EAST BEACH NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Located on an approximately 100-acre peninsula in Norfolk, Va., between the Chesapeake Bay and Pretty Lake, East Beach is a recently developed neighborhood that possesses the traditional aesthetics typical of southeastern seaboard coastal villages. Providing its inhabitants with “a simple life on the Chesapeake Bay,” the architectural designs of the housing units follow the region’s tradition, restoring the grandeur and grace of waterfront living in Norfolk. Already recognized as a landmark for the city as well as the region, the development will eventually house up to 700 families in a wide range of houses, cottages, townhouses and flats. Each beach is being designed in a series of seven phases to be completed over a seven- to 10-year period and has won a 2008 Land Development Visionary Award from Sustainable Land Development International.

Woolpert participated in the ULI advisor services panel in 1998, which set the stage for the development of the project. Originally started by a different civil design firm, Woolpert took over the design work during the first phase and has continued through each of the remaining seven phases of the project. Woolpert is also designing several of the commercial site plans that are anticipated to become anchors in this redevelopment project.

Woolpert’s site design preserves 15% of the neighborhood as parks and open space, provides 70% of homes with a view of a park, preserves stands of mature live oaks and other tree canopies and provides extensive pedestrian paths, enhancing natural features of the site and promoting a human connection with the Chesapeake. As a result of its exemplary service, Woolpert has helped restore the ambiance and southern charm inherent to the region.