20-03-2025
Chesapeake is planning for the future of Greenbrier. Here's how to get involved.
CHESAPEAKE — Leaders are finalizing future land use plans for the Greenbrier area of Chesapeake and want feedback from residents.
For more than two years, city leaders have been working to conceptualize and plan for the future of Greenbrier, the city's main commercial hub, as part of the overall citywide comprehensive land use plan. The citywide comprehensive plan will ultimately guide future development and plan for an additional 50,000 residents in Chesapeake by 2045, Planning Director Jimmy McNamara previously told The Virginian-Pilot.
Greenbrier is the largest center for employment in the city, with an average daytime employment of nearly 50,000 people. One of the area's largest commercial spaces is the Greenbrier Mall, of which the bulk was sold at an auction last month. Though future plans for the space are not clear, a city spokesperson previously said project plans will factor into the Greenbrier area plan.
Residents will have two opportunities next week to learn more about the vision for the Greenbrier area. A draft of the Greenbrier area plan can be found online at
A community meeting will be held between 6-8 p.m. Monday at Greenbrier Middle School. The public can learn more details and ask questions at the meeting.
The city Planning Commission will also discuss the plan during a work session at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Apex Room at Summit Pointe. The meeting is a public hearing, but there will be no public comments at the meeting, according to the agenda.
The study area for the plan is an approximately 12-square-mile area bounded by Military Highway to the north, Chesapeake city line to the east, Kempsville Road to the south and the Chesapeake Expressway to the west. Greenbrier is home to more than 35,000 residents.
The draft plan includes a market report and design guidelines. It also touches on the use of open space, infrastructure and transportation in the area. It highlights five locations for future transformation, noting they have 'the greatest potential to change significantly from their current form.' The ideas for those districts include a mixed-use community around Chesapeake Regional Healthcare Center, a recreation-focused area around existing Battlefield Corporate Center, a vibrant mixed-use district that builds around Summit Pointe, maintaining but enhancing Greenbrier Mall as a regional destination for entertainment and retail, and building up commercial and hotel space around the Chesapeake Conference Center.
'The purpose of the Greenbrier Area Plan is to develop strategies to guide future development, maintain Greenbrier's economic advantage in the marketplace and attract new businesses and residents by improving the qualities that make Greenbrier a unique place in the city,' the city stated in a news release about the community meeting.
City staff have touted redevelopment efforts like the large mixed-use Summit Pointe, which has attracted more than a dozen restaurants, as an example of reimagining the future of the area. Greenbrier also relies on special tax district revenue to fund infrastructure and capital projects for the area.
Residents can weigh in on the draft plans through April 9. The Chesapeake Planning Department can be reached at planning@ or 757-382-6176.
City staff will provide all the compiled feedback and plans to present to both Planning Commission and City Council members for approval.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133,
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What: Greenbrier Area Plan community meeting
Where: Greenbrier Middle School, 1016 Greenbrier Parkway, Chesapeake
When: 6-8 p.m. Monday
Contact: Chesapeake Planning Department, planning@ or 757-382-6176
