If they build places to live, the shopping is soon to come.
To that end, the Hampton City Council last week rezoned a 3.2-acre parcel within the Hampton Roads Center business park to pave the way for retail and other recreation business.
The parcel is adjacent to Lumen Apartments, a 300-unit apartment complex on North Campus Parkway, owned by Raleigh-based Craig Davis Properties.
The rezoning is a continuing effort from city planners to transform the Hampton Roads Business Park into a more livable community, with businesses, places to live and amenities.
“This is really rezoning part two,” city planner Donald Whipple said, referring to the rezoning of the land that became Lumen Apartments.
Hampton-based HRCN, an affiliate of Craig Davis Properties, plans to develop five buildings for retail lease at the intersection of Commander Shepard Boulevard and North Campus Parkway. The construction would give the area a more urban design and a walkable feel to complement the Lumen Apartments, Whipple said.
The rezoning will allow the developer a wider range of uses than allowed in a typical business park. Some potential retail leases include a spa, a dry-cleaning service, a small postal shipping company and restaurants.
The 16.8-acre city-owned business park is home to the National Institute of Aerospace among other businesses already there. It was originally envisioned as an office campus with a focus on industrial and tech firms, but in recent years that’s been changing.
In 2016, the city rezoned roughly eight acres of it at the intersection of Exploration Way and North Campus Parkway to allow for residential development, where Lumen apartments now sit.
Steven Brewer, a Norfolk-based attorney representing Craig Davis Properties and its affiliate, told the Hampton City Council the mixed-use approach is becoming more prevalent in business parks.
“It will enhance the area. People seek work places with greater services and amenities,” Brewer said. “It will attract more small businesses.”
Lisa Vernon Sparks, 757-247-4832, lvernonsparks@dailypress.com
