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A group of Norfolk residents wants the city to turn land at the recently closed Lambert’s Point Golf Course into a public park.
The new Lambert’s Point City Park Steering Committee has gathered more than 1,600 signatures in support of the concept.
“Our folks want to get out there and they want to have a place to get away from just the noise of the city,” said Liz Paiste, a member of the committee.
The public golf course, just west of Old Dominion University along the Elizabeth River, was built on an old landfill and opened in 2005.
In 2018, the city sold 40 acres of it to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, which plans to use it for an expansion of its SWIFT program that turns sewage into drinking water.
The course officially closed this year when HRSD took possession of the land.
A 15-acre parcel remains under city ownership and is worth more than $10 million, according to property records.
A map of the current ownership of the former Lambert's Point Golf Course.
The portion includes the clubhouse, chipping tees and most of the driving range.
“As this is some of the last public waterfront property, there has been considerable interest from the public, organizations and institutions about the City’s use and future plans for the property,” the city says on its website.
It’s a rare chunk of green space in an almost entirely developed city, said Paiste, who moved to the area a few years ago.
She thinks it would make a good extension to the existing Elizabeth River Trail.
Brian Friedman, a Larchmont resident and another member of the committee, often walks through the area with his dog, Sky.
“If you were to spend an afternoon on a walk or a bike ride or sledding … you can't help but fall in love with Lambert’s Point as a destination,” he said.
Friedman's dog Sky runs along a path at the Lambert's Point course.
He envisions a future park akin to New York’s High Line, and as a site for outdoor concerts.
“I would be very pleased to see the city of Norfolk smile upon its citizens and not entertain the sale of the land to private interests and make it a gift for future generations,” Friedman said.
The city says the site’s history as a solid waste landfill may limit certain types of development.
“The planned activities of surrounding landowners will be of interest, and will need to be considered in long term plans for the property. “
Norfolk is holding a public forum about the future of the golf course at the existing clubhouse on July 19, followed by an online survey.
