The urban design and architecture firm Cooper Robertson has been selected to develop a community-focused master plan for Greenbrier, a regional economic hub located within the city of Chesapeake, Virginia.

The project, “Greenbrier Area Plan,” aims to bolster the district’s status as the commercial heart and largest employment center in Virginia’s second-most-populous city. Equally important, this new planning effort is helping guide Greenbrier’s ongoing growth and evolution from a single-use business district into a true mixed-use community — setting a valuable model for similar commercial zones nationwide.

Known internationally as a leader in downtown district planning and placemaking work, for this new initiative, Cooper Robertson joins a team led by engineering and planning firm Kimley-Horn for the City of Chesapeake.

Photo courtesy of Cooper Robertson

About the Greenbrier Area Plan

According to the project team, a robust process of stakeholder engagement and citizen participation is driving the plan’s development and eventual recommendations, and an initial community survey has already garnered nearly 2,000 responses.

“We’ve asked the Chesapeake community to help set the vision for the Greenbrier Area Plan, and the feedback has been remarkable,” said Cooper Robertson Director of Urban Design Brad Barnett. “We’re receiving exceptionally valuable input on big-picture goals and specific needs, including for better walkability, bike infrastructure and transit services, a stronger public realm with new outdoor facilities and gathering places for individuals and families, as well as a need for more housing options.”

Stakeholder engagement continued throughout the summer with further visioning and goal-setting workshops, followed by evaluations of potential development scenarios and additional community meetings in the fall. The Greenbrier Area Plan’s final recommendations are anticipated for spring 2024.

Cooper Robertson brings decades of urban design and planning experience in a diverse range of urban, suburban and campus settings to this work. Recent commissions include area plans for Sacramento’s River District in California and the University of Maryland’s flagship campus in College Park. Other recent and seminal works by Cooper Robertson include the Hunters Point/Candlestick Point Streetscape and Public Realm Plan in San Francisco; Battery Park City in Manhattan, New York; Riverton in New Jersey; and an award-winning, new riverfront master plan now underway in Middletown, Connecticut.