While there have been plenty of concerns raised about a foodwall being built in the Freemason area of the city, project leaders haven't started designing it yet—a task that will start in 2025.
"We're not that far along yet. We look forward to engaging with [the community]," said Kristin Mazur, program manager with the Army Corp of Engineers.
That part of the project is under Phase 1C of the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, a large-scale collaboration between the city and Army Corp of Engineers to address flooding across the city, including constructing about eight miles of floodwall.
It also includes storm-surge barriers, levees, tide gates, and pump stations.
Watch previous coverage: Norfolk Freemason residents concerned flood wall could impact historic area
Some neighbors in Freemason have made their opposition to the floodwall clear, with some putting up posts to demonstrate how they believe their views could be impacted.
"We don't want to put something in a community that's going to be hated," Mazur said.
The plans do call for a 16-foot high floodwall, but Mazur says that's relative to the ground.
Parts of Freemason are already elevated off the ground by about seven to eight feet, according to Kyle Spencer, the city's Chief Resilience Officer.
"It's going to be different, but we think the project is going to be a huge benefit to them and to the rest of the community and the rest of the city," said Spencer.
Mazur pledged to work with neighbors over the next 18 months to two years while the design takes shape.
"While it is a floodwall, we can adjust whether it's a levee, whether it's a floodwall. We are considering innovative investigations such as deployables, glass walls, things like that," said Mazur. "We're not going to just design a gray wall. We have to consider the surroundings and the community."
Watch related coverage: Hampton Roads homes keep flooding, data shows amount of repetitive loss properties
They have had meetings with community members to discuss the project, and those discussions will continue into 2025.
"We're committed in 2025 to doing more outreach with the community. We heard loud and clear in 2024 that there were some concerns. We're committed to increasing that point of contact with the community," said Doug Beaver, a deputy city manager.
The $2.6 billion project is meant to protect the city from catastrophic flooding from a storm, but project leaders say it will also help address other kinds of flooding the city experiences with pump stations and other features.
"We're overdue for that kind of storm. We've been lucky in my mind. It's going to happen. It's just a matter of when," said Spencer.
Meanwhile, design of the first phase of the project, 1A, is wrapping up in the spring with construction slated to begin after that. That will build a floodwall from Berkley Bridge to the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood.
News 3 met with the project leaders right by the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood at the site of the Ohio Creek Watershed Project, a $112 million effort to protect that area from flooding.
"It's a great example to our holistic approach to tackling flooding issues and coastal resilience in the city," said Spencer.
The large-scale project, which is being done in five phases, is currently scheduled to be constructed through 2032.
