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Architectural board backs design changes for waterfront flood wall and Pump Station 65
Summary
The Architectural Review Board recommended uniform color, a specific wall texture pattern and low-temperature lighting for the first phase of a Norfolk flood wall project and approved a revised design for Pump Station 65 after staff described durability and access changes.
The Architectural Review Board recommended key design elements for Phase 1A of the city’s waterfront flood wall and endorsed a revised design for Pump Station 65 at Kempsville Road.
Planning staff told the Norfolk Planning Commission that the ARB recommended the floodgates in Phase 1A be painted “Nauticus blue,” the same color used on the gate at the Nauticus Museum, and that all gates in the first phase use the same color to aid signaling. Planning staff also said the ARB favored variation D for the wall pattern to break up an otherwise long, monolithic concrete face, and recommended maximum lighting of 2,700 Kelvin.
“the floodgates shall be Nauticus blue,” Planning staff said when presenting the ARB recommendations to the commission. Staff also described a requirement that the final wall texture include smooth panels at intervals sized for public art; staff said those panels are typically 8 feet and sometimes 16 feet for larger murals.
On lighting, Planning staff said the fixtures planned are the same type used along the Elizabeth River Trail and Town Point Park; General Services prefers a pole-and-fixture combination that can be maintained and swapped easily. Staff said the project will use powder-coated or corrosion-resistant finishes and that they plan to use aluminum fixtures for better durability in the marine environment.
Planning staff described an added gate behind the casino site to provide maintenance access and preserve the existing Finger Pier. The design change allowing access to the Finger Pier was requested by the manager’s office and incorporated by the Office of Resilience, staff said; Mike Anaya of the Office of Resilience was present during the presentation.
Separately, the ARB recommended unanimous approval (9–0) for the design review of Pump Station 65, at the terminus of Kempsville Road and Centre Drive. Staff said the existing small pump station cannot meet capacity and that the renovation will remove the building and replace it with an electrical hood, above-grade pump equipment and substantial below-grade systems. Staff also said the revised security fencing will be a black, flat aluminum privacy-style fence similar to a recently installed fence at a nearby school.
The presentation included two common construction module lengths for the concrete wall — about 56 feet and 48 feet — and staff noted variation D reads most clearly at different scales and reduces the appearance of a continuous wall. Staff also said ARB asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study other surface treatments after concerns at the June 9 ARB meeting that a single repetitive pattern made the wall feel “very big and monolithic.” The Corps returned on June 23 with five variations; staff said variation D was recommended for Phase 1A.
No formal Planning Commission action on the design items was recorded in the meeting transcript. Staff said the ARB’s recommendations include returning final pump-station designs to ARB review and implementing the listed texture, color and lighting standards for Phase 1A.
