Newport News City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to rezone a vacant lot at 350 Yorktown Road to make room for a 620-unit housing development on the historic Endview Plantation.
The proposed Parkside at Endview is a roughly 282-acre project sits near the city’s border with York County along Yorktown Road, Jefferson Avenue and Crafford Road. It will consist of 393 detached single-family homes and 182 townhomes, according to a planning document. The site will also include nearly 32,000 square feet for commercial space and 125 acres of planned open space, including new trails that will connect to Newport News Park, according to a February memorandum of agreement.
The property is currently by Newport News’ Economic Development Authority and is covered by a forest. The land is also occupied by the Endview House and outbuildings, which are on the National Registrar of Historic Places and will continue to be open to the public.
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The site is one of the oldest structures in Newport News and dates back to the 1760s. It also served as a Confederate hospital and headquarters during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign.
Grady Palmer, an attorney who has worked on the project for roughly four years, said during an April 2 Planning Commission meeting that pending approval, a memorandum of understanding would help the property work to preserve and bring awareness to the historic site.
“There’s a series of signage, reporting and obligations that the development will have for the life of the project that will help preserve, protect and promote the historical awareness of Endview,” Palmer said during Tuesday’s council presentation. “It’s a fantastic project that emphasizes home ownership opportunities in the city of Newport News.”
The project is a joint venture between the Economic Development Authority, D.R. Horton, and WeldenField of Virginia.
However, some residents worried about the project’s traffic impacts. Manuel Ankrom, who lives less than a half mile from the plantation’s entrance, said he already sees vehicle congestion, especially tour busses, near his home, and doesn’t want major construction to further disrupt already severe traffic.
“The project sounds decent, but what it’s going to do, it’s going to be problematic and create congestion for all people from out of state that come to visit Yorktown,” Ankrom said during the meeting.
As part of a proffer agreement, the developers will complete a series of transportation improvements detailed in a traffic impact analysis study from 2022. Those recommendations include turn lanes on Jefferson Avenue and Yorktown Road and an additional site entrance on Crafford Road.
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com