State funding to help revitalize Hampton Roads port properties

Earlier this year, Hampton Roads received $2.4 million in state funding to support a seafood market in Newport News, vital shipyard improvements in Norfolk and a dual rail transload facility in Portsmouth.

The money, which comes from the Port Host Communities Revitalization fund distributed by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, is meant to be used to revitalize and redevelop port-related properties to further economic development and employment growth. Newport News, Portsmouth and Norfolk received $800,000 each.

The seafood market will be located in the Newport News-owned Seafood Industrial Park, a seafood harbor that is an important part of the city’s economy.

Florence Kingston, director of development for Newport News, describes the seafood market as a “critical community improvement project.” The roughly 7,800-square-foot facility will allow sales of fresh seafood and house a commercial kitchen supporting four food vendors, which may include restaurants or stores where seafood is sold. Kingston says the building will also feature kiosks.

Work Program Architects has almost completed design work on the project, and the city hopes to go to bid this spring, begin construction this summer and have the market ready by the end of summer 2026.

While the $800,000 from the Port Host Communities Revitalization fund will fund some of the $9.1 million seafood market construction, the remainder will come from city bond funds and other grant programs.

“It’s a highly anticipated project, and I think it’s going to draw people and complement some of the other investments,” Kingston says. “We’re really grateful that we’re able to have a program that can help provide resources that help improve the commerce of your port and your community revitalization.”

For the City of Norfolk, $800,000 will go toward removing deteriorated bulkhead and degraded structures at Colonna’s Shipyard while redeveloping existing waterfront infrastructure.

Norfolk EDA spokesperson Mia Byrd Wilson says that the shoreline and landside approaching Colonna’s fabrication shop at 400 E. Indian River Road is in disrepair — including several antiquated and functionally obsolete structures, as well as overhead electrical lines that limit the activities that can be performed on the site.

To address this, the shipyard will demolish existing buildings and prepare the land for ship repair activities. Colonna’s will also take down the existing power lines and replace them with a new underground power system. The shipyard also plans to reconstruct the bulkhead for better water access.
“This project will increase vital shipbuilding and ship repair capacity on currently underutilized property along the river, increasing commerce and bringing additional jobs to the waterfront,” says Colonna’s Shipyard President Jordan Webb.

The EDA says the improvements are designed to decrease potential safety issues and increase yard productivity. Colonna’s Executive Assistant Ashley Wisniewski says the demolition of deteriorating structures is expected to be completed in the next 16 months. Tony Torres, Colonna’s director of industrial sales, says the project’s projected cost is $1.6 million and that the shipyard will cover any expenses not covered by the grant.

Portsmouth’s funding, meanwhile, will benefit the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad, which plans to use the funds to help construct a $6 million multi-commodity rail transload facility at 1040 Virginia Ave. to provide rail-to-container transloading. Railroad President Cannon Moss says that agricultural products would be loaded from rail cars into containers at the site, then transported to either the Virginia International Gateway in Portsmouth or Norfolk International Terminals in Norfolk.

According to Moss, CSX and Norfolk Southern trains would use the site. He says construction is set to start this year and hopes it will be completed before the end of 2025.