HAMPTON, Va. — Hotels, restaurants and apartments could be coming to Fort Monroe in Hampton.
The Fort Monroe Authority (FMA), which oversees the property, is offering developers the opportunity to find new ways to use it. In November, the group issued a request for proposals to repurpose several buildings separated into four sites and spanning roughly 300,000 square feet.
"Some of these buildings could become apartments," said Glenn Oder, executive director of the FMA. "Some of them could become restaurants. They could become hospitality."
The FMA is looking to build on its mixed-use community, according to Oder, and the group is open to ideas. Oder said the authority is not mandating certain uses, but it has offered suggestions.
One of the properties, known as Building 133 or Murray Hall, was built in 1909 as an officer classroom for the Coast Artillery Corps. The two-story building was later remodeled into office space for the Continental Army Command.
The FMA suggested the historic building could likely be used as a residential space, but it could also "support other uses including hospitality, office or retail."
“The idea is for the developers to bring their experience and integrate that with the marketplace right here at Fort Monroe so that these buildings will be preserved, protected and the public can enjoy them again," said Oder.
Fort Monroe also serves as a location for residential rental properties and businesses, and Oder stressed that people who live or frequent the site for work will not experience any changes.
Oder said the goal is to find long-term uses for the buildings while preserving and protecting their history. Projects may be eligible for state and federal historic tax credits, according to the authority.
The proposals are due by 3 p.m. on Feb. 1. For more information about applying, click here.
To learn more about the historic buildings offered in the RFP, click here.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ralph Northam will visit Fort Monroe Thursday to finish something 240 years in the making.
He will sign the deed to the Fort Monroe Chamberlin Property.
In the 1800s, the Army and Virginia struck a deal giving the army the land to build Fort Monroe, as long as the military used it.
The fort closed in 2011, and the Chamberlain property will be the last piece of land handed back to the Commonwealth.