plan in Lee Hall is planned development of a neighborhood in the wooded area between Endview Plantation and Newport News Park. Plans released in September showed 536 homes — a mix of townhouses, cottages and single-family homes.
An initial attempt to work on a neighborhood fell through with the Great Recession then rekindled in 2018. Development company WeldenField and Rowe said it’s still developing plans and is likely a few months away from applying for rezoning from the city.