The Fort Monroe Authority has selected the design team for the Waterfront Park and negotiated a fee of approximately $100,000. The Foundation has secured two pledges of $50,000 and the design team will soon meet with the Fort Monroe Authority staff to begin the design process. The conceptual design will be completed in 2015 and will include a public design charrette as well as public presentations to the Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees. This Waterfront Park design will include a conceptual plan for the entire waterfront owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The conceptual plan will be supplemented by more detailed drawings of individual park spaces in the Waterfront Park. These spaces will include sites such as Continental Park, the Kayak Launch Area, and Outlook Beach. Additionally, the Waterfront Park concept plan will be further supplemented with perspective drawings to better illustrate what the spaces will look like from the ground level and approximate cost estimates will be provided so that the Foundation can begin to market projects to philanthropic organizations interested in improving Fort Monroe. The ultimate goal is that the park would be an opportunity for people to invest in portions of the site as small as a brick paver to larger donations that would include naming rights to specific areas.
As part of the Waterfront Park conceptual design, the Fort Monroe Authority is also securing the services of a sign consultant who specializes in signage for campus settings such as Fort Monroe. Fort Monroe is challenged by internal signage to direct people to our historic sites, our individual buildings, as well as displaying property regulations. This service will be invaluable to both the Waterfront Park as well as the entire Fort Monroe campus. Once the contract is negotiated, the Foundation will assume responsibility for finding sponsors or grants to pay for this additional portion of the design project.
Thank you to the Peninsula Community Foundation and the TowneBank Foundation for their generous support.
