For more than 80 years, Hampton’s Wood’s Orchards was known as a prime spot for Halloween pumpkin-picking and was beloved for its fresh produce stand.
Word even reached Washington in 2011 and Barack and Michelle Obama stopped by during a trip to the area to wheel some pumpkins back to the White House.
The 10-acre farm closed in September 2024. Nearly a year later, a Hampton real estate developer has the green light to build a four-building apartment complex in its place.
The plan drew many residents to Wednesday’s City Council meeting, saying that more than 300 new units would strain the already traffic-choked East Mercury Boulevard.
“I just can’t imagine how it’s going to be for us trying to live there,” said Connie Heath, who lives a quarter mile west.
Hampton’s council amended the area’s zoning to allow for high-density residential properties and approved the development’s special use permit.
Officials say the plan by the Whitmore Company, which negotiated to buy the property in 2024, supports policy to promote greater residential density in areas less susceptible to flooding and addresses critical housing needs in Hampton. The region overall has a 50,000-unit housing shortage.
Mayor Jimmy Gray said the units will also help with a 400-unit housing shortage at Langley Air Force Base.
“It’s my understanding that some of the Air Force people are staying and living in hotels because they can’t find enough housing,” Gray said.
Former Mayor Donnie Tuck, speaking during Wednesday’s public hearing, said York County would be happy to house the airmen and draw in their tax dollars if Hampton passes on the project.
Daniel Aston, founder of the Whitmore Company, said the complex will pay homage to the Wood’s legacy. The farm’s “peach house” barn will remain and be renovated into a gathering space. The complex’s design will sport a modern farmhouse architecture. Aston also plans to keep the mature oaks and tree buffers along the northern and southern boundaries.
He said he had to take the late Billy Wood to another Whitmore development, Monroe Gates in Phoebus, to convince him to sell.
“He wanted to ensure the purchaser would commit to great quality and the new buildings would be accretive to the area and to the city of Hampton,” Aston said. “I’m honored to be his selection.”
Neighbors, though, are still concerned. A survey found 130 of 148 residents who responded opposed the project. Several on Wednesday cast doubt on a traffic study that found the development will have "little to no impact on existing intersections adjacent to the development.”
“We can’t handle any more traffic on Mercury Boulevard in the afternoons,” said Benjamin Staton. He and several speakers described their work-arounds to skirt the busy artery
City Manager Mary Bunting said much of the congestion is because of Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel construction. She said its expected 2027 completion should align with the completion of the complex and alleviate much of the traffic problems. The Whitmore Company offered to construct left and right turn lanes entering the complex to help.
Beyond traffic, residents questioned how the complex addresses Hampton’s need for more affordable housing and how it fits into the surrounding neighborhood's single-family homes.
The project was a “hard no” for Councilmember Carolyn Campbell, the only to vote against it. She noted 254 of the 316 units are studio or one-bedroom units, which said to her that the complex is for “singles and seniors” and not a fit for the nearby Kilgore Gifted Center.
“This is a perfect place for families,” Campbell said. “I’m also a little bothered by the fact this is all renters, none of them are owners; we need people that are going to be here and commit for the long term.”
For Gray, it wasn’t an either-or situation. He said Hampton needs more housing of various types, including apartments, as demonstrated by 95% occupancy rates in several of the city’s market-rate apartments.
“If they don’t live in Hampton,” Gray said,“then they’re going to move in other places.”
