it is once more an honor to be with so manypeople who care so deeply about our city - norfolk. your energy and enthusiasm is inspiring, andnever fails to confirm the belief that, working together, we can accomplish great things...sothank you for being here. we'll long remember the major winter stormthat hit january 28 with bitterly cold temperatures and nearly10 inches of snow. during and afterthe event, city crews and vdot personnel - stayed on the job treating and plowing the roads.along with the police, fire rescue, emergency services, public works, parks and recreationand department of utilities staff - they did a fantastic job, so please thank them foran outstanding performance. before we go any further, let's remember aspecial citizen who left us last month - josh
darden. with his passing the city lost a greatfriend and patron. his love for norfolk, and his deep belief in a responsibility to giveback to the community, were expressed through quiet leadership and support of initiativesthat have greatly benefitted our community - especially our young people. the accesscollege foundation, civic leadership institute and the hampton roads community foundationare examples of some of the organizations he helped create - too many to mention. josh's death leaves a void that will be difficult,if not impossible, to fill. we will all miss him greatly. less than two weeks ago - on february 10 - johnreinhart, the retired ceo of norfolk-based
maersk line ltd., became executive directorand ceo of the virginia port authority, one of our main economic drivers. john's managementexperience will be important in leading the port and for capitalizing on the opportunitiesthat will come when the panama canal widening is complete. john has been a good friend of the city, andwe look forward to working with him in his new capacity. we're pleased to be joined today by generaljean-paul palomeros, nato's supreme allied commander transformation and admiral williamgortney, commander, u. s. fleet forces command. gentlemen, thank you for being here.
norfolk is committed to the goal of beingthe most military and veteran friendly city in the country. we appreciate the men andwomen in uniform who are keeping us safe in a dangerous world - they are part of the norfolkfamily. we also appreciate the many veterans who reside in our city.we have engaged ina focused effort to assist their transition to civilian life, including establishing aveterans advisory commission. the commission has organized moving ceremoniesin observance of memorial day and veterans day. it also helped secure norfolk's selectionas a commemorative partner in the defense department's observation of the 50th anniversaryof the vietnam war. this year, the virginia arts festival tattoo will honor veterans ofthe vietnam war and their families. the tattoo
has been designated as the signature eventin 2014 for the united states of america vietnam war commemoration. in recognition of this, we invited - and havewith us today - the former commander of u. s. fleet forces command and now the commonwealth'ssecretary of veterans affairs and homeland security, and friend, retired admiral johnharvey. thank you for coming. norfolk is the first municipality in the stateto be certified as a virginia values veterans employer. this means we have met our commitmentto hire veterans. concern for our homeless veterans led to a partnership between thecity, nrha and the veterans administration to end chronic homelessness among the city'sveterans.
housing our heroes is dedicated to endinghomelessness for this population by memorial day 2015. these examples and more are whywe continue to lead the nation in supporting veterans and their families as well as activeduty military. much of our effort has been inspired by thecommissioner of veterans services of the commonwealth of virginia, retired navy commander paul galanti.mr. galanti is a 1962 graduate of the u. s. naval academy where he was president of hisclass. after completing navy jet flight traininghe departed for southeast asia in november 1965. paul flew 97 combat missions beforebeing shot down and captured on june 17, 1966. he remained a prisoner of war for nearly sevenyears in north vietnam's infamous hanoi hilton
complex. despite being tortured, he not onlymaintained his sanity, he has managed since his return in february 1973 to excel in severaldifferent fields. i might add that he is also presently a member of the board of visitorsat the virginia military institute. his personal decorations include the silver star, combatawards of two legions of merit and the bronze star, nine combat air medals and two purplehearts. we are highly honored by the presence heretoday of a great man. please stand and express your appreciation for a true american hero- paul galanti. thank you, paul, for joining us today. in a wonderful recognition of our growingattractiveness as a place to live, work, and
play, the national civic league selected norfolkas an all america city for 2013. our innovative and nationally recognized approach to flooding,our support for veterans, and our neighbors building neighborhoods civic initiative weresingled out as decisive qualities leading to the award. congratulations to city managermarcus jones and team norfolk on this achievement. more evidence of downtown being the placeto live in hampton roads came from the real estate information service - realtytrac - whichrecently named downtown's 23510 zip code as the third-best hipster neighborhood in thenation.....i'm not exactly sure what hipster means, but i'm sure it's good. the zip alsoincludes the historic downtown neighborhood of west freemason which the american planningassociation named as one of the nation's ten
great neighborhoods for 2013. the apa's state chapter recognized five yearsof work by the planning commission when it designated planorfolk 2030 as the state'soutstanding comprehensive plan. congratulations to west freemason and the planning commissionfor these accomplishments. norfolk has a proven record of sound financialmanagement. actions taken over the last couple of years to further strengthen our financialfoundation led standard & poor's to upgrade the city's bond rating from aa to aa+. thiswas an enormously important achievement. it's the first upgrade in 50 years, and will helpreduce borrowing costs. in and of itself, this is a remarkable achievement at any moment...but even more so in light of the city still
experiencing the impact of the great recessionand sequestration. rest assured, our financial house is in order. more evidence of fiscal discipline is ourrelatively modest real estate tax rate when compared to the seven sister cities in hamptonroads. norfolk's rate is regionally competitive and reflects the city's seriousness aboutfinancial stewardship. we are also encouraged by signs of the city'sstrengthening economy. unemployment has fallen to 6.3%, a full percent decline from thistime last year. crime dropped another 4% to continue a decade-long trend. state censusfigures show our population grew again last year for a total increase of 1.5% since the2010 census. and i am pleased to report that
development projects announced, underway ordelivered in the past 18 months conservatively represent $1.3 billion dollars of investment,and more than 3000 new jobs. let me say that again...$1.3 billion dollars and 3000 + newjobs. but as the economy improves and more jobsare created, all citizens need an opportunity to participate. the good we secure for ourselvesis precarious and uncertain until good is secured for all and woven into the fabricof our community. today, we estimate there are 210,000 jobsin the city. presently, 16.5% of families in norfolk live in poverty. other persistentchallenges include high rates of out-of-wedlock births and single female heads of household.all are indicators of poverty; all are causes
of poverty, and a major cause of a lower rateof educational attainment. we must do better. this helped persuade the council to appointa high-level task force to examine the nature of poverty in norfolk and recommend actionsto reduce the number of persons living in poverty. this initiative is co-chaired byvice mayor angelia williams and councilman andy protogyrou. it is a serious challenge. through research and building on what's workedin cities across the country, the 33 member mayor's commission on poverty has identifiedfour critical areas of focus: (1) supporting early childhood developmentand parents; (2) improving the education and career pathwaysof young people,
(3) strengthening opportunities for adultsto thrive in the workforce, and (4) revitalizing the city's neighborhoods. commissioners are studying available data,reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of current approaches, exploring promising models,and generating a first draft of strategies to move the needle on local poverty statistics. over 130 citizens weighed in on these topicsthrough town hall meetings. the plan is due to be completed in june 2014. for too long we've played defense on povertyissues, trying simply to mitigate the worst effect. now it's time to go on the offensiveand to recognize the untapped potential of
our people as both the right thing to do anda critical economic opportunity for us. all of our major downtown projects advancedlast year. construction on the slover main library isat the point where we will open in less than a year. the slover will be one of the mosttechnologically advanced libraries in the country. a preview center will open next monthon main street. and i have to say again that without the generous support of the late frankbatten and his wife, jane, none of this would have been possible. this summer we'll cut the ribbon on phasei of the new courthouse. it will provide modern, secure offices and courtrooms for circuitand general district courts and their clerk's
offices. phase ii begins later this year,and will house the juvenile & domestic relations court, the law library and the sheriff. thisis a $121 million dollar public building, and it will be the finest courthouse in thecommonwealth. this past october, the city finalized an agreementwith the cordish company for the renovation and reinvention of waterside. cordish hasagreed to invest up to $38 million dollars in a rebranding of the waterfront icon intowaterside live! waterside live! will create hundreds of newjobs...it is projected to generate an estimated $93 million dollars in direct revenue to thecity over 30 years and an estimated $850,000 annually in parking revenue. here today representingthe cordish company are michael stoltz and
taylor gray. thanks to a partnership between the city andgold key phr hotels, we expect to be under construction this summer on a 23-story full-servicehotel and conference center fronting main, granby and plume streets. its modern designincludes a state-of-the-art 50,000 square foot conference center and three restaurants,and will incorporate the old decker building faã§ade on plume street. the developer - thompson - has a very aggressiveschedule with plans to open approximately two years from now. the hotel/conference centerwill be a market maker. it will create 250 new jobs...make us competitive with the d.c. area, charlotte and raleigh-durham...it
will also enable us to attract more and largerconferences now lost to other markets. it will drive more business to the city. we're glad to have bruce with us here today.the new hotel/conference center and waterside live! will compliment each other and the restof downtown. carnival cruise lines recent decision to resumecruises out of norfolk next fall was a welcome announcement. i want to thank governor mcauliffefor helping make this happen. this is good news for norfolk and the commonwealth, andgood news for carnival. norfolk is within a five hour drive of more than 8 million adults,and i am confident a smart promotional campaign by carnival will help them succeed in thismarket.
also on the waterfront, nauticus celebratesits 20th anniversary after coming off one of its best years ever for both visitors andrevenue. the wisconsin continues to be a major attraction that was enhanced by opening moreof the ship's interior to the public. another of our downtown attractions - themacarthur memorial - celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. elsewhere downtown, a nearly $10 million dollarrenovation was completed on the monroe building - a downtown historic landmark and home tothe governor's school for the arts. 355 students and 54 faculty reported last month to a facilitythat, for the first time, brings all school operations downtown adding more life to granbystreet. congratulations to principal andrea
warren on a job well-done. as you know, we are working with the simonproperty group to develop a portion of the lake wright golf course into a premium outletcenter. this is a $75 million dollar project. it will bring 120 upscale shops to the city.it will create 300 construction jobs, 800 permanent jobs and return an estimated $4.2million dollars annually in tax revenue. simon's decision to bring the next generationof designer shopping here demonstrates the private sector's recognition of norfolk asthe crossroads of hampton roads. this is the most important retail development since macarthurcenter opened 15 years ago. a key component of this development will preservemuch of the golf course - including the lake
- as public open space. i am also pleased to announce that just lastweek the city council approved the economic development authority accepting a letter ofintent for the sale of 30 acres of the lake wright golf course, land norfolk owns in virginiabeach, to a joint venture between simon and s. l. nusbaum. this parcel was previously offered to ourneighbor, virginia beach. it will constitute phase 2 of a larger comprehensive plan. thisis forecasted to be a $50 million dollar development. it will prove to be a win-win for norfolkand virginia beach. norfolk gets paid for its property confident that the developmentwill complement the upscale simon outlet mall,
and virginia beach gets about $85 milliondollars in annual sales of which 60% will come from out of the area. it will generateapproximately $2.5 million dollars in annual taxes and create some 500 jobs. i am glad to say staff of the two cities havebeen meeting on a regular basis since early august. in fact, our staffs have met no lessthan 11 times. and there have been additional telephone conferences and exchanges of information.both councils received the same briefing last october in closed session. cooperation hasbeen excellent. of course, there is more to do. a trafficstudy concluding that both developments could be serviced by a new road needs to be validated.community outreach must occur - and more.
still, there is plenty of reason to be confidentthat working together both projects will be built and both cities will benefit. nearby at lake wright executive park, amerigroup'srelocation of 1200 employees into the former usaa headquarters is moving towards a maycompletion. this is a $23 million dollar investment that brings 1200 jobs to norfolk. amerigroup'sconfidence in the city is greatly appreciated. norfolk is also proud to be home to portfoliorecovery associates which has operations in the u. s. and great britain. for the second year in a row, pra was namedone of fortune's 100 fastest growing companies, and was listed by forbe's as one of the top25 small companies in america. located in
the riverside corporate campus, portfoliorecently completed a 30,000 square foot expansion. it has added 75 employees to accommodate itsexceptional growth. just wednesday, pra announced the biggestdeal in its history - an agreement to buy a norwegian debt-collection company that operatesin 14 european countries and canada. the 1.3 billion dollar purchase vaults pra into theranks of the world's largest debt specialists. pra's chairman, president and ceo steve fredericksonsaid he sees future growth in norfolk. steve is here today...please stand so we can recognizeyou. from its corporate headquarters on main street,the norfolk southern corporation operates 20,000 miles of track in 22 states and d.c.the ns enjoyed a record breaking 4th quarter
and an annual profit that grew 9% over 2012. last year, the railroad celebrated 50 yearsof service for its lamberts point coal loading facility at pier 6 - the largest and fastestsuch facility in the northern hemisphere. we are proud to be home to the best run, bestmanaged transportation company in america, and congratulations to ceo wick moorman, presidentjim squires and everyone at ns on another great year. the transfer of city-owned property on west21st street allows for construction to begin on ghent station, a $17.5 million dollar mixed-usedevelopment that will feature a fresh market grocery store and a bon secours medical officebuilding. you can expect to buy your turkey
there this thanksgiving. already its positiveimpact is seen in new businesses that have opened across from it on 21st street. the recent announcement that the acclaimedrichmond restaurant - croaker's spot - will open a norfolk location on 35th street wasa welcome development for park place. to demonstrate the business potential of the 35th streetcorridor, last fall the park place business association and civic league planned and carriedout a better block demonstration. also new in park place is the ymca that openedlast spring on granby street. thanks to an anonymous donor, construction has begun nextdoor on the commonwealth's first early education school. this $10 million initiative includesan endowment. opening this fall, it will serve
104 children using innovative, high quality,evidence-based curricula. our goal is to advance early education in the city, so students willbe tracked through grade 3 to assess the school's effectiveness in narrowing the achievementgap. in the broad creek section, the city is movingforward to conclude negotiations for a walmart neighborhood market and a wawa on propertyat princess anne and ingleside roads. this $10 million development will bring much neededservices and new jobs to an area of the city that has been underserved for decades. in april, the salvation army opens its $80million dollar kroc community center at broad creek. this regional mega-facility will havea large gym, a pool, fitness areas, worship
space and a theatre for performing arts. itwill transform this area of our city. josh darden's last gift to us was raising $24 milliondollars for the endowment. thanks also to anthony burfoot for his leadership of theredevelopment of broad creek. at wards corner, the $18 million dollar k&ksquare is all but finished. anchored by a harris teeter store that opened two days ago,the new shopping center is almost fully leased with tenants that include towne bank, starbucks,subway, moe's and albano cleaners. this is the largest and most important developmentfor wards corner in generations. thanks go to the perry family for an investment thatwill help revive this important section of the city.
in a significant development for the norviewarea, black and white cabs opened a $600,000 expansion to its operations center on sewellspoint road complete with the latest in mobile cab technology. this 63 year old family business,owned by judy swystun, was recently presented a national award as taxicab large fleet operatorof the year. congratulations, judy. these developments and more are helping reduceour dependence on defense spending, something economists have said for years the regionneeds to do. we are trying. last year, defense spending accounted for44% of the gross regional product - down from 48% the year before. norfolk businesses arealso heeding the advice to diversify, and there may be no better example of this thancolonna's' shipyard, one of norfolk's oldest
family-owned businesses operating in an industryemploying nearly 35,000 people. led by its chairman, bill colonna, the businesshas been owned by the colonna family since 1875 - nearly 140 years. while most familyowned shipyards have been bought by national defense companies, colonna's has successfullyadapted to the changing industry. it has a national reputation for high-quality, on-timework, and set a record last year for annual revenue. with approximately 600 employees,it is also an important source of jobs for our citizens. i am pleased karen colonna wasable to be with us today. please join me in congratulating her on maintaining a successfulbusiness in a very competitive marketplace. colonna's just recently acquired 17 acresfor expansion from the schaubach companies
as part of a move that will consolidate allschaubach companies operations and over 200 employs to 18 acres in virginia renaissancepark, site of the former ford plant in norfolk. norfolk has always been a center for innovation.this is seen in our defense industry - with 746 businesses at last count - in ship buildingand repair, in our private sector, our colleges and universities and in our arts community.the creativity of colonna employees is one example. we've heard about companies like paramountsleep and bauer compressors that do business globally. another example is auxiliary systemsincorporated, a 28-year old company owned by sharon williams and employing 130 people- half of them veterans. it is nationally
known for original engineering and manufacturingequipment essential to marine repair. earlier this month, custom power generatorsmade by ami were on-site at the super bowl in the event of another power failure. thisis another great example of an innovative norfolk company. sharon williams is here today. norfolk's reputation for innovation is alsoseen in a growing number of new small businesses. dr. lucy gibney - an emergency physician andevms graduate - is one example of this entrepreneurial spirit. in 2007, dr. gibney started a homebusiness making cookies for people with food allergies. today, her company operates outof a 17,000 square foot facility in central business park. she employs 60 people makinghypo-allergenic foods sold in more than 7000
stores in the u. s. and mexico. this is awonderful local success story. the widely acclaimed success of o'conner brewingand smartmouth brewing is giving norfolk a state and national reputation for locallyproduced beers. kevin o'conner brought local brewing back to norfolk when he opened a 7,000square foot brewery in park place three and a half years ago. his beers grew so popularthat he's moving to a larger facility in park place that will triple production capacity. smartmouth - led by porter hardy and brewmastergregg pap - is located in the entrepreneurial neighborhood of chelsea, an industrial areanext to west ghent that's home to other small businesses such as the birch, tortilla west,new leaf florist, acclaimed events and, soon,
bakehouse at chelsea. smartmouth celebratedits first year in business last november with a bronze medal at the great american beerfestival, and is already expanding its facility. kevin - porter...thanks for being here. a number of other new start-ups have openedin downtown, in the colley avenue-21st street corridor, riverview village and elsewhere.together with support from the business community and the city, they are why entrepreneur magazinenamed norfolk one of the top five u. s. cities for entrepreneurs in 2013. this is a greatrecognition for our local entrepreneurs, and their increasing importance to the city'seconomy. as home to old dominion and norfolk stateuniversities, virginia wesleyan college, eastern
virginia medical school and tidewater communitycollege, norfolk is the region's center for higher education. we are pleased to be joined by norfolk stateuniversity's interim president, eddie moore. mr. moore was president of virginia stateuniversity for 17 years, and brings a record of strong, proven leadership to norfolk statewhich is a vital institution of higher education. please join me in welcoming him. old dominion university president john broderickrecently led the university through a campus master planning process that will double classroom,research and student support space, all within the existing campus boundaries. it also includesa new 30,000 seat football stadium to replace
foreman field. we're looking forward to nextseptember's friday night nationally televised game - also a great way to promote norfolk. i would also acknowledge virginia wesleyancollege president dr. billy greer. virginia wesleyan has once again been chosen by theprinceton review as one of the nation's best colleges. it was also named a best collegefor military veterans. since its 1997 opening, the norfolk campusof tidewater community college has provided thousands of our young people with educationaland career opportunities. led by dr. edna behr-kolovani, tcc's campus and 14,000 studentsare a major presence downtown and its workforce development program is an important economicasset.
a good education is the foundation for successin the 21st century knowledge-based economy. most of our children are educated in the publicschools. we need all of our children to succeed academically,and while too many are not presently meeting state standards of learning, the fact is moststudents are achieving at or above required standards. credit for this goes to their teachers,more than 200 of whom were recognized for helping their students earn 90% or betterpass rates on the most recent standards of learning tests. and norfolk was one of only two south hamptonroads school divisions named by the virginia board of education as title i distinguishedschools for having met all state and federal
accountability requirements for two consecutiveyears. ocean view, sewells point and willoughby elementary' s earned the award by raisingstudents' academic achievement. norview high school was named one of 10 breakthroughschools in the country for academic success, and two weeks ago granby high school's modelunited nations team won the world model un at a competition against teams from acrossthe nation. the principals of these schools are with us today - lauren campsen from oceanview elementary, mary wrushen from sewells point elementary, june lightfoot from willoughbyelementary, marge stealy from norview high school and ted daughtrey from granby highschool along with teacher and team leader rob le-mur and students from the model unteam.. please stand and be recognized.
i'd also like to acknowledge norfolk publicschools senior art coordinator barbara laws on receiving the national art education association'sart education award. this is a prestigious national award and a great recognition forboth barbara and the school system. congratulations. too many of our young children report to schoolunprepared to learn. many live in difficult circumstances. some come to school never havingbeen read to, some have never held a book. the day they start they are behind. if we are to improve educational attainmentwe must own this problem. this means more early childhood high quality education mustbe offered. the school day may need to be lengthened. summer school programs must beenhanced. healthy lifestyles and good nutrition
must be emphasized. we must begin now. thechildren cannot wait. in addition to addressing these needs, thecity is moving ahead with its unprecedented commitment to build six new schools over asix year period. crossroads was the first, and we are well down the road on selectingconstruction companies to build the next five - a k-8 stem school in campostella and elementaryschools for camp allen, broad creek, larchmont and ocean view. including crossroads, thisis a $146 million dollar effort on behalf of the city. where our kids learn is critical to theirsuccess. our children need schools that strengthen and complement the learning process.
the strength and variety of our cultural resourceshas earned norfolk the title "cultural capital of the commonwealth." this reputation wasbuilt around the virginia symphony, the opera, the arts festival and virginia stage companyand dozens of excellent arts organizations such as todd rosenlieb dance, the generictheatre and the hurrah players. they add immeasurably to our quality of life and are important partnersfor economic growth. the anchor for our world-class cultural assetsis, of course, the chrysler museum. the chrysler has been closed since january 2013 for a $24million dollar renovation and expansion. when it reopens this may, visitors will find allits 50-plus galleries reinstalled and more of the collection on display. on the businessside, the chrysler was recently ranked number
one in the nation by charity navigator forits programs and service, financial accountability and transparency, and its commitment to goodgovernance. all of this has been made possible by strongleadership from the museum's board of trustees, and especially from chrysler museum directorbill hennessey. last september, bill announced his intention to retire this fall. bill, onbehalf of all of us, thank you for the numerous and important contributions you've made tothe chrysler and to the city. norfolk botanical garden is another outstandingcommunity amenity. for the past 16 years it has been ably run by its executive director,don buma. don recently announced plans to retire this summer. his leadership - and hisvision for what the garden could become - turned
what was essentially a large city park intoa nationally recognized botanical garden accredited by the prestigious american alliance of museums.don, thank you for all you've done for the garden and for norfolk. we continue to add to our wide variety ofcommunity amenities for residents and visitors alike. they range from improvements to ourbeaches and parks to facilities such as the new $7 million dollar southside aquatics center. the virginia zoo, which saw attendance figuressoar with the opening of trail of the tiger, has now opened a $4 million dollar animalwellness center which includes a large animal veterinary hospital that will double as aneducational facility and visitor exhibit.
health care is a vitally important communityamenity. few have health assets as strong as norfolk. one of the most important is easternvirginia medical school which last fall celebrated its 40th anniversary. led by dr. richard homan- who is the first person to hold the titles of president, provost and dean - evms graduatespractice across the country. this includes nearly 2000 physicians and health professionalsright here in hampton roads - a benefit that can only be described as priceless. a recent goal of the medical school is to becomeone of the most community-oriented in the nation. this is being achieved through them. foscue brock institute for community and global health - established last year by acontribution from macon and joan brock - and
by a student operated free clinic. let me also congratulate the medical school'sconrad program for reproductive health on receiving up to $80 million dollars in federalfunding to support hiv research. sentara healthcare - headquartered in norfolk- is a recognized leader in the hospital industry. it has the only nationally ranked heart programin the state, and for the 14th time its cardiology and heart surgery services were ranked inthe nation's top 50. last november, sentara opened the first oftwo new patient towers at leigh hospital. the facility incorporates new anti-infectiontechnology in the form of copper-infused counter tops, bed rails, linens, gowns and towelsmanufactured by norfolk-based eos surfaces
- led by ken trinder - and cupron inc. inwhat's been called the world's largest clinical trial. congratulations also to lake taylor transitionalcare hospital on on completion of a 5 year, $25 million dollar capital program that addeda new wing and renovated all patient rooms. lake taylor is nationally known for its ventilatorprogram, and is a place of first choice for patients recovering from orthopedic surgeryand for long-term care. we are fortunate to have it in norfolk. at the depaul hospital complex, bon secourshas begun construction on its $25 million dollar, 4-story depaul medical office plazawhich will include a comprehensive cancer
center. bon secours hampton roads is led byceo michael kerner who is with us today. there are encouraging signs that the city'sreal estate market is showing sustainable improvement. building permit activity is backto pre-recession levels. the number of distressed sales fell for the second year in a row, year-over-yearhome sales increased, the median price for homes increased and the overall assessed valuefor real estate moved into positive territory, showing a one-half per cent increase, andis projected to increase by 1% this year. from the southside to ocean view, more than$300 million dollars in new residential development completed, underway or announced will bring1350 units of housing to the city. this continues the recovery of norfolk's residential realestate market from its low point in 2010 following
the great recession. the 187 unit promenade point luxury waterfrontapartments at roland park are nearing completion. element at ghent - a 164 unit apartment complex- is underway and scheduled for completion later this year; and the city's last workingfarm in the crown point area will soon be the site of the pointe at pickett farm,a $35 million dollar, 300 unit apartment development. in ocean view, construction continues on pointeeast at harbor walk, a $25 million dollar project of 120 homes and town homes in theharbor walk community. the east beach marina apartments - a $25 milliondollar, 136 unit project by marathon development - is on track for a spring completion.
of special note, ground was broken for thefinal phase of the east beach development consisting of retail and a mixture of 80 townhomes,single-family homes, cottages and carriage houses. this is a great success story skillfullyand lovingly nurtured by bart frye. led by buddy gaddams, marathon developmentalso has projects underway that will add 669 housing units and bring an estimated 1,000new residents to downtown. buddy has completed a $25 million dollar renovationto the wainwright building, converting it to 126 apartments. nearly all have been leased- most by people moving to the city - 80% of whom are age 30 and younger. metro on granby - a handsome $35 million dollar,188 unit project - will be ready to lease
this spring. a $13 million renovation is underwayon the former james madison hotel that will add 79 apartments when it opens later thisyear. across brambleton, sales began in decemberat 220 west -formerly the franklin condominiums - which consists of 19 units and a $19 milliondollar investment. recently, buddy agreed to purchase the unionmission building and complete its long awaited transformation into 122 apartments. this isa $17 million dollar project. i promise never to announce this again. and today, buddy has allowed me to announcehe'll soon begin construction on a $22 million dollar conversion of the trader building at100 w. plume street into 135 units that are
planned to be the most high-end apartmentsin hampton roads. an april closing is scheduled. together, these represent a $131 million dollarinvestment by one company in downtown - and a total of $156 million across the city. buddyis here today, so please join me in congratulating him. on the southside, plans have been announcedfor a mixed-use development next to the berkley shopping center. the banks at berkley - namedfor longtime civic leader george banks - will feature 50 apartments with a retail componentand bon secours medical offices. also in berkley, the crossings at campostella- a $20 million dollar residential development of 150 apartments and 25 single-family homes- is planned for the former burton lumber
site. this is being developed by the franklinjohnston group. for norfolk, flooding and sea level rise isa defining challenge for the 21st century, and the city is fully engaged in addressingit through a comprehensive approach. last year, protection of our bay-front shorelinefrom erosion and storm damage was strengthened with seven new breakwaters along willoughbyspit, and by 30,000 cubic yards of sand used to widen areas needing more beach. a futureproject with the federal government will provide periodic beach nourishment in ocean view overthe next 50 years. in november, construction standards for buildingelevations were raised from one foot to three feet - the highest in the region - and establishedcriteria for when existing structures must
be elevated. to reduce incidents of tidal flooding on ameaningful scale, barriers - such as seawalls and tide gates - are needed. the cost to erectbarriers is estimated at over $1 billion dollars. we have met with the army corps of engineers,our congressional delegation, and we have been to the white house where we met withofficials of omb to seek flood mitigation funding. transportation is destiny, and our destinyhas substantially improved with the general assembly's passage of house bill 2313 lastyear. thanks go to former governor bob mcdonnell, speaker of the house bill howell, delegatechris jones, senator frank wagner, the entire
norfolk general assembly delegation and more.it was a true bi-partisan effort with support from then candidate for governor - terry mcauliffe. it provides the first significant fundingincrease for transportation since 1986. statewide, nearly $900 million dollars in new revenuewill be generated annually. here in hampton roads, an additional $200 million will beraised. together with federal and state funds, billions of dollars of needed transportationprojects can move forward - the widening of i-64 on the peninsula and a third crossingof the harbor among them. we welcome the administration's pledge tounlock the economic potential of hampton roads and our port with rail and transit improvements.
for the present, construction is well underwayon the largest regional transportation project in a generation - a second midtown tunnel.time is money. when finished less than three years from now,round-trip travel time between norfolk and portsmouth will be cut by 30 minutes. it willalso improve commerce and the quality of life for residents and commuters. the cost of this$2 billion project is being funded primarily by commercially unreasonable tolls. thanks to governor mcauliffe and transportationsecretary aubrey layne, the tolls have been reduced for the duration of the constructionperiod. we appreciate this effort on behalf of those who regularly use the tunnels, andexpect some way to be found to stabilize rates
at a more reasonable level in the future. secretary of transportation aubrey layne iswith us today. he's everywhere. aubrey - thank you for being here and for the great job youare doing. intercity passenger rail service has beena great new addition to the region's transportation options. last december, riding the train becamemore enjoyable when our passenger station opened at harbor park. it was designed withthe future in mind, and can easily be expanded in response to projected growth in passengervolume, which has doubled in virginia in just four years. a year after we brought amtrak service backto norfolk, i am happy to say we now have
one of the top three most financially successfulregional corridors in the nation. just imagine how successful we will be once service fromnorfolk leaves later than five in the morning. with our intercity and light rail stations,regular hrt bus service and ferry service, we have achieved the goal of establishinga major, intermodal regional transportation hub at harbor park in downtown norfolk thatwill also be available for high-speed rail. i'm also pleased to report that daily ridershipon the tide continues to run between 4 and 5 thousand - or the equivalent of nearly 100bus loads of people every day - far above expectations. extension studies and designproposals continue to be evaluated by our friends in virginia beach for connecting lightrail to the town center, and eventually on
to rosemont road and the oceanfront. studies to extend light rail to odu and thenavy base are proceeding. after two and one-half years of operation,light rail has proven to be a safe, reliable and on-time mode of transportation that shouldbe expanded to virginia beach and elsewhere in the region. other important highway projects last yearincluded the repaving of i-264 - thank goodness - and the hampton boulevard grade separation.when completed, this project will eliminate significant delays for traffic on a heavilytraveled road leading to the navy base and for trains serving the port.
in december, a design-build contract was awardedfor construction of the i-564 intermodal connector - a $169 million dollar project that willrelieve congestion and improve the level of service on city and navy streets. it willalso reduce truck traffic on hampton boulevard. significantly, it will be the first sectionof roadway built for the next major regional project - patriot's crossing - the singlemost important transportation project for congestion relief in the region, and for divertingtraffic away from the hampton roads bridge tunnel. the project was strengthened by theunanimous support of the hrtpo and vdot's decision to stop all work on studies to expandthe hrbt. the third crossing also supports our two main economic drivers - the navy andthe port - and allows for a transit component
to the peninsula. with so many positive developments happeningin the city, it is worth remembering that we are just a few years removed from one ofthe most challenging economic downturns in the nation's history. our economy showed remarkableresiliency, faring better than most parts of the country thanks to the buffering effectfrom defense spending, from a diversifying economy and from a workforce equipped withskills needed to compete with other regions in the u. s. and abroad. our economy continues to grow. the budgetis well-managed. we saw our already excellent bond rating upgraded by standard & poor's.local revenues continued to improve and we
finished the fiscal year with a $5 milliondollar surplus. our crime rate fell by 4%, continuing a decade long trend. we continueto lead the region in total average compensation per job, the unemployment rate has droppeda full 1%, our population continues to grow and we have $1.3 billion in development that'sbringing more than 3000 new jobs. our colleges and universities are making investmentsthat contribute to the city's economy and increase its reputation as a center for highereducation, for medicine, entrepreneurship and technological innovation. light rail, passenger rail and, soon, an expandedmidtown tunnel and i-564 connector, will improve the flow of commerce and improve access forcommuters and visitors.
with help from each of you here today, weare making steady progress in building a better norfolk. the state of this old seaport cityis strong, and the future looks bright. it is my honor to serve alongside my city councilcolleagues as we work to build a better home for ourselves and for our children. god bless you and god bless the city of norfolk.
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