A long-planned Norfolk project aimed at protecting the city from major coastal storms is drawing criticism from residents of a historic neighborhood.
Residents of the West Freemason, a cobblestone-lined district near downtown, say a planned floodwall will block views and lower property values.
About 150 people from the neighborhood packed the Blocker Norfolk Family YMCA on Wednesday evening to learn about the city’s floodwall project and criticize the city for what they said was a lack of inclusion in the planning process.
“We’re taking a sledgehammer — based on what I understand — for a problem that requires maybe a scalpel,” Steve Sigmon, who has lived the in neighborhood for 20 years, said during the meeting.
In April 2023, Norfolk City Council members approved partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the $2.6 billion Coastal Storm Risk Management Project. The project would include construction of almost 9 miles of new or extended floodwalls along downtown Norfolk waterways, along with levees, tide gates, pump stations and other mitigation efforts across the city.
The federal government plans to fund 65% of the project, leaving the city and state to fund the remaining $931 million.
The first phase includes a floodwall stretching from West Ghent to Harbor Park. The first section of that phase is called phase 1A and extends from Berkley Bridge to Campostella. It is currently in the design phase, with construction expected to begin in late 2025, according to a project timeline.
The stage that includes West Freemason — phase 1C — is planned for years later, project officials said during the meeting. Design has yet to begin, and construction isn’t planned until at least 2027, according to the timeline.
Eric Thompson, president of the Freemason Harbour Condominium Association, said at the meeting his residents had no clue the project was happening. He told the officials he was amazed property values were not part of the project’s impact analysis. A design document first reported by the Virginia Mercury shows one wall option cutting between two condominium buildings.
“At the end of the day, this is the largest single asset for our households,” Thompson said.
City officials at the meeting noted the Freemason designs were not finalized, and parts of the project still must be approved by city boards. At the meeting, Deputy City Manager Doug Beaver also expressed interest in taking feedback back to the Army Corps to revise or include in plans.
“We’ve done that in stage 1A and we’re committed to doing that in all subsequent phases,” Beaver said.
Renderings shown to the City Council this year include potential alignment changes for some stretches of the floodwall around Waterside Drive.
West Freemason is part of the National Register of Historic Places, with some structures dating to the 1700s, according to previous Virginian-Pilot reporting.
It’s also one of the city’s wealthy, upscale neighborhoods. The median household income of the census tract that includes West Freemason and part of downtown Norfolk is $82,021, according to data analyzed by the Census Reporter website — roughly 35% more than the city’s overall median household income. Two-bedroom condominiums in the area are regularly listed for $300,000 to $400,000 on Redfin.
Project officials at the meeting defended the floodwall, saying it would protect those properties from costly damage caused by major storms. According to the Army Corps, the city could save $122 million annually on property damage, health and safety concerns and economic resiliency.
“In our minds, the cost of doing nothing is much higher,” said Kyle Spencer, the city’s chief resilience officer.
Freemason residents aren’t the only ones upset over the project. Residents of historically Black areas on the city’s southside pushed the city to take a second look at the flood protection plan proposed for their neighborhoods — which included improvements to individual properties rather than construction of a floodwall.
When the council approved its partnership it asked the Army Corps to reevaluate whether the Berkley, Campostella and Campostella Heights neighborhoods could be included in the floodwall plans. However, the Corps did not receive funding for that study, at least for 2024, according to WHRO.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
