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Concerts not swimming
pools at Port Warwick
by
Paula C. Squires
Virginia
Business
March 2003
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Port
Warwick
$150 million mixed used urban village
Tower Park Corp.
Newport News
Just a short walk from the corner of F. Scott Fitzgerald
Square and Walt Whitman Ave. is a cozy town square,
lined by sycamore trees. The tranquil expanse of green
lawn anchors a new development in Newport News, where
streets are named after literary giants and public art-huge
bronze sculptures-can be glimpsed from traffic circles.
Welcome to Port Warwick, Bobby Freeman's interpretation
of a "smart growth" urban village. Freeman,
a lawyer turned real estate developer, is creating a
neighborhood of mixed uses where people can live, work
and play. Forget tennis courts and swimming pools, typical
suburban perks. "This amenities package is that
you can walk to dinner, see sculpture along the way,
or go to a concert on town square," says Freeman.
The
$150 million development relies on high densities and
multiple uses to make the most of what was an abandoned
industrial site. Freeman bought the 150- acre tract
from Eveready Battery Co. in 1999 for $7.2 million.
While its location off busy Jefferson Avenue dictated
a mixed use, Freeman wanted to build something his hometown
could be proud of.
Unlike
many older cities, Newport News can't boast of old,
traditional inner-city neighborhoods such as Richmond's
Fan District or Norfolk's Ghent. Researching his project,
Freeman visited these areas and 60 public squares in
Europe to ensure that Port Warwick would have the feeling
of a pre-World War II village, where pedestrians, rather
than cars, were commonplace. "We can't change all
the buildings in Newport News," says Freeman, referring
to the city's history as an industrial, blue -collar,
shipbuilding town. "But we can locate something
beautiful and timeless here."
Still,
Freeman needed a twist, something historical that would
make his project distinctive. A writer for an advertising
agency suggested naming it Port Warwick; a fictional
town based on Newport News that native William Styron
wrote about in his first novel, "Lie Down in Darkness"
in 1951. Styron went on to win a Pulitzer for "The
Confessions of Nat Turner." He grew up in Hilton
Village, the only child of a shipyard engineer, and
attended public schools. Yet his hometown had never
honored him. Indeed, some of the city's old guard disliked
his first novel, because of its negative portrayal of
the city's upper crust.
Nevertheless
Freeman had found his peg. He traveled to Roxbury, Conn.,
and personally visited with Styron. . Now in his 70s,
Stryon was flattered by Freeman's idea and volunteered
to name the project's streets after some of America's
literary greats. He visited Newport News last fall when
Freeman dedicated the main public square in his honor.
An
association with a living author and Freeman's passion
for public art give Port Warwick a unique identity.
They also distinguish it from Oyster Point Town Center,
a mixed-used project going up a few blocks away with
the help of city funds. Port Warwick is privately funded
by two local regional banks and is more residential
in nature than Oyster Point, which will have some apartments,
but concentrate more on commercial tenants. Assistant
City Manager Neil Morgan says the projects, which will
both host public events, complement one another. "We're
excited to have them."
Port
Warwick is moving along faster than Freeman expected,
helped along by low mortgage-interest rates. Thirty
of 100 single-family homes--with starting prices of
$255,00 — are already up. Another 40 have been
sold and are awaiting construction. Already complete
is The Arbors, a 98-unit independent living center,
geared for retirees. Also well along is construction
on live-work buildings, which mix luxury apartments
above shops and restaurants on the ground floor.
Next month, the first of three restaurants opens. June
brings the opening of about 15 small, local retail establishments,
including a specialty cleaners and expresso bar. When
totally built out in two years, about 1,500 people are
expected to live in Port Warwick; another 1,000 will
work there.
Unlike
law, where the rewards are frequently abstract, Freeman
says seeing Port Warwick go up has been a tangible thrill.
The judges liked it, because it transformed an industrial
sight, required no public funds and is expected to generate
$2.4 million annually in tax revenues while only costing
the city $400,000 in public services.
Return
to Virginia Business - April 2003
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