Market Study | 21
size of the area, the Study Area could begin
to help shift the favored quarter towards it
over time.
The majority of employment is concentrated
along major transportation routes. Much of
this density is concentrated in downtown
Norfolk and directly to the east, towards
Virginia Beach, within one of the region’s
favored quarters. These dense employment
areas are the region’s Metro Cores.
Today, the Hampton Roads region has
nine established employment cores, with
one additional emerging. For the purpose
of this analysis, we only concentrated on
the seven employment cores in the South
side. The distinct location of each of these
cores is primarily driven by access to major
transportation routes, the unique topography
of the region that divides areas seemingly
next to each other on a map, and other
catalysts such as the location of regional
employment locations like Oceana Naval Air
Station. Approximately 30% of the current
employment base in the Hampton Roads
region is contained within these seven
cores. The Dominion Study Area is close
to the Cavalier and Greenbrier Cores. See
Figure 8.
The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News
MSA (VA Beach MSA) is poised to see
moderate growth in the next 20 years (see
Figure 8). Many of the industries upon which
the region has grown (military, contractors,
transportation, and government) are
projected to have moderate to weak future
growth.
However, there are strong sectors of future
economic growth that should positively
impact the region including Professional
and Business Services, Health Services,
and Construction. In addition, the City
of Chesapeake is working hard to bring
employment base to the Hampton Roads
region within the cores most beneficial to the
City, which includes the potential Dominion
Boulevard Corridor.
Figure 7: Favored
Quarter of Growth in
Hampton Roads region
and Per Capita Income
Source: RCLCO and
ESRI
region has grown in multiple directions, following the water.
Per Capita Income
Hampton Roads Region
Industrial & Office Buildings
Hampton Roads Region
Peninsula
Favored
Quarter
10
20
South
Side
Favored
Quarter
Key: Per Capita Income (PCI)
Low Avg
High
MAP KEY
Industrial Buildings
Office Buildings
S C St
Dominion Boulevard | City of Chesapeake | April 11, 2014 | E4-11982.40
15
Source: Esri
ource: o ar
