INSIDE SPREAD
Norfolk, Virginia · Eastside · 2025

They've Had
Their Chances.
Now It's Ours.

3Developer proposals shelved
5,118Homes the commons can hold
$10City paid for 73 acres

Pharrell Williams had a plan. Emmitt Smith had a plan. Bruce Thompson had a plan. Every one of them wanted to buy the land. The city shelved all three — then proposed a library and a fitness center. Placeholder projects. A signal that no one in City Hall has a real vision for this site.

The Eastside Civic League named it correctly in March 2025: "Downtown Tunnel Vision 2.0." Another round of resources flowing toward downtown while the Eastside gets managed decline dressed up as investment.

"The highest ground in a flooding city should be where people live — not where a failing mall sits half-empty."

Why This Moment Is Different

Military Circle sits at the highest elevation in Norfolk — a city sinking 4–5mm per year. Every proposal has circled this fact without saying the obvious: this land should house the people who will be displaced by flooding everywhere else. The commons argument and the climate argument are the same argument.

What the City Needs to Do

01Rezone C-R/C-C → mixed-use, minimal parking
02Establish a Community Land Trust as ownership vehicle
03Submit the Tide extension for federal pre-application funding
04Issue a collaborative RFQ — multiple developers, one CLT, community rules

Site plan opposite: 19 confirmed EDA-owned parcels (73.4ac), real Norfolk GIS geometry. 5,118 units · 96% affordable · $43.5M/yr NOI at stabilization. Full interactive plan + financials: jason-edelman.org/eastside-commons

The Plan

Eastside Commons

20 years. 5,118 homes. 96% permanently affordable. Ground leased forever.

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73acCity-owned land
$0CLT land cost
$284MPhase 1 cost
$994M20yr buildout

Housing Mix

26%
62%
12%
CLT ownership (26%)CLT rental ≤60% AMI (62%)Market (12%)

Six Structural Commitments

01Permanent landCLT holds it forever. No future council can sell.
02Resident governanceTenants vote on major decisions. Their neighborhood.
03Local business firstEastside residents get retail leases first, below-market.
04Wealth fund2% gross rents → resident-controlled endowment.
05TransparencyAll financials published. No black boxes.
06Anti-displacementSuccess cannot price out surrounding neighbors.
Yrs 1–2Commons Core + CLT CharterCivic plaza, sponge park, governance board. 2,120 storefronts at 43% below market from day one.
Yrs 2–5Phase 1 — 1,535 Homes ($284M)LIHTC + VHDA + CDFI. CLT ground lease removes land cost — that's what makes it pencil.
Yrs 5–9Phase 2 — 1,689 Homes ($312M)CLT ownership condos available: $150k, $1,270/mo. Less than market rent. You build equity.
Yrs 9–20Phase 3 — 1,894 Homes ($398M)Tide station opens ~2033. Transit density self-finances at market. $43.5M/yr NOI at stabilization.

Section: Sponge Park Edge (RZ·D)

RZ·D section: bioswale → wetland → research pavilion → housing
OUTSIDE SPREAD (cover + back)
The One Rule That Changes Everything

The City Holds the Land. Forever.

Every developer wanted to buy the land. Once they own it, your negotiating power is zero. A Community Land Trust breaks that cycle: buildings go up, people move in, but the land never leaves public hands. When ground leases expire, the community renegotiates from power. The appreciation stays in the commons. That is the point.

Wuhan Showed What's Possible

Wuhan's sponge city program: 389 projects, 38.5 km². Flood events reduced 10×. Urban heat down 3°C. 725 tonnes CO₂ sequestered per year. Adjacent land values doubled. The sponge park at Eastside Commons stacks four functions on one parcel: stormwater capture, public wetland park, sea level research station (ODU/NSU/HRSD), and community wealth fund via data licensing.

Get Involved

Equity for the Eastside Coalition
Liz Albert · (757) 681-0131

Rosemont / Forest Shores / EP Civic League
Edith Lizalde, President

Ward 4 City Council
JP Paige, Representative

Full plan + GIS site map
jason-edelman.org/eastside-commons

GIS data: gisshare.norfolk.gov + data.norfolk.gov FY26 Assessment. 19 EDA-owned parcels, 73.4ac. Flood zone X (low-moderate, FIRM 2017). Ward 4 · Military Circle Civic League · Planning District 87. All site plan geometry derived by constraint satisfaction from parcel data. Draft for community discussion · 2025.

Norfolk, Virginia · Eastside · 2025

The High
Ground
Is Ours.

73 acres of city-owned land at the highest elevation in a flooding city. A 20-year commons master plan.

CITY PAID FOR THE LAND$10
HOMES OVER 20 YEARS5,118
PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE96%
CLT LAND COST$0
Eastside Commons Military Circle · Norfolk VA Draft 2025