Norfolk council approves plan for Lululemon Adventure Park at former Kmart site

The Norfolk City Council approved ordinances and conditional-use permits to allow a commercial recreation center at 6101 and 6205 North Military Highway, a project proponents identified in public testimony as the Lululemon Adventure Park.

Planning staff told the council the planning commission recommended approval by a 5–0 vote. Residents and civic leaders who spoke during the public hearing praised the project’s potential to bring jobs, restaurants and community space to the former Kmart property. “We are all wholeheartedly in favor of this proposal,” said Jackie Rochelle, who spoke on behalf of several civic leagues, adding the project would provide “a supervised environment for all ages” and expand the local tax base.

Carolyn Foca, an Estabrook resident, told the council she welcomed the proposed restaurants and marketplace and thanked Mayor Kimmy Alexander and council members for their work in the neighborhood. Council members expressed support for the proposal during deliberations and dispensed with the charter requirement for reading the ordinances twice before adopting them.

The approvals change zoning conditions and grant the conditional-use permits necessary for a principal structure larger than 30,000 square feet on the site. Planning records in the hearing indicated the measure had been recommended for approval; the council’s action implements that recommendation and clears the way for the project to move to implementation steps handled by city departments and developers.