We are excited to announce that we are partnered with Breeden on the design and development of “Houndstooth” on the site of the Greyhound bus station at the corner of Granby and Brambleton.
Click here to read more about Houndstooth and to view proposed renderings.
Jeremy Sharp, AICP, Zoning Administrator, City of Norfolk
and Peter Johnston, Lead Urban Designer, Work Program Architects
Program Description:
This program will explore the purpose and requirements of Norfolk’s Commercial and Mixed-Use Pattern Book. The Book has been created for developers to make the development process more predictable. The Book is to be used as a companion piece to the new zoning ordinance and includes a checklist for new project development.
Venue Slover Library 235 E Plume Street Community Engagement Room: 6th Floor Norfolk, VA 23510
After three days of lively charrettes, residents of Norfolk’s Tidewater Gardens community are closer to a new envisioned future.
WPA participated in the mid-July event for the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative HUD Grant with the City of Norfolk, NRHA, The Communities Group, Ray Gindroz, and the lead architect and planner, Torti Gallas + Partners.
Meeting at the Basilica of St. Mary’s, participants advanced a plan for the St. Paul’s Area Redevelopment Phase 1 that creates a framework for new development that meets the needs of the community. The next round of community input is expected in August.
The plan includes new street connections, flooding abatement and a range of housing options from mid-rise apartments to single family, along with an enlivened Church Street to include new retail.
This most recent charrette, as with all planning efforts for the community, is guided by seven planning principles:
– Create a park system to protect from flooding and provide recreation amenities
– Create a community-wide campus with educational opportunities for all ages
– Restore church Street as the heart of the community with shops, food stores, health and medical facilities
– Create pedestrian Scale connections to opportunities in the larger community
– Build a pattern of neighborhood streets and blocks to create a framework for a mixed-use, mixed income community
– Provide a diverse mix of residential development ranging from single-family and town homes to small and large scale apartments
– Provide employment opportunities at the edges of the community for residents
In April of 2015, the historic carriage house located at 533 Mill Street was destroyed in a fire. Constructed in 1906 with additions built in 1907-1909 and 1924-1925, the building served the Royster family’s three homes around Mowbray Arch and Warren Crescent, housing six cars below and the chauffer and mechanic in a small apartment above. WPA has been working with the home-owners, the City, the Architectural Review Board, the Sargeant Memorial Collection, and the Ghent Neighborhood League on a design for a replacement to the historic carriage house that fits seamlessly back into the neighborhood, alludes strongly to the original building, but asserts itself as a 2016 building.
A huge thanks to the whole team who helped give new life to this beautiful old 1920 West Ghent home. Can’t wait for the next phase of the renovation!
Structural Engineering – Speight Marshall and Francis General Contracting (Exterior, windows, new structure and foundations) – Beach Building Group General Contracting (Interior) – Covington Contracting Kitchen Cabinetry – Unique Environments
Photography – Yuzhu Zheng at Up Studio
Dog Star – Neptune (City of Norfolk Spokesdog and Canine Crusader for Clean Waterways)
WPA was contacted by Collins Enterprises to lead the public process portion of the Westport Commons and Watermark Apartments project. The project, begun nearly a decade ago, involves the demolition of 243 Navy housing apartments built in 1948, and the construction of 180 apartments, 68 townhouses, 70 condominiums, and various indoor and outdoor amenities.
WPA was hired to work with a local family to design a retreat house on the James River in Smithfield, Virginia. The Clients came to us with an idea for a modern barn and a desire for a place where family and friends could gather, read books, play games, and get away from the hustle and bustle of the work-week. The above drawings reflect our first-pass at a schematic design for a house that invites guests to gather in one open room, relax in front of the fire, and hang out on a bluff above the James River.