The purpose of the waterfront park was to preserve open space along the water for the public to enjoy rather than allowing building development to encroach along the waterfront. The design team worked closely with the Fort Monroe Authority to conceptually design and plan the waterfront parks and open spaces to be historically sensitive as well as provide for future programming needs, economic sustainability, and environmental sensitivity. Nine separate but connected open space areas were analyzed and designed as part of the overall open space plan.
Public meetings were a critical part of the project in order to keep everything open and transparent and allow citizens to give their input on the future and direction of Fort Monroe. The WPL team, along with the Fort Monroe Authority, led public meetings with citizens and stakeholders to present the project and get their ideas and comments on the waterfront park. Comments from these meetings were incorporated into the final designs. These conceptual waterfront park and open space designs will be used for future fundraising in order to construct the plans and bring them to life.