BERKLEY RECREATION CENTER

BRINGING A COMMUNITY TOGETHER

Rich in history, Berkley is a tightly knit neighborhood lying just across the Eastern
Branch of the Elizabeth River from Downtown Norfolk. Despite the proximity to
Downtown, Berkley is a community with its own distinct character and needs. VIA
worked closely with residents, civic leagues and City departments to analyze
recreational and community support facilities and opportunities in Berkley and on
numerous sites throughout Southside Norfolk, the area of the city south of the
Elizabeth River.

Following the 2018 closure of an almost 50-year-old concrete swimming pool on the
grounds of the St. Helena Elementary School, the project was initiated as an outdoor
recreation study under VIA’s site and ballfield planning and design contract with
Norfolk Recreation, Parks and Open Space Department. During the course of our
extensive public engagement process, it became clear that the civic leaders put a far
higher priority on indoor facilities than they did upgraded and expanded outdoor
recreation facilities. As a result, VIA was also authorized to perform a preliminary
feasibility study for a new multigenerational community and recreational center.
This study is notable for the breadth of its public engagement efforts and impact.
Beginning with in-classroom visioning exercises with students in each of the public
schools that serve the children of Berkley, word of the project quickly spread through
the Southside and brought people of all ages to the series of public workshops. A
youth charrette followed the school workshops and brought an enthusiastic and
thoughtful group to the table. Subsequent open houses were held in Berkley and
Campostella, and wrapped up with a highly interactive workshop at the Senior Center.
Over 70 participants shared their preferences for outdoor recreation facilities, which
informed our preliminary site alternatives. During this series of workshops, attendees
impressed upon City representatives their strong desire for a new recreation center to
anchor Berkeley and the site. It was at this point that the discussion turned to the
possibilities of building and site.
Building upon our understanding of the outdoor recreational needs and priorities from
the first part of the study, VIA’s landscape architects then developed ten alternative
site and building layouts. These incorporated a range of outdoor aquatic and athletic
facilities, playgrounds and other park features, in addition to a new multigenerational
community center. We recognized the potential to revitalize a one-hundred-year-old
(estimated) building on site that had served many purposes over the years, but was
becoming functionally obsolete. Our architects took a closer look and developed
schemes that breathed new life into the historic structure. They also envisioned the
potential of an all new structure of an equal size, and formulated schemes that
embodied a fresh start.

Some of the ten alternatives included the renovated and expanded community
landmark, while others showed the building being demolished and replaced with a
new building in a different part of the site. With input from City representatives, we
narrowed the options down to two we presented at the final community meeting.
Those that attended the meeting unanimously supported the “Community
Cornerstone” alternative that showed how the historic building could be renovated
and expanded to serve as a state-of-the-art, multigenerational, community, recreation
and aquatic center.