The Virginian-Pilot
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It took a lot of thought to find a name for the Harbour View community in north Suffolk, said Bob Williams, one of the primary developers of the site that once was home to farm fields and fruit orchards.
"We went through about 20 names," Williams said. "We did designs, came up with information. We were looking for something that means something to the area."
In the late 1980s, all eyes were focused on the natural harbor that cushions the property, where the James and Nansemond rivers meet. Historically, because of the topography of the land - it's shaped like the snout of a pig - the space surrounding the former location of Tidewater Community College was called "Pig Point." It's also where a World War II-era weapons base, called the Nansemond Ord nance Depot, and a Marine base, called Marford, were housed.
But this sweeping new development, made of about 3,000 acres sandwiched between U.S. 17 and Interstate 664, with the local rivers lapping on the shoreline, covered a much larger space than what had historically been known as Pig Point, said Williams. Besides, the pig reference wasn't exactly conducive to upscale housing, office buildings, trendy shops and high-tech industry. Even from the beginning, that's what was slated for the area.
At the same time the name search was on, plans for the hulking Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel were in full swing. On a flight to Baltimore to meet with designers, Williams said he came up with the idea - the harbor and the bridge-tunnel. And that idea became the logo for Harbour View.
"At the time, there was a development in Virginia Beach called Harbor View," Williams said. "We decided to go with the non traditional spelling. It was our way of branding the place. Anything successful, you've got to brand it. We did quite an ad campaign."
On the day in 1992 that the bridge-tunnel opened, Harbour View was able to tie itself in with the transportation corridor that connects Suffolk to the Peninsula.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
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What's In A Name?
It should have been named "Sewer Side" for the HRSD plant neraby because Williams and his crew created a collosal mess on the Gaskins Farm and surrounding area. I sure am glad I don;t live in Respass Beach with all that traffic.
It has become just like Va
It has become just like Va Bch without the beach, cookie cutter stores and restaurants, houses that look like the next block over and over and over and over, and terrible traffic. Great addition to Suffolk, way to go. My co-worker's house in Va Bch looks almost exactly like mine, some different trimmings, etc, but basically the same. I love how the whole metro area has eshewed traditional low country/tidewater architechture for this horrible "transitional" style as the realtors call it. It is neither yankee, nor southern, serves no purpose other than to allow lego style building at the lowest cost for the developer. Architechtural style developed for reasons, it worked with the climate. The storefronts are no nothing more than corrugated steel buildings with cheap facades. Pig point works better now than before.
Harbour View
I thought that adding the "u" to harbor was the traditional British spelling for it. I could be wrong.
Anyway, it certainly is a more attractive name for the area than Pig Point.
Yeah.
Pig Point is downtown... Wouldn't fit Northern end.