HAMPTON, Va. — The property on Von Schilling Dr. in Hampton behind the Riverpointe Shopping Center where the now-demolished Cinema Cafe used to be was one step closer Thursday to becoming an apartment complex.
“Me and my wife, we came here two or three times a week," Hampton resident Will Kear said, reminiscing about the former movie theater.
Like so many, Kear has a lot of memories of the old Cinema Cafe. He has lived close by all his life.
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“When it closed down, I don’t know. It kind of left, I don’t want to say a big gaping hole, but it definitely was a big bummer," said Kear.
He’s okay with the property being turned into an apartment complex, but with one condition.
“I think it's a good use of the property as long as it's better-serving of the people than some I've seen," Kear explained. "I don’t think we need more luxury-style apartments where the luxury amenity, so-called, is a keypad to enter the building and not much else behind that."
Not everyone is in favor of the proposed development, though.
I met Will through posts I made about this story in some Hampton neighborhood Facebook groups I’ve joined to connect with the community.
One person commented, “There are already too many people in Hampton Roads.” Another person said, "I think adding an apartment complex in an already over saturated city isn’t the way to go."
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On July 16, Hampton’s planning commission voted to recommend approval of the permit the developers are applying for to build the complex. The proposed complex would have 255 units spread out across three four-story buildings. There will also be 375 parking spaces and a clubhouse with a pool and gym.
“They’ll be Class A luxury apartments," said Canopy Development Principal Hal Yuill.
Canopy Development is the company trying to develop the property. Yuill said the company hadn’t set an exact rate for the units as of July 23.
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"These will be affordable based off the incomes that are in the market," Yuill responded when asked why not build cheaper, more affordable apartments instead of luxury apartments.
The community, he said, seems to be on board. At the time of this story, the company was also still trying to figure out how to possibly incorporate the old movie theater into the design.
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“A lot of multi-family communities have theater rooms as part of their amenities. I would anticipate we’d do that. Then, in that room, we could use old photos of the Cinema Drafthouse or something along there," said Yuill.
As of July 19, Hampton City Council was scheduled to vote on the permit request August 12. If approved, Yuill said, construction could start late spring or early summer 2026 and would likely take about a year and a half to complete.
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