THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 7, 1995 TAG: 9512070331
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
After months of meetings with local residents, Suffolk officials were finally told Wednesday what should be done with the abandoned Naval Radio Transmitter Facility near Driver.
Consultants told the City Council that residents wanted the 597-acre property to be used as an environmental education center run in conjunction with Old Dominion University; a Little League athletic field; and a city park that would include access to the Nansemond River.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Interior and the city have all been vying for portions of the former naval facility, which has been closed since 1993.
Before the city finalizes the site plans and submits them to the Navy, a public hearing will be held on Jan. 17 for residents to air their concerns.
H. Cales Givens, Suffolk's lead consultant for the site, said 243 acres of the land would be used for a public park.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would receive 240 acres to link two parts of the Nansemond River Wildlife Refuge, and 150 acres would be used for Old Dominion University's environmental research center.
The cost to convert the land to a park would be about $8 million, Givens said. by CNB