NORFOLK, Va. — While Norfolk's airport continues to move on $1 billion in on-site improvement projects, ORF's CEO has his eyes on vacant property just off-site that he says can now be built on.
In August, Norfolk International Airport shut down the historic, but seldom-used Runway 14/32, which runs perpendicular to the main runway. The closure was to make room for a new entrance off Robin Hood Road and a new intersection.
But, Mark Perryman, CEO of the Norfolk Airport Authority, says it opened up a new opportunity.
“With the closure of the crosswind runway, that opens up some land for other development," Perryman told News 3 in a January interview.
He says the land near the then-active runway — near the airport's Norview Avenue/Azalea Garden Road entrance on one end and the Burton Station community in Virginia Beach on the other — had to remain undeveloped.
Now, it can be built on he says, also pointing to several acres of vacant land off Robin Hood Road that will also be available.
“We’re working with the city of Norfolk and the city of Virginia Beach about how would they like to see some of our land get redeveloped," said Perryman.
But he already has ideas of what he would like to see. The airport is still working to build a hotel on the property, but Perryman says it doesn't have to stop there.
“There could be a second one at the (airport) entrance," he told News 3. "You look at hotels and how they service airports, you have on-airport (hotels), airport-adjacent (hotels). Well, we don’t have either of those.”
As it stands, the closest hotels are a couple miles away. Perryman says he'd also like to see more restaurants and an additional grocery store to serve surrounding neighborhoods on the Norfolk side of the airport.
On the Virginia Beach side, he's envisioning some industrial buildup, but also mixed-use housing on land near Norfolk Premium Outlets and a potential future Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
But this is all still in the idea phase. Norfolk's Economic Development Office tells News 3 it's still too early to speak on developing the land.
However, Norfolk City Councilman Tommy Smigiel, who represents the Ward 5 area just north of the airport, says he supports the idea.
In a statement to News 3, he said, “Norfolk is a landlocked city. We do not have the luxury of underused land. When the secondary runway closure creates new open space, we have a responsibility to maximize it for its highest and best use and put it back on the tax roll. This is an opportunity to strengthen our economy, grow revenue responsibly, and make every acre count.”
Perryman says he's hoping to put out Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to developers before the end of the year.
