Cape Charles Charrette

Cape Charles, Northampton County
Virginia

Town Background

Northampton County, Virginia, a county of 359 square miles and 13,000 residents, has developed for hundreds of years in isolation by virtue of its location at the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. Separated from mainland Virginia by the 23-mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, it occupies the southern half of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Bounded by 225 miles of shoreline, the county encompasses some 134,000 acres of prime cropland, saltmarsh and forest. The county is a place rich in natural, historical and cultural assets-beaches, islands, marshes, woodlands, tidal creeks, fish and shellfish, birds and wildlife, and historic villages and farms.

Founded in 1886, Cape Charles was originally a Chesapeake Bay port town. Barges and ferries worked in tandem with the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad to connect the County with the town of Norfolk, Va. across the bay. As a result, the city's commerce thrived well into the 1950's. With the construction of a 17.6 mile two-lane bridge and tunnel in 1965, however, the railroad and the ferry services shut down. Today there are only two short freight trains delivering cargo to the town each day. While the environment has remained healthy and undeveloped, the town's economy has suffered.

The poor economic and social conditions of Northampton County is well documented. It faces not only traditional rural handicaps of sparse population and limited tax base, but more universal community challenges of deteriorating infrastructure, limited resources and lack of personnel.

Over 27% of the residents live in poverty (compared with 10.2% statewide) with an average annual unemployment rate of approximately twice that of the rest of the State. 30% of its residents earn less than $10,000 per year and for the fifth consecutive recorded year, Northampton has the lowest median gross income in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Poverty is even more concentrated in the African American community, where 64% of female head of households with children under the age of 18 live below the poverty level and 70% where children are under the age of five.

Over 30% of the housing stock was built prior to 1940, 12% of the housing units lack indoor plumbing and 8% lack complete kitchen facilities. At least 9% of the homes do not have a central heating system, and 10% of the homes do not have public sewer or septic tanks and must use cesspools as a means of sewage disposal.

Additionally, 20.5 % of Northampton County's residents have below a 9th grade education level (11.2% statewide) and only 12.4% of its residents have obtained college degrees (24.5% statewide).

The Issue

Over the last two decades, the county has lost much of its traditional seafood and agricultural processing industry. In an effort to revitalize the local economy, Northampton County representatives began to explore redevelopment opportunities which would not compromise the environmental integrity of their fragile landscape.

In 1994 the Port of Cape Charles, located in Northampton County, was chosen by the President's Council on Sustainable Development as the site for one of the nation's first "eco-industrial parks". The main purpose of the Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park is to demonstrate the potential of energy-efficient, water-conserving, and nonpolluting industry. Specifically, the Park seeks to provide support for industrial, job-creating opportunities to:

1. Support existing local enterprises
2. Attract new ecologically compatible enterprises
3. Create new ecologically compatible industries
4. Offer a national model for environmentally sound coastal development

The first phase of development of the industrial park has been completed, with Sustainable Technology Building One finished and completely leased. Building One models the standards of the National Green Building Council, being more energy efficient, more sensitive to the environment and more cost effective than traditional structures.

Northampton would now like to begin construction of Building Two but lacks the necessary financial resources. Since traditional capital sources such as banks are not familiar with the concept of eco-industrial parks, the Park is at a disadvantage when attracting financing. The estimated cost for Sustainable Technology Building Two, a flex office/manufacturing building of approximately 32,000 square feet with related site improvements and infrastructure, is $2.5 million. The Sustainable Technology Park Authority will own the building and space will be leased to one or more tenants.

The basic issues facing the Park are:

1. What types of financing are available for the project and from what sources?
2. What will be required of the owner/developer to access various sources of funding?
3. Based on the goals and characteristics of the project, what might the ideal financing package look like?
4. What would be the best strategy and next steps in accessing financing for the project?

The goal is to have Building Two developed within the next two years.

The Environmental Context

The main focus of the Sustainable Technologies Park is to encourage existing and attract new ecologically compatible enterprises and industries. It is hoped that the design of the park will encourage the revitalization of the historic residential, commercial and industrial landscape of Cape Charles and provide the keystone for the responsible future development of the town. It is the community's goal to discourage ruinous sprawl on the surrounding open and rural land. This sprawl is seen as a threat to the community's economic, environmental and social well-being. Development will be focused within compact villages and towns. About half of the park site will be set aside as "ecological infrastructure" and includes habitat for migrating birds.

At the site, coastal resource management, particularly water quality management, will be emphasized at all scales of development from the entire watershed to individual water conservation efforts. Water unavailable for reuse will be discharged in a clean and safe condition.

By implementing information and technologies fostered by the park, the community will seek to become more reliant on natural energy flows. "Industrial Ecologies" and "zero emissions" protocols will be implemented and recycling and composting facilities will be established for the region.

Finally, walking and bicycling will be encouraged through design of the park facilities and direct walking and bicycling connections will be developed with residential neighborhoods and with regional motor, rail, and water transportation, both public and private.

Project Financing

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the Virginia Coastal Resources Management Program, funded a sustainable development action strategy for the industrial park. It has continued to support the county's efforts, contributing about $700,000 over the past several years. In addition, a total of about $2.6 million in federal, state, and county funds was provided for the park's 159-acre first phase.

Recommendations and Observations

1. The Technology Park needs a business plan in order to convey the vision and intent of the Park to potential investors, creditors, and businesses. Several business plans could be written, targeted to each type of investor. Only those investors and businesses which support the "sustainable" nature of the endeavor should be pursued.
2. There needs to be a market analysis of the region, including other similar industrial parks and their incentives package, transportation and rental costs, employee demographics, and strength/weaknesses of the Cape Charles location.
3. It was suggested that the Technology Park develop a strong relationship with a commercial real estate firm which would assist in identifying suitable businesses for the park and help in marketing.
4. Enchanced marketing efforts are needed beyond the assistance of the County Economic Development Corporation.
5. A marketing package of information should be developed for potential tenants, which should include financing options available such as USDA-guaranteed loan programs available through local banks.
6. There is a need to upgrade infrastructures, especially the waste water treatment plant (WWTP).
7. A financing strategy should be developed that shows what role each type of funder could play.