Fort Monroe marina, restaurant and hotel overhaul should begin in 2025, developers say in project update

Fort Monroe will look a bit different within the next few years, with a revamped marina, new restaurants, additional parking and a hotel planned for the historic site.

Pack Brothers Hospitality — run by principals Brian and Randy Pack — plans to transform the Old Point Comfort Marina on McNair Drive into a $50 million development called 37 North at Fort Monroe.

The Fort Monroe Authority approved a long-term ground lease for the development in 2021. Randy Pack recently discussed details of the project and provided an overview of its timeline. He said design work is underway and construction on the first two phases of the project should begin in 2025.

“You don’t get the opportunity to build on a national monument every day,” Randy Pack said. “And we take that responsibility seriously.”

The first two phases include the replacement of the existing marina and the creation of two restaurants. One will be a seafood eatery with 150-200 seats, replacing the Deadrise restaurant. The other restaurant — part of a newly constructed building — will have 500 seats, including indoor and outdoor seating, with an outdoor bar. The project has to go through an approval process by the Fort Monroe Authority.

The new marina will contain all new docks and accommodate about 300 vessels. However, it will allow for larger vessels, such as superyachts. The redesign will ditch large metal gates that obscure the water view and will be more resistant to damage from waves and storms as it will replace failing wave walls.

The first two phases will be developed concurrently, while the third phase entails the hotel and conference area and will only be built after new parking is available. While Pack Brothers Hospitality is funding the developments, the Fort Monroe Authority will request state funds for the parking additions.

The Pack brothers also hope to build a new marina office, showers, and ship store, a dedicated new facility for the Old Point Comfort Yacht Club and a floating pool for boater and hotel guest use.

Pack said the marina will not shut down during the next three years. Right now, it is at about 70% capacity. The plan is to build the new docks in segments, with construction on unused segments of the marina. The vessels will be moved as needed to accommodate construction.

“In talking to the Pack brothers, one of the things that impressed us about them is they wanted to create the best marina on the East Coast,” said Fort Monroe Authority Deputy Executive Director John Hutcheson.

The authority has sought to lease out sections of the 561-acre property for redevelopment since 2011, when it was designated a national monument. After the Army pulled out in 2011, the property was carved into various parcels, mostly with shared ownership with the commonwealth and the National Park Service.

A hotel containing 90 rooms and a conference center will be built as part of a third phase.

“Phase three is dependent upon working out parking,” Pack said. “That whole area has a shortage of parking and we need to be able to find 90 spaces we can dedicate to the hotel before we even begin phase three.”

Fort Monroe Authority Executive Director Glenn Oder said parking is an issue for much of Fort Monroe. The authority wants more spaces to accommodate the visitor’s center, and adding new restaurants, a conference center and hotel would only increase the need. He said the authority estimates needing about 500 new spaces.

Soon, the authority hopes to build a surface lot near non-historic buildings at 19 and 23 Tidball Road — 96 spaces based on conceptual design plans. The authority also hopes to build a parking structure at the corner of McNair Drive and Fenwick Road with 270 spots.

Collectively, the parking projects would cost about $11 million. The authority is seeking funding from the Virginia General Assembly as part of a budget request. Oder said the authority wouldn’t receive funding until July 2024 if approved. The time it would take to design and construct the new parking would mean the lot and garage wouldn’t be available until late 2025 or early 2026 at the earliest. The authority hopes to find solutions for additional parking beyond the new lot and parking structure.

“Parking in our society — it’s just a challenge,” Oder said. “So we’re looking at it comprehensively across the entire property; there is no silver bullet, no one place is going to fix all of the parking at Fort Monroe.

The marina’s redevelopment isn’t the only major project coming to Fort Monroe.

Richmond-based Echelon Resources plans to transform two historic Ingalls Road sites into one and two-bedroom apartments. One 39,000-square-foot building served as a dormitory for enlisted soldiers. The other offers nearly 26,000 square feet of space. Both are vacant.

Edwin Gaskin, owner of Echelon, said plans call for 78 new apartments between the two sites, though design work is in progress. He said he hopes construction will be underway by spring 2024 and the apartments open for lease in spring 2025. Echelon already is receiving leasing inquiries and has created a waiting list for interested would-be tenants, he said.

Oder told the Daily Press that the 37 North and Echelon projects are examples of the mission of the Fort Monroe Authority — to find reuses for buildings and properties and find ways to bring a “stream of commerce” while maintaining the area’s historical integrity.