Greetings From Hampton Roads

The Colliers Government Solutions team represents owners of government-leased properties nationally. So, we travel a lot. This slideshow profiles my recent trip to Hampton Roads, Virginia. (Use arrow buttons to advance slides)

• Hampton Roads

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  Hampton Roads is in Southeastern Virginia. It is home to the United States Navy, chosen because it is one of the world's largest natural harbors, located at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. It also has the advantage of being the northernmost East Coast harbor that remains ice-free throughout the year.

• The Area

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  The Hampton Roads area comprises several municipalities including Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. Some readers may refer to this area as the "Tidewater Region". I used to do that too, until I was chastised by a local booster. Beginning in the 1980s, the local business community began the effort to re-name the area as Hampton Roads. The term "tidewater" was viewed as geographically imprecise and it evoked a swampy image that was inconsistent with the business-friendly brand these Virginians hoped to build. Some still refer to the broader region as the Tidewater Region, just be sure to choose your terms carefully!

• The Name

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  The name "Hampton Roads" is derived from the waterway that dominates it, as shown on this Civil War-era map. A "road", or "roadstead", in nautical terms is defined as "a stretch of sheltered water near land where ships may ride at anchor". The "Hampton" part of the name, as with many names in Virginia geography, refers to an English earl, in this case the 3rd Earl of Southampton, founder of the Virginia Company of London, which is one of the first ventures to colonize Virginia more than 400 years ago.

• Battle of the Ironclads

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  One of the more interesting historical facts about Hampton Roads is that it is the site of the famous Civil War "Battle of the Ironclads", the legendary duel between the the Monitor and the Merrimack. This was the first battle between iron-fortified ships and it would forever change naval warfare. After this, the great navies of the world immediately abandoned wooden shipbuilding and adopted a new architecture that would result in the steel hulled naval vessels patrolling the oceans today. It seems appropriate, therefore, that Hampton Roads is home to the U.S. Navy.

• USS Harry Truman

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  The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Harry Truman transits the Elizabeth River. The photo (courtesy of the U.S. Navy, not me) shows how tightly woven the Navy facilities are into the area's commercial fabric.

• GSA Leases

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  The Hampton Roads area is home to 1.34 million RSF of GSA leased space in 44 buildings (and possibly a few more directly leased by NAVFAC). The space is distributed throughout all of Hampton Roads, though the greatest concentration of square footage--roughly half of the total--is in that small cluster along I-664 in the left-center of the map. (see next slide)

• Lake View Technology Park

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  The greatest concentration of leased federal space in Hampton Roads is found in Lake View Technology Park, which is located at the intersection of I-664 and College Drive. This park was occupied by the Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) until that command was disbanded in 2010. Since then, the 664,000 square feet of buildings in this secure park have been backfilled by elements of Navy Cyber Command and the Joint Staff.

• FBI Norfolk Field Office

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  The FBI will vacate this 62,000 RSF field office in Norfolk, VA at the end of this year. (Knowing better than to attempt a photo of an occupied FBI building, this photo is courtesy of CoStar.)

• Chesapeake FBI Field Office

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  Once it is completed later this year, the FBI will move into this brand-new field office in Chesapeake, VA, eight miles due south of its current location. The 131,000 RSF building will feature 100' standoff distance, a secured perimeter and room for expansion. It is among the tailing edge of an FBI construction bonanza that led to the development of dozens of new field offices across the nation--many leased for 20 years, firm.

• The College Delly

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  If you find yourself traveling between Washington, DC and Hampton Roads you will pass right by historic Williamsburg. Though there are many scholarly reasons to tour Williamsburg, the hoi polloi (which includes me) have found that the greatest attraction is the College Delly, a 44-year-old family-owned restaurant located across the street from the College of William and Mary. The sandwiches are fantastic, though, as I discovered, difficult to eat while driving.

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