A message from Mayor Kenneth C. Alexander

For more than 300 years, Norfolk has served as the cultural and economic heart of Hampton Roads, mixing ideas, connecting people, creating new experiences and new businesses, and powering the growth of a region that is home to 1.75 million people and a real GDP approaching $84 billion.  One of America’s oldest global trade destinations, Norfolk has been transformed into a global center for international security and coastal resilience.  We are home to Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval base, and NATO’s only headquarters in North America.  We also serve as a national leader in health care, transportation, higher education, and visual and performing arts.

Norfolk is investing in transformative projects that will enhance our assets, foster inclusive economic growth, and develop talented and motivated residents.  In 2018, we launched the transformation of the St. Paul’s Area, which will reshape three public housing communities that encompass more than 200 acres near our thriving downtown.  Investments in the people, physical infrastructure, and anchor institutions that are native to this area are helping us to attract new businesses and entrepreneurs that will drive regional productivity and growth.

The neighborhoods of the St. Paul’s Area are just one example of the 16 qualified opportunity zones, the most of any city or county in the Commonwealth of Virginia, that we hope you will consider for investment.  This in-depth prospectus is a guide to each of these investable districts and the assets, businesses, neighborhoods, and institutions that are making Norfolk the coastal community of the future.

Join us as we write our next chapter! 

Mayor Kenneth C. Alexander