By Leona Baker | With contributions by Beth Hester
In honor of the 25th anniversary of this Coastal Virginia Magazine—and the quarter mark of the 21st century—we are sharing our editorial picks for the 25 most significant cultural and lifestyle developments of the last 25 years in our region.
Did we cover everything? Of course not, but what is included here—from major moves in urban planning to arts and culture, education to our military might, represents a broad swath of the changes that have helped shape us and how we live. We hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.
We’re “Coastal Virginia” Proud
We’ve picked a side in the regional identity debate. See the cover of our magazine.
Nothing against the venerable “Tidewater.” Or the somewhat perplexing “Hampton Roads.” Or even the trendily numerical “757.” Use them if you wish. We do, too, in the right contexts. But when the leadership and staff of this publication made the decision in 2013 to change names from Hampton Roads Magazine to Coastal Virginia Magazine, it was a purposeful one.
“We feel our new descriptive name more accurately represents our coverage area and brand,” wrote Editor Melissa M. Stewart at the time. “While Hampton Roads is a place, Coastal Virginia depicts a lifestyle, with many pleasant connotations coming to mind… (not to mention the ability to easily place it on a map).”
That last part is crucial when trying to communicate who and where we are to the outside world. So, despite years of debate by leadership and residents, focus groups and committees—from GO Virginia to Reinvent Hampton Roads to Envision 2020 and beyond—we are still all aboard for “Coastal Virginia.” And we can’t help but notice that many others are, too, with myriad businesses and brands adopting the moniker in recent years. See Publisher Randy’s Thompson’s article in the Jan.-Feb. 2025 edition of Coastal Virginia Magazine for more thoughts on the region’s decades long name game and regional identity question.
Virginia Beach Resort Renaissance
It’s not just the sun and sand that are a pretty big deal at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.
More 30 years after the demolition of The Dome—the legendary geodesic concert venue that once welcomed icons like Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles and Louis Armstrong—the Virginia Beach Oceanfront is poised for a new era. A new music venue by the same name and in the same spot will be a part of Pharrell Williams’ long-imagined Atlantic Park, a mixed-use entertainment venue and surf park scheduled to open this spring.
It’s one of a series of major undertakings designed to have a transformative effect on the city’s resort area, where summer tourism still reigns supreme, but city leaders hope to up the ante with world-class attractions and unique experiences. Among those are the opening of the Virginia Beach Convention Center in 2005, the growth of the ViBe Creative and Artery Districts, and, of course, the renovation of the Oceanfront’s crown jewel, The Historic Cavalier Hotel, in 2018. And coming soon: major upgrades to the Atlantic Avenue streetscape from 5th to 40th Streets.
Along with these developments, there has been a concerted effort to attract or grow major events and festivals—from races and surfing competitions to multiday concerts and arts events. After some major speedbumps, Williams’ signature Something in the Water Festival is slated to return in April.
Downtown Norfolk Developments
With the fate of MacArthur still in play, historic Downtown Norfolk is finding its way.
For all the beautifully rich history, arts and culture that have helped shape Norfolk’s urban core, the ever-shifting fate of the Granby Street corridor over the last 25 years has been largely defined by one four letter word: m-a-l-l. When Macarthur Center opened with much fanfare in 1999, it was touted as the new standard in upscale, climate-controlled retail.
And, in many ways MacArthur delivered on its promise—at least for a while. Its high-end department stores, trendy chains and restaurants, along with ample parking and accessibility to the rest of downtown, ushered in a new era. The activity spilled over into the surrounding streets and was a welcome refresh from the ghostly “Granby Mall” era.
Fast forward to 2025 and MacArthur’s impending demise opens a new opportunity for reinvention in Mermaid City. As city leaders and residents continue deliberate on how the space will be reimagined, other downtown developments like The Main, Waterside District, the Elizabeth River Trail, Slover Library and the long awaited and debated casino have entered the mix. Additional housing, recent and coming-soon updates to Nauticus and the Half Moon Cruise Center, and the arrival of educational organizations like Tidewater Community College and the Governor’s School for the Arts have also added vibrancy.
City Centers Set Up Shop
From Town Center to Summit Pointe, mixed-use developments are making their mark.
While revitalization and reinvention are often the challenge for historic downtowns in older cities like Portsmouth and Norfolk, other local population centers have looked to brand-new, mixed-use developments as a way to establish a focal point for commerce and culture.
Town Center of Virginia Beach has been arguably the most successful of these. With its prime location in the Central Business District, about 10 miles from the resort area and across from the former Pembroke Mall, construction on Town Center began in 2000. Its signature Armada Hoffler Tower was completed in 2003, and it has gradually expanded since.
There have been challenges with business closures along the way, but Town Center has persevered including with recent openings like TASTE, the LEGO Store, Apex Entertainment and Nando’s Peri Peri. Destinations like The Sandler Center for Performing Arts and Zeiders American Dream Theater have also given Town Center a level of panache driven by engaging event programming.
Following closely on Town Center’s heels was City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News, also home to retail shops, restaurants, offices and residences. More recently, Chesapeake has come out strong with its Summit Pointe and anchor Dollar Tree headquarters attracting high-end dining like Cork & Bull Chophouse and Luce Secondo.
Feeling the District Vibe
From NEON to the ViBe, creative districts are adding color and life to urban blocks.
When Norfolk’s NEON District was in its nascent stage in 2010, a simple but ambitious idea took shape, spearheaded by AltDaily: bring together “public art advocates, artists, local nonprofits and educational institutions to foster relationships with private real estate holders and enliven vacant and blighted properties in all seven cities.”
In the years since, the once dilapidated stretch of Granby Street north of Brambleton has been energized—NEON stands for “New Energy of Norfolk”—in a big way. Colorful murals and sculptures by celebrated artists line the buildings and streets. The annual NEON Festival welcomes artists and performers to The Plot urban park. Restaurants, arts organizations and unique shops, businesses and residences—from Commune NFK to Push Comedy Theater, Bob’s Gun Shop to the new Fusion at NEON apartments—have thrived.
During the same time frame, a group of Virginia Beach business leaders came together to establish the Old Beach Farmers Market in what would become known as the ViBe Creative District. From its original epicenter at Croc’s 19th Street Bistro, the district grew into a vibrant scene, complete with coffee shops, breweries, public art and trendy locally owned shops. More recently places like Newport News have followed suit with the Yard District, home to Coastal Fermentory, Ironclad Distillery and more.
Main Street Makeovers
From Gloucester to Smithfield to Phoebus, these downtowns are putting on the charm.
In the January 2024 issue of Coastal Virginia Magazine, we explored the revitalization efforts of many of the region’s smaller communities in a feature called “Why Main Streets Matter.” While much of the discussion regarding our regional identity has tended to focus on the Seven Cities, places like Gloucester and Smithfield have been steadily investing in the cultural and economic cachet of their historic thoroughfares.
Gloucester’s Main Street area is prime example. Using a public-private funding model, local leadership played the long game in transforming a once sleepy strip extending from county’s historic courthouse to Gloucester Brewing—which opened in 2018—and beyond into a vibrant mini hub for specialty shops, markets, eateries and business offices.
Many of these communities are getting help from national and statewide revitalization programs. The Virginia Main Street Program, the Commonwealth’s version of Main Street America, includes not only Gloucester but Cape Charles, Onancock, Chincoteague, Suffolk, Tappahannock, Williamsburg and Hilton Village.
As writer Mary Scott Hardaway noted in the story, “from Smithfield, the ham capital of the world, to Phoebus, an eclectic neighborhood within the city Hampton, the main streets of Coastal Virginia are bucking the odds to draw in more happy visitors and residents who are seeing their main streets in a different light.”
Still Shopping ’til We Drop
Malls are mostly out. Online is in, but so are unique, curated in-person experiences.
Like virtually every place on Earth, Coastal Virginia has seen a massive shift in the retail landscape since a guy named Jeff Bezos set up a little online bookstore. These days you can order everything from sneakers to Snickers and have them delivered to your front door almost as fast as you hit that “Add to Cart” button. And not just through Amazon, which also happens to be building facilities in our region at nearly the same speed.
So, how do local retailers and mom-and-pop shops compete? One, by embracing a multichannel sales model—online and in-store. And two, by offering customers unique or curated experiences and services they can’t get online. These were points made at recent events organized by Norfolk-based Retail Alliance, which advocates for retailers and offers assistance in navigating these challenges.
The former widespread popularity of malls—see the demise of Pembroke, MacArthur and Military Circle and the notable exception of Lynnhaven—has also given way to mixed use, indoor-outdoor developments featuring a variety of shops, restaurants and other businesses. The good news? People still love to shop. They like to pick things up, flip through the pages of a book, feel the quality of a fabric with their hands and smell the fresh produce.
The Arts Are Alive and Well
The Virginia Arts Festival and new venues raise the curtain on an active arts scene.
The visual and performing arts have had a strong presence in our local community going back decades. Downtown Norfolk—home to the Virginia Symphony, Virginia Opera, Virginia Stage Company and the Chrysler Museum of Art—with its world-class collection and glass studio—has long been the region’s most concentrated area for the arts. Performance venues like the historic Wells Theatre, Chrysler Hall and Harrison Opera House, too, have given arts lovers and artists spaces to call their own.
But the establishment of the Virginia Arts Festival in 1997 took things to the next level by attracting world-renowned musicians, dance companies and performers with event programming concentrated primarily in the spring and early summer. The Festival just announced its 26th season, which now offers events throughout the year and at venues around the region along with extensive educational opportunities.
The opening of The Sandler Center in Virginia Beach in 2007—where resident companies like Virginia Musical Theatre and Symphonicity share stage space with national touring acts—was another pivotal moment. The Ferguson Center at CNU similarly established a home for performing arts on the Peninsula. A large-scale expansion of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg also made history when it was completed in 2020.
Bringing the Music to Town
Indoor and outdoor venues offer concertgoers and touring bands the chance to jam.
Coastal Virginia Magazine isn’t the only one celebrating a quarter century in 2025. One of the region’s iconic performance spaces is too. Originally opened as a movie and vaudeville theater in the 1920s, The NorVa in Downtown Norfolk reopened as a concert venue in 2000 with the one and only James Brown gracing the stage. Stories of the Godfather of Soul partaking in the backstage hot tub have become the stuff of legend, but the NorVa remains an integral part of the local music scene, hosting a wide variety of mid-sized music acts.
The Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater opened a few years before that in Virginia Beach, and the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion in Portsmouth followed in 2001, offering outdoor entertainment options to the mix. During this time, the Hampton Coliseum, which was once a major concert venue attracting everyone from the Rolling Stones to U2, transitioned to hosting more sporting and specialty events.
As of press time, at least one show had been scheduled for the new Dome inside the soon-to-open Atlantic Park in Virginia Beach. Live Nation announced rock bands Papa Roach and Rise Against will play the $56 million entertainment venue on September 17, 2025. The indoor/outdoor music hall will feature a giant sliding door.
From Here, They Went Everywhere
Our homegrown talent has influenced the world and shined a spotlight on the 757.
There’s this guy named Pharrell Williams. Maybe you’ve heard of him. Following the release of his animated Lego biopic Piece by Piece last year, the multihyphenate mogul is working on Atlantis, a movie musical based on his time as a kid living in a Virginia Beach apartment complex of the same name. The “Happy” singer is also behind the Something in the Water Festival and the soon-to-open Atlantic Park.
Another of the region’s locally grown talents, Grammy-winning Portsmouth native Missy Elliott, has helped shine a spotlight on her hometown. Elliott recently returned for an event marking the unveiling of a street named after her, with Norfolk natives Timbaland and Pusha T there to cheer her on.
Famous athletes from our region are nearly too many to mention, but’s let’s give it a college try. They range from NBA legend Allen Iverson and Mets third baseman David Wright to football player Michael Vick. Vick infamously faced legal troubles over dogfighting but has since positioned himself as an animal rights advocate and was recently named Norfolk State’s head football coach.
Hokie turned Buffalo Bill Bruce Smith was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Gymnast Gabby Douglass grew up in Virginia Beach and was the first Black gymnast to win individual all-around in the Olympics. In 2024, Chesapeake’s Grant Holloway took home Olympic gold in the 110-meter hurdles.
The Big Business of Sports
Growing support for sports tourism and infrastructure development is a home run.
Speaking of baseball, during the past decades, our regional AAA farm team, the Norfolk Tides—and their fans—have experienced some pretty extensive changes. In 2002, the Tides moved to the newly constructed Harbor Park drawing increased attention to Norfolk as a sports destination. In 2006, the Tides became aligned with the Baltimore Orioles after serving as the New York Mets affiliate from 1969 to 2006.
And, in a seismic shift, in 2016, the Norfolk Tides changed their logo and mascot as part of a brand “refresh.” Fan response to Triton, the seahorse mascot and new color scheme were mixed. Though we had a hard time warming up to the new branding, and non-marine-esque colors, we must admit that the old logo looked a bit like the letter ‘T’ sporting a blue and white toupée.
Sports tourism has become a significant economic driver for Hampton Roads. The area’s mild climate, coastal attractions, and strategic location make it an ideal venue for tournaments and events. The Virginia Beach Sportsplex, the Hampton Virginia Aquaplex, and the construction of new state-of-the-art complexes, such as the Williamsburg Sports and Events Center, underscores the region’s commitment to advancing sports infrastructure.
Colleges and universities in the area, such as Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, and Christopher Newport University, have played a crucial role in the region’s athletic growth.
Taste the Restaurant Revolution
Our brand of coastal Southern cuisine is a melting pot bubbling over with goodness.
What do beloved local restaurants Coastal Grill, Luna Maya, Steinhilber’s and Le Yaca have in common? All of them were featured on this magazine’s first-ever Top 50 Restaurants list in 2003 as part of a critics’ choice awards program, which would become known at the Platinum Plate Awards, as well as on our just published Top 50 Restaurants list for 2024, now called the CoVa Culinary Awards.
If the local restaurant scene was experiencing a boom in 2003, that boom has become a very tasty mushroom cloud. This magazine can hardly keep up with covering all the new restaurants that open offering a wide variety of cuisines and service styles from uber-elevated pub food to old school fine dining.
The restaurant business is famously fickle, of course. And we would be remiss if we didn’t pay homage to some gone-but-not-forgotten favorites like Cowboy Syd’s, The Trellis, Bardo, Blue Hippo, Café Europa, Lucky Star, Rivers Inn and more.
Lucky for the hungry in Coastal Virginia, hundreds of new eateries have emerged, many of them embracing the farm-to-table movement, international influences, the revitalization of our oyster and crab populations, and the art of turning a basic burger into a craft experience worthy of a white tablecloth.
Raising a Glass or Two or Three
Wineries, breweries, distilleries, oh my. The adult libations are flowing freely.
St. George Brewing Company in Hampton, a founding member of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild and one of the oldest microbreweries in the Commonwealth, has been “slaying ordinary beer since 1998.” But in the quarter century since, one can barely take a sudsy sip without a new brewery popping up in Coastal Virginia.
From Williamsburg’s Virginia Beer Company to Back Bay Farmhouse in Virginia Beach, Norfolk’s Bold Mariner to Nansemond Brewing Station in Suffolk, breweries have become much more than places to drink beer. They are wildly popular gathering places for special events, festivals, food trucks, live entertainment, charity fundraisers, family-friendly activities and much more.
Meanwhile, the region’s most well-known winery, Williamsburg Winery, has helped put the region on the map—literally. The winery has invested significantly in cultivating the quality of its wines and was instrumental in establishing the federally designated Virginia Peninsula American Viticultural Area in 2021. Other wineries like Chatham and New Kent are building on the notion that the Virginia mountains aren’t the only place for inspired winemaking in the state.
Distilleries, too, are coming into their own with Copper Fox in Williamsburg, Tarnished Truth and Chesapeake Bay Distillery in Virginia Beach, and vodka makers like Beach Vodka and Waterman Spirits.
The World Is Our Campus
The growth of ODU, CNU and more draws students, academics and community partners.
Anyone who visits their alma mater years after graduation is bound to find new residence halls, student centers and academic buildings they don’t recognize. But if one were to set foot on the campus of Christopher Newport University in 1996 and suddenly be transported to the same spot when long-time President Paul Trible retired in 2022, they may have found it unrecognizable.
CNU’ s rapidly expanded footprint in Newport News and ballooning enrollment is just one of many stories of growth and increased community presence in the higher education sector, even as it faces challenges such as tuition affordability and the so-called enrollment cliff.
The region’s largest public higher education institution, Old Dominion University, has also grown steadily, establishing itself as a dynamic academic and research entity and an athletic contender, while simultaneously expanding its physical presence along Norfolk’s Hampton Blvd. Major partnerships including the recent integration of Eastern Virginia Medical School, have also cemented ODU’s role.
Smaller public schools like William and Mary continue to attract the academically elite. HBCUs like Hampton University and Norfolk State build on historic legacies of opportunity and achievement. Private schools like Virginia Wesleyan and Regent University have grown and diversified, while community colleges like TCC and Virginia Peninsula Community College offer affordable degree pathways.
Building Big, Healthy Futures
The game-changing integration of ODU and EVMS is part of a broader momentum.
Access to high quality healthcare is vital to the success of any community. But for a major population center to truly thrive, there must also be educational opportunities and scientific and technological innovation driving the industry and, in turn, serving residents. In Virginia, Richmond has long been considered a healthcare hub, in large part because of the Medical College of Virginia, now part of VCU.
Yet, our region is no stranger to medical advancements. Perhaps most notably, Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones helped revolutionize fertility treatment worldwide by pioneering IVF in the U.S. and founding the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in the early ’80s. Building on that legacy, Shady Grove Fertility has been responsible for the birth of more than 100,000 babies.
But more recent major growth and historic partnerships in the local healthcare sector overall have entirely changed the game. After decades of debate about the possibility, ODU finally integrated with EVMS in 2024, making it the state’s largest academic health sciences center. CHKD, still Virginia’s only freestanding children’s hospital, has grown by leaps and bounds as has Riverside Health on the Peninsula. The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute also began offering cancer patients less invasive treatment options with fewer side effects in 2010.
Watershed Moments for Water
Multi-faceted approach and collaborative efforts advance coastal resilience in the region.
Though conditions along the Chesapeake Bay watershed and surrounding coastal areas face persistent challenges, during the past 25 years, the region has experienced a hopeful and sometimes miraculous transformation. Thanks in part to greater awareness, research, and public-private partnerships forged through consensus and diplomacy, the ebb tide has turned. Officially established in 1993, the Elizabeth River Project (ERP) has had an outsized impact on our coastal region.
Over the past 25 years, the organization’s efforts to clean up the Elizabeth River—a multi-branch historic waterway with an industrial harbor that was once given up for dead—have been remarkable. The organization’s educational initiatives, such as habitat restoration, pollution reduction, community education, and the establishment of the Ryan Resilience Lab in Norfolk, inform our approach to pollution prevention and remediation as well as our response to sea level rise.
But the wave of positive news doesn’t end there. Given Coastal Virginia’s geography and vulnerability to a host of climate change and other environmental threats, an awe-inspiring and truly historic $100 million gift in 2024 from philanthropist Jane Batten to the newly named Batten School of Coastal & Marine Science will, according to the university “position William & Mary and its Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) as the premier destination for developing solutions to these threats.”
Winds of Change Blowing
Offshore wind makes waves with the promise of powering more than .5 million homes.
Something’s in the wind off the coast of Coastal Virginia. Two things actually. And, if the lighting and weather are just right, you can pick them out as tiny specks on the horizon as you gaze at the Atlantic Ocean from the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. But if you’ve had a chance to see Dominion Energy’s first two wind turbines up close, you know these steel goliaths are anything but tiny. From the water’s surface, each one stands taller than the Washington Monument.
The two turbines are a pilot program, the precursor to 176 additional and even larger turbines to be installed a mile east. Those turbines can produce 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough energy to power up to 660,000 homes once completed by the end of 2026, according to Dominion Energy. Construction began in May 2024 with the placement of the monopile steel tubes that serve as bases for the turbines. Work is scheduled to resume following whale migration season, which could be disturbed by the process, later this year.
The push for offshore wind as a renewable energy source has had broad support from the business and environmental communities, but it is not without its detractors, who site concerns about the effects on marine life, noise, visibility and maintenance.
But What about the Weather?
Coastal Virginia’s famously mercurial weather is as hot a topic as climate change.
Folks in Coastal Virginia love talking about the weather. The humidity is a favorite topic. As is the change-on-a-dime seasonality. “You never know what you’re going to get from one day to the next,” people often observe. Then there are the come-here’s who are fond of ribbing us for our seeming inability to handle even the most minor snowfall without emptying local grocery store shelves of milk and bread. But sometimes it’s more than small talk.
The early aughts were marked by the arrival of Hurricane Isabel in 2003, which came ashore as a Category 2 storm, pounding the region with winds that ripped off parts of buildings, downed trees and cut off power to millions. The associated storm surge and rising waters also flooded the Midtown Tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth. Isabel approached $2 billion in damages across the state.
Then there are the ongoing implications of climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported the Earth’s warmest year on record in 2023. In our watery region, the results are most observable through sea level rise. But the threat of changes in severe weather patterns, heat waves, droughts, flooding and more are a reality we’ll be reckoning with for the next 25 years and beyond.
Celebrating Our Green Spaces
Significant conservation efforts are aiming to preserve habitats and enrich lives.
Thriving green spaces are critical to communities for a host of reasons—from improving air quality and providing habitats for plants and animals to reducing stress and promoting active lifestyles for us human animals. Thankfully, in the last several decades there have been some significant new efforts to permanently preserve and protect these spaces regionally.
Among those are the 142-acre Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve in Portsmouth, a former VDOT borrow pit, which has been transformed into an oasis of forested trails with decks overlooking a lake, creek and salt marshes. Paradise Creek Nature Park off Victory Boulevard, established by The Elizabeth River Project in 2012, is another hidden gem in an otherwise predominantly urban landscape.
Pleasure House Point Natural Area at the base of the Lesner Bridge in Virginia Beach, now a haven for birders and home to the Brock Environmental Center, was a hard-won victory for preservationists whose efforts to save it from development were realized in 2012.
Gloucester welcomed Virginia’s newest state park in 2021 with the opening of Machicomoco, a name meaning “special meeting place” in Algonquian. Also on the Peninsula, the Newport News Green Foundation has been busy identifying and preserving green spaces around the city and is currently cultivating the Sarfan Food Forest.
Getting It Down to a Science
Coastal Virginia strengthens its position as a leading science and technology hub.
From Wallops Island’s growing importance in commercial and scientific space exploration, to Jefferson Lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, to the growth of unmanned systems, modeling and simulation research and thriving educational and collaborative ecosystems, our region’s science and tech-driven advancements are making vital contributions to global conversations about how we understand our universe, and ourselves.
After the Columbia disaster in in 2003, NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton played a pivotal role in developing safety measures and risk assessment tools for the Space Shuttle program and other projects by establishing the NASA Engineering and Safety Center. And though most people have trouble distinguishing their hadrons from their neutrons, the researchers at Jefferson Lab in Newport News are busy unlocking the secrets of subatomic particles.
On a more down-to-earth note, the Virginia Modeling, Analysis, and Simulation Center (VMASC), a multidisciplinary applied research and enterprise research facility of Old Dominion University, located in Suffolk, established a vanguard digital shipbuilding program in 2018. Through industry partnerships, simulation-based training, technology integration and work/study programs, VMASC Is advancing the nature of workforce training to meet the demands of modern shipbuilding.
On the medical treatment front, in 2020, the Sentara Brock Cancer Center began caring for all phases of a patient’s journey through a holistic approach designed to promote hope and healing.
Showing Our Mighty Military
We persevered through tragedy, deployments, and a pandemic and celebrated NATO.
On October 12, 2000, the USS Cole, a Navy destroyer based in Norfolk, was attacked by al-Qaeda suicide bombers in Yemen, killing 17 sailors and injuring nearly 40 other crew members. The ship was later repaired in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and returned to Norfolk. This tragedy had a particular emotional impact on Coastal Virginia, and in 2022, the USS Cole held a pierside ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk on the 20th anniversary of the bombing, to honor the sailors killed and to celebrate the heroism of the ship’s crew.
The 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks led to a heightened military presence and operations in Hampton Roads, which is home to major Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard facilities. Signaling a major shift, JFCOM, which had a significant presence in Hampton Roads, was closed as part of cost-cutting efforts by the Department of Defense. The command was disbanded in August 2011.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on military operations, with several ships from Hampton Roads facing outbreaks. The military was also involved in local and national pandemic response efforts, including logistics and vaccination distribution.
On July 11, 2024, NATO celebrated its 75th anniversary with a landmark summit in Washington, D.C. This is significant because Norfolk is home to NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, one of the organization’s two strategic commands. Established in 2003, it is the only NATO headquarters located in North America.
Housing Market Roller Coaster
Since the crash of 2008, homebuying, selling and renting have given us quite the ride.
A turn on the recently refurbished Loch Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg seems a fitting metaphor for the experience of homeowners, buyers, sellers and real estate professionals since 2000. Or should we say 2008? That’s the year a global financial crisis was ignited by the subprime mortgage fiasco and subsequent housing bubble burst.
In Coastal Virginia, like elsewhere, sticker shock for those looking to buy a home quickly gave way to plummeting values and lost equity for property owners, which would take a decade or more to recover. Since then, it’s been a mixed bag, with housing prices and rental rates currently at record highs.
While newly constructed luxury apartments continue to proliferate, many catering to Boomers looking for a downsized and destressed lifestyle, the need for affordable housing is more urgent than ever. In ODU’s 25th Annual State of the Region Report, released in October 2024, it was noted that, while our local economy is strong, we can’t attract and retain a workforce without places that workforce can afford to live.
“Solving our housing supply problem goes well beyond being good neighbors to our fellow working families in Hampton Roads and creating a community where our children can live and thrive,” the report concluded, “it is simply good economics.”
They’re Legal, Now What?
Casinos and marijuana (sort of) got the green light. Where do we grow from here?
People say never say “never.” But whether they supported the legislative initiatives that led to the legalization of marijuana in the Commonwealth in 2021 or not, 25 years ago most Virginians probably would have thought that outcome a pipe dream.
Yet, with mounting evidence of its medicinal benefits and a national trend toward liberalization leading to licensed dispensaries offering boutique cannabis products, the potential plusses for economies and patients could no longer be ignored. Not to mention the criminal justice implications of marijuana convictions, which have had a disproportionate effect on communities of color.
The particulars of what is legal and what is not are still a little sticky. While possession has been largely decriminalized, recreational sales are still prohibited following a 2024 gubernatorial veto. Licensed medical dispensaries in the area include Cannabist locations in Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg.
On the gambling front, Portsmouth won the race by becoming the first city in the region to open a full-service casino in 2023. As plans for Norfolk’s version are still bobbing around the roulette wheel, Rivers Casino Portsmouth is full-steam ahead, drawing crowds not only for gaming but for live entertainment, upscale dining and special events, making it a focal point for tourism and nightlife.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Light rail stayed in Norfolk. Will tunnels, trains, roads and an airport refresh do more?
If you took The Tide to see The Tides last summer, you may have been pleasantly surprised to discover that rides to and from Harbor Park on Norfolk’s light rail were complimentary before and after the game. It’s a nifty perk designed encourage ridership on the Hampton Roads Transit system that began serving customers in 2011. While generally well received in Norfolk, a proposed plan to extend light rail into Virginia Beach was nixed by voters in 2016.
Amtrak reopened to passengers traveling by train from Norfolk in 2012, offering a relatively easy and affordable option for getting to D.C., New York and Boston. Meanwhile, there is still hope for efforts to connect Virginia to even more destinations along the East Coast via high-speed rail.
Big changes also are coming to Norfolk Airport, which has experienced record-setting passenger volumes in post-pandemic times. Following a groundbreaking this summer, work is underway on a series of improvements that include a new U.S. Customs facility, expanded concourse, additional gates, an on-site hotel and the return of the moving sidewalk.
Then there is the largest highway construction project in Virginia’s history, the ongoing $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion designed to relieve daily gridlock between the Southside and the Peninsula. Fingers crossed for 2027.
Our Shifting Media Landscape
Newspapers downsize and digital dominates, but broadcast and print have their place.
If one were to check the resumes of a broad sample of publishing, media and communications professionals in the Coastal Virginia community, at least one common denominator would no doubt emerge. The diaspora of former Virginian-Pilot employees began well before its parent company Landmark Communications sold the region’s flagship paper to Chicago-based Tribune Publishing in 2018.
Downsizing in the face of economic challenges and an increasingly digital, diversified and divisive media landscape has been an ongoing phenomenon for many newspapers. That includes The Pilot, which closed its Norfolk plant in 2020 and is now printed near Richmond along with The Daily Press. Yet, The Pilot carries on and its absence would be a major loss.
Some smaller community papers are taking a hyper local approach. WHRO Public Media has also filled some of the void by investing in thoughtful local news coverage. TV stations WTKR, WVEC and WAVY continue to offer timely, service-oriented information for viewers, limited by broadcast airtime.
Regional lifestyle publications like Coastal Virginia Magazine, Veer and Local Scoop are still covering local culture while others like Distinction have come and gone. Most of these traditional print and broadcast outlets have embraced digital and social complements to their brands, connecting them with their audiences and advertisers across multiple platforms.
Leona Baker
Leona Baker is the former Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Virginia Magazine. She is a writer, creative, communications professional, food freak, news junkie, nature and travel lover and mom. She holds a degree in English from James Madison University and a degree in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She previously served as Senior Copywriter for Spark 451, Director of Marketing & Communications at Virginia Wesleyan University, and Senior Editor of Port Folio Weekly.
Beth Hester
Beth Hester is the Managing Editor of CoVaBIZ magazine. Educated at Old Dominion University, she’s an avid angler, cricket devotee, and Japanophile. She’s interested in graphic design and photography, and in her freelance incarnation has written extensively for Virginia Wildlife Magazine and other publications about field sports, land conservation efforts, water quality concerns, urban green space, and the natural world.
