The City of Suffolk is underway in developing a master plan for an outdoor athletic/festival facility at the former US Naval Communications Station site at Driver. The property was transferred to the City in the late 1990s through the Federal BRAC process. The site is located west of Sleepy Hole Road, south of Kings Highway, north and east of the tributaries to the Nansemond River, in the northern quadrant of the City of Suffolk.

Specifically the City is proposing that the property be redeveloped to include an athletic Complex, Active recreational Areas, Passive recreational areas, Natural Resource Areas, a Festival Site and an Equestrian Center.

The project site consists of approximately 350 acres of generally flat, open terrain that slopes and drains into the Nansemond River via several vegetated drainage channels. A wildlife refuge borders the facility directly to the west, outside the internal loop road. Other adjacent land uses include residential, agricultural, and recreational. Primary and secondary site access points are located along Sleepy Hole Road, and a complex of buildings associated with the former military base is located north of the primary site access point. Several of theses buildings are in various states of disrepair and are in the process of being demolished. Other buildings are to remain, including a police storage building and garage, and the 50,000sf+/- central administration building.

Project Team