by Andrew Sinclair, Hampton Roads Partnership Program Manager
The 2nd Annual ULI Hampton Roads Urban Marketplace was attended by approximately 200 on October 19th in Norfolk. This year focused on “Roads & Rails to Recovery” with much attention paid to the opportunities of light and high-speed rail in Hampton Roads. The event was sponsored by the Belmont at Freemason, which was touted as the first Transit-Oriented Development in Norfolk.
The purpose of the half-day Urban Marketplace program is to focus on a topic of regional impact, and it is an opportunity for the development community and others to learn more about that topic and network.
The event began with a lunch conversation with Mayors Paul Fraim (Norfolk) and Will Sessoms (Virginia Beach). Both mayors spoke of the Tide light rail, which is scheduled to open on a 7-mile starter line in Norfolk next year, as a starting point of regional importance. Mayor Fraim spoke of the vision of Harbor Park to become a transit hub with access to both light and high speed rail. Mayor Sessoms dismissed concern about the cost of developing light rail in Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads by stating that no transportation project pays for itself, noting that investment comes from development, and transit options like light rail will spur more investment than other options.
After a comment from the audience about the need for Hampton Roads to be featured on the mainline of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor between Washington, DC and Raleigh, NC and on to Atlanta, GA, Mayor Fraim agreed that positioning Hampton Roads as part of the mainline makes sense but regretted that it was too late to divert the plans that now run directly from Richmond to Raleigh. He emphasized that attention now must be placed now on ensuring Hampton Roads receives service through a spur that connects to Richmond.
When asked about the proper alignment about the high speed rail corridor (i.e., whether service to Newport News or Norfolk was preferable), Mayor Fraim responded that the ideal outcome would be improved service on the existing Amtrak route to Newport News and new service to Norfolk, which would require the high speed rail designation.
Following the lunch program, two sets of breakout sessions followed. The first set featured one panel on the economy and one on transportation. The second session featured one panel on commercial investment and one on sustainability.
For more information, contact Urban Land Institute of Hampton Roads.