City of Hampton Urban Enterprise Zone

The Hampton Urban Enterprise Zone encompasses 3,440 acres and approximately one-third of the commercial property in the city. The State of Virginia defines an enterprise zone as an economically distressed, distinct geographical area of a county, city, or town. The state and local partnership seeks to improve conditions within a targeted area where incentives are provided to encourage new investment. Currently, $1.8 billion of private investment has been planned and committed to the Hampton Urban Enterprise Zone, much of it focused around the Mercury Boulevard and Interstate 64 corridor.

As part of Hampton’s application process for this designation, a series of three maps was created. The first map defined the proposed contiguous area with major development areas noted. The second map highlighted the future land use for the proposed area. The third map detailed the zoning for the proposed area as well as the rest of the city. These maps played a key role in the application process and required a strong cooperative effort between Hampton’s Department of Economic Development and the GIS staff.

Courtesy of Jonah Adkins, City of Hampton, Virginia.