NEWPORT NEWS — Vegetation has reclaimed the gravel drives separating the warehouses at Camp Morrison Industrial Park, which sit empty echoing a past before their rust and broken windows. Now, Newport News is considering a new plan to turn the vacant lot into hundreds of homes to boost housing availability.
The roughly 110-acre site sits between railroad tracks and Warwick Village Shopping Center. It served as a World War I air service depot for the Army in 1917 before it replaced the temporary housing with warehouses in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The site is vacant, and research into revitalizing the area dates nearly 20 years.
The Newport News Planning Commission opted in June to delay a vote to approve rezoning of the site so it could solicit more community feedback and to allow developer D.R. Horton to make adjustments to the plan. The proposal under consideration would have cleared the way for a 638-house community, including 201 single-family units, 237 townhomes, 96 duplexes and 56 quadplex units, along with wider 50 and 60-foot roads and open space with trails and a dog park.
The plan is part of an broader effort by the city to significantly increase its housing availability. However, it is a departure from a community-involved 2013 master plan. The proposal included one less unit, with smaller homes than originally planned, and proffers including one that would allow developer D.R. Horton to use cheaper materials in its construction.
“I have received emails and a lot of phone calls. We still have some things to do,” planning commission member Bill Black said at the June 4 meeting. “This is our last chance (to) make this right.”
The commission will vote Aug. 6 on an updated proposal.
Community feedback on the planned Morrison Station was split. The commission received more than a dozen emails opposing the project, and several speakers cited increased traffic, along with noise and safety concerns with the nearby railroad as reasons to reconsider.
A recurring concern came with the lack of community involvement with a plan that changes the proffers set more than a decade ago.
Newport News real estate agent Dana Robbins said she understands the need for additional housing in the city, and looks forward to seeing the area revitalized. But she said the changes turn their back on the community that worked to help shape the site’s future.
“The request to discard the carefully negotiated 2013 proffers with a new set of conditions aimed at a higher-density development is something that unravels years of community input and planning,” Robbins said. “The new proposal from D.R. Horton moves in the opposite direction of what was previously and thoughtfully approved.”
Robbins said the new zoning, which includes smaller lots and looser architectural standards, would erode public trust in the name of financial benefit for developers.
D.R. Horton has adjusted its proposal after hearing the community’s concerns, according to spokesperson Jessica Hansen. The plan now includes an added member of the design committee to help represent the community, more green space and buffers for the railroad, clarified that the homeowner’s association will enforce design guidelines in perpetuity and removed the use of an exterior insulation and finish system.
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“Morrison Station is a special project, and we understand our responsibility to create a high-quality community for the city,” said Kyle Schnaufer, president for D.R. Horton’s Southern Virginia division, in a statement. “A few community members that attended the planning meeting voiced their concerns with the project. Their concerns are important, and we appreciate the planning commission deferring the vote to try to address them.”
Schnaufer added that D.R. Horton had already conducted community meetings prior to the commission meeting to ensure the proposal aligned with community interests.
Those community interests were reflected by several other speakers during the commission meeting. Many expressed excitement at the prospect of using new housing opportunities to retain Newport News residents and help support local businesses.
Jamika Bivens told the commission her family was one of many that had to relocate out of Newport News due to a lack of housing, and the city sorely needs a new development to replace infrastructure that has spent years decaying.
“They become more than just an eyesore, they become a reminder of what happens when we stop investing in our neighborhoods,” Bivens said. “Morrison Station isn’t just a housing development. It’s a symbol for something better.”
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com