During the last decade, Historic Kempsville has seen substantial changes around the bustling intersection of South Witchduck, Kempsville and Princess Anne roads.
The old high school is now part of an apartment complex at one corner. A shopping center sits on another. On yet another is Kempes Landing Park.
The last northeast corner, called a quadrant by some planning its future, is largely vacant, but that may change after years of trying to redevelop it.
In 2015, city officials sought proposals for it but didn’t control enough land to make it work.
Virginia Beach has acquired more than 10 acres, though two parcels of less than an acre remain in private hands. Essentially, the area is a hole in a redevelopment donut.
On Tuesday, City Council directed staff to issue a request for proposal to develop the land. The city will take about two months to gather information about conditions. City Manager Patrick Duhaney said an RFP may be issued in October.
Emily Archer, the city’s acting director of economic development, met with the Historic Kempsville Citizens Advisory Committee in the spring and it supports a plan of mixed use development in line with guidelines for the historic area.
Most members wanted what a city presentation described as “attainably priced,” potentially at or below 80% of the area median income. Archer said that equates to a $1,900 monthly rent or mortgage payment for a household with two people.
Committee chair Bobbie Gribble on Thursday stood near the Harbor of Stories public art statue, which was unveiled a few months ago. It is shaped like a sail and its glass panels reflect communities and history of the place, and it stands alone in the last quadrant along Witchduck Road.
The two parcels the city doesn’t control contain an auto sales business and a small office. Both pieces are owned by a trust, property records show, but WHRO could not reach the owner.
Gribble said the city’s request for proposals essentially will say, "Here’s what we’ve got, and what could you do? Just to see, because we don’t want to leave this area empty forever.”
Gribble added, “I really hope that a vibrant contractor comes in that wants to do both business and residence and sees a vision where we create a community feel.”
Thursday at the auto location, mechanic Raheen Lipscomb worked on a Dodge Durango. He said he didn’t know specifics of what’s happening but has watched the area change.
“I’ve been seeing them close down a business over there, tear down another one that was closed and put up a statue in the middle of nowhere,” he said.
He doesn’t know what the last quadrant at the intersection might become.
“It would be good to put something out here.”
