Norfolk $40M project ‘going to be very nice’
Lamberts Point development — including a Lidl, restaurants and other retailers — is progressing
NORFOLK — After being delayed by the pandemic for almost two years, a major retail and office development project in the Lamberts Point neighborhood near Old Dominion University is finally starting to take shape.
Called the Railyard at Lambert’s Point, the $40 million, 120,000-square-foot development will be anchored by a Lidl grocery store, featuring a mix of restaurants, retailers and other businesses.
On a recent stifling Thursday, the site was a flurry of activity as dozens of construction workers helped renovate old buildings, finish new structures and complete other site work, such as running electrical wires in a central courtyard.
On each side of the courtyard is one of four old structures, which are being renovated as adaptive reuse projects, said Rich Meredith, vice president for development and commercial management at Norfolk-based Meredith Construction.
The developer is using a mix of federal and state historic building tax credits and a Norfolk real estate tax abatement program, which allows it to defer paying full real estate taxes on the value of property improvements for 14 years.
Meredith’s company has owned the buildings for years. Various redevelopment attempts have come and gone. What changed this time, Meredith said, was the development of the Railroad District, starting with O’Connor Brewing Co.’s former location on 24th Street. Since then, the area has experienced an influx of commercial and residential development.
“It certainly makes taking this leap much more reasonable,” he said.
Additionally, Meredith returned to the family business after working in Washington and overseas.
Traces of the buildings’ histories can still be seen. Inside one building constructed in the 1930s, a bar mural includes a caricature of former President Dwight Eisenhower. Another building is a former ship sail manufacturing facility. The building renovations will include restoration of original windows and skylights, embracing the industrial heritage of the structures.
At the center of the development is a courtyard, which will feature outdoor dining space, green space running through the middle and space for events like farmers markets or outdoor concerts, Meredith said.
Meredith hopes the development will be used by a mix of residents and workers from around Norfolk: students from Old Dominion University and Eastern Virginia Medical School, naval base personnel, employees from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and Lamberts Point residents.
Gloria Bostic is a longtime member of that last group. The president of the Lamberts Point Civic League has been living in the area for about 55 years. Once a predominately Black neighborhood, Bostic said the area has become very diverse over the decades. She said she’s excited about the new development, despite more traffic coming through the neighborhood.
“I think it is something that is going to be very nice for the neighborhood,” Bostic said.
As far as entry into the development, Meredith said a traffic light will be installed at Hampton Boulevard and 26th Street, and the 25th and 24th street entrances will be right-in, right-out only.
After the pandemic began, numerous tenants pulled out from the project, Meredith said. So, after hearing from several community groups, including the civic league, developers decided to make the largest tenant a grocery store. In late August, Meredith announced a Lidl would be headed to the development.
Other tenants include Nothing Bundt Cakes, Chicken Salad Chick, Sushi King, Jimmy John’s, a Domoishi ramen restaurant, a Pilates studio and an ABC store, among others.
Other tenants in the older buildings include breakfast spot Biscuit Belly and an unannounced entertainment restaurant, Meredith said.
The construction will be completed in stages, Meredith said, with the northernmost buildings opening first and others coming online in the next several months. He said folks would be able to walk around the development by early October. Lidl could take longer, with Meredith estimating an opening in late 2024 or early 2025.