News Flash

Oct. 6, 2021 - The City of Hampton received three state grants worth a total of $433,164 for projects that address impacts of flooding, sea-level rise, and extreme weather, Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday. 

Hampton’s grants were among $7.8 million awarded for 19 projects and are the first to be awarded through the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund. The governor and General Assembly established the fund in 2020 to assist communities in building resilience to the impacts of climate change, including floods, with targeted funding going to vulnerable and underserved communities. The fund is financed by the sale of carbon emission allowances under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Hampton’s projects are:

Honor Park Resilience Park: $147,994

Honor Park Resilience Park, shown in a conceptual drawing, is a project to transform the existing Honor Park, located between City Hall and the Public Safety building, into a resilience park that provides stormwater storage, community amenities and maintains the solemnity and dignity of the memorials to the fallen public safety officers. The grant funds the preliminary design of the facility.

Mill Point Living Shoreline:$126,498

Mill Point Living Shoreline will be located along the Hampton River, beginning at Mill Point Park and continuing along the shoreline to Lincoln Street. The living shoreline will add an additional layer of shoreline protection and will provide increased habitat in the Hampton River. This grant will fund the preliminary design of the project.

Resilient Hampton: Downtown Hampton, Phoebus and Buckroe Beach: $158,681

This is Hampton’s second watershed-level plan to identify strategies and develop conceptual project designs to slow, store and redirect water and adapt neighborhoods to changing water conditions influenced by the impacts of climate change. In addition to mitigating flooding, projects will prioritize the use of nature-based solutions and will contribute to Hampton’s economic vitality and social equity. 

Learn more about Hampton's flood resiliency efforts at hampton.gov/resilient.