Fort Monroe Authority unanimously voted Friday to approve architecture firm Hargreaves Jones to help design the fort’s master redevelopment plan.
Hargreaves Jones will now lead development on Fort Monroe’s landscape action plan, which outlines repurposing the 560-acre former military installation for commercial, recreational and residential use. Hargreaves Jones was one of 19 firms to submit proposals for the project, and previously designed London’s Queen Elizabeth Park and led a national waterfront rediscovery initiative.
Other firms that competed for the bid included West 8, which designed Governor’s Island Park in New York, Field Operations, which led projects like the High Line in New York and OLIN Studio, which worked on projects like the Washington Monument Grounds and Holocaust memorial in Berlin.
Hargreaves Jones president Mary Margaret Jones told the board at its January meeting that the site’s potential as a landscape is unparalleled.
“Working on projects nationally and internationally, there is nothing like this in terms of its scope and in terms of its depth of meaning, and the possibilities that can come from this,” Margaret Jones said. “People will be watching across the country. This project will make its mark.”
Margaret Jones did not go into specifics for the firm’s plan. However, she added since its proposal, Hargreaves Jones its staff to add three consultants that have worked on similar projects to balance historic preservation, including military history, as well as finances.
The contract amounts to $900,000, which covers the first research phase of planning which runs through June 30, according to Fort Monroe Authority spokesperson Phyllis Terrell. A little more than half of that comes from retained funds from fiscal year 2026.
A final plan will be presented to Fort Monroe Authority for approval in November.
Fort Monroe Authority CEO Scott Martin said the site is at an inflection point as its future is shaped, and hopes he can look back on the selection of Hargreaves Jones as one of the best things his board has done.
“This is, without a doubt, one of the largest public landscape projects in the nation. The opportunity and the landscape and the obligations we carry here are pretty doggone special,” Martin said. “Thank you all for the commitment. Thank you for sharpening our game.”
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com
