2025 Year in Review

2025 was a year for progress along the Indian River Road corridor.  The rehabilitation of the Oaklette Bridge was completed.  The City Council approved the Indian River Design Guidelines, laying out design criteria for new development or redevelopment along Indian River Road, Providence Road, and the eastern portion of Military Highway.  The owners of the Indian River Shopping Center continued revitalization efforts with new facades, tree plantings, and expectations for the opening of a grocery store in early 2026.   Expansions or rehabilitation work continued at several other establishments along Indian River Road. And designs for safety improvements by Public Works along Indian River Roads are reported to be 90% complete, although we're still waiting to hear about implementation dates. 

Please join us at our Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition on Thursday, January 15, 7 pm at Oaklette United Methodist Church, 520 Oaklette Drive.  As an organization, we are very proud of all that we have accomplished last year – and over the previous 14 years.   But we can’t rest on our laurels. In 2026, we are looking to reinvigorate the organization and build our membership and active supporters.    We will use the meeting to brainstorm ideas on how to get more people actively involved in our efforts to improve the quality of life for all the residents of our community.   We will also recognize our existing volunteers and the great work they do.  There will be refreshments and desserts.   Whether you've been supporting us for years or are just curious to learn more about who we are, all are welcome to attend the meeting.

The Friends of Indian River is an all-volunteer, local 501(c)(3) non-profit.  You can support our efforts by becoming a member, renewing your membership, or just making a contribution online http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/membership.html

Year in Review

Revitalization Progress

The core mission of the Friends of Indian River is to improve the quality of life for all the residents of the Indian River neighborhoods of Chesapeake, Virginia, by promoting and preserving a healthy and clean river, shorelines, parks, and green spaces connected to the surrounding community.  

In 2021, the City adopted the Indian River Planning Area Study and Redevelopment Strategy as the "Plan" for improving our community. Following this plan, the City approved the Indian River Design Guidelines this year, laying out design criteria for new development or redevelopment along Indian River Road, Providence Road, and the eastern portion of Military Highway.   The Friends were a key stakeholder in providing input for these guidelines.  

Once the Guidelines were approved, the City also activated funding for the Indian River Façade Improvement Grant to help businesses along the Indian River Road corridor with matching grants to make improvements to façades, landscaping, hardscaping, signage, outdoor eating areas, as well as pedestrian enhancements.  

Along Indian River Road, the rehabilitation of the 50-year-old Oaklette Bridge was finally completed.  The Public Works department is completing design plans for further safety improvements along Indian River Road.  The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan identified Indian River Road in Chesapeake as one of the Top 1% statewide roadway segments in priority to review for safety projects.  Plans include repaving the road, adding bike lanes, speed limit reductions, and improved crosswalks. This will include a new crosswalk and warning lights at Lilac Avenue to improve access to the new Blue Heron Landing Park.   At last report, the design work for these improvements was 90% complete.

The owners of the Indian River Shopping Center have continued revitalization efforts, renovating the central section of the complex, installing new facades, and planting trees along the store side of the parking lot.  While we are still waiting to see a formal announcement, there are expectations for the opening of a grocery store in early 2026.  Meanwhile, the Indian River Professional Building complex, across the road from the shopping center, is also expanding its footprint, and farther down the street in Virginia Beach, the Indian River Shoppes shopping strip is also undergoing renovations.  

At the annual Elizabeth River Project River Star Business Recognition Luncheon early in 2025, Wickers Crab Pot received top honors for their educational support of the ERP Learning Barge and their solid environmental practices at their restaurant on Indian River Road, the Rivercrest Condominium Association was recognized for Sustained Distinguished Performance, and Blue Heron Landing Park was highlighted when Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT) was recognized for its work.

The other big event in the area was the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Cuffee Aquatic Center in Campostella.  This will be the first municipal pool in the City.  This indoor pool will feature an 8-lane, 25-yard competition pool with a diving well, a family-friendly therapeutic pool with water play features, and a retractable roof.  The new pool, located a mile from Indian River Road, is expected to open in 2027.

Incremental improvements continue at Indian River Park.  New trail signage is being installed to help visitors navigate the park and old bridges are being replaced.   The City is also starting design work on a major redesign of the intersection at Military Highway and Rokeby Avenue to reduce the likelihood of vehicle crashes.  Thanks to persistent input from the Friends of Indian River, the plans now also include a pedestrian crossing across the intersection to make it safer to reach the park on foot or by bicycle.  

Volunteer Events

We organized 5 major cleanups this year, including four along Indian River Road and the Oaklette Bridge and one at Indian River Park.  These included efforts under the Adopt-A-Road,  Great American Cleanup, Clean the Bay Day, and International Coastal Cleanup programs.  Overall, our volunteers removed over 1500 lbs. of trash and debris.

We continued to care for the native plant garden at Indian River Park and the plantings at Oaklette Bridge on Indian River Road, both through group events in the fall and spring and individual volunteer activities throughout the year. 

Invasive species management at the park focused on removing Japanese Stilt Grass, pulling English Ivy, pruning Linden Viburnum and Privet.  We held Invasive Species Workshops in January, April, and November to both teach about the problem of invasive plants and remove them.   In February and March, we partnered with Chesapeake Parks, Recreation and Tourism to hold multiple "Weed Warrior Wednesday" sessions to cut back Viburnum, Privet, and Multifloral Rose in the park.

Our dedicated volunteers also continued regular maintenance at the various gardens maintained by the Friends of Indian River, including at Indian River Oaklette Bridge, Indian River Park, Plymouth Park, and several planters along Indian River Road.  

We also received assistance from multiple groups who came out for volunteer events, including Burns and McDonnell, Inc., sailors from the USS George H.W. Bush, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.  Additional volunteers came out for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation sponsored Clean the Bay Day.  Volunteer Hampton Roads also continued to be a valuable source of volunteers.  

Overall, more than 125 Volunteers performed 800+ Hours of Volunteer Service in 2025.

Connecting with Nature

We had a great turnout for our First Day Hike on New Year's Day.  Throughout the year, we held several Second Saturday Hikes at Indian River Park.  In September, a large contingent from the East Coast Hikers group came out for one of our hikes to discover the park.  

We held our hike for the Great Backyard Bird Count around the civic campus and lake located between the Indian River Community Center and the High School in mid-February.   We spotted 21 bird species.  Some of the less common sightings on the lake included Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, and Ruddy Ducks.

In the fall, we had a member field trip to visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach.

Civic Engagement

In 2025, speakers at our meetings included:

• January: Hampton Roads Transit on the Connecting Chesapeake study
• March: Vince Bowhers of  LRNOW on Abandoned and Derelict Vessels
• May: Lisa Renée Jennings, Hampton Roads Grassroots Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• September: Christina Trapani, Executive Director for Clean Virginia Waterways
• November: Rogard Ross on the History and Value of Trees in Chesapeake

In June, we held our annual picnic. 

Indian River High School Scholarship

The Friends of Indian River Education Scholarship is awarded to an Indian River High School graduating senior who embodies the spirit of the Friends of Indian River mission and excels in leadership, citizenship, extracurricular activities, and academics.  This year, the award went to Katherine Hamburg.  Katherine demonstrated exceptional academic performance, leadership abilities, and a remarkable commitment to our community.   She is looking forward to majoring in biology. We thank her for her efforts!

Applications are now open for students graduating in 2026.  Learn more about the scholarship at http://www.friendsofindianriver.org/p/friends-of-indian-river-scholarship.html

Planning

The Friends of Indian River have been partnering with other local environmental groups to provide input on City planning documents through the newly formed Chesapeake Sustainability Network.  

In 2025, the City approved the Greenbrier Area Plan, looking to transform Greenbrier into the new urban core for the City, promoting walkability and connectivity.  While the plan does an excellent job of defining human-scaled neighborhoods and commercial districts, we supported comments that the plan needs to do more on tree preservation and healthy lighting standards.  

The citywide Comprehensive Plan is currently making its way through the approval process.   The final draft of the document promotes a vision to create a high-quality future for the City that is proactive about developing necessary infrastructure, protects green and open space, works to connect people, and respects the unique character of different parts of the City.  The Friends continue to urge the City Council to incorporate stronger policies in the Plan on conservation landscaping - planting native plants, rain gardens, living shorelines, pollinator gardens, reducing areas of turf grass, and using less herbicides and pesticide, and also retain policy from the current Comp Plan supporting farmers markets, community gardens, and education on the value of wetlands and streamside buffers.  

In October, the City Council also approved changes to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area (CBPA) Ordinance.  The CBPA Ordinance is our primary tool for protecting the land along our waterways, at least in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  The changes reinforced the protection of mature trees in these buffer zones and factored in the impact of sea level rise in planning. The Friends of Indian River commented in support of these changes.  

Hampton Roads Transit is also moving on to the next phase of the Connecting Chesapeake Study, assessing the feasibility of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and/or Express Bus service along two possible routes between Greenbrier and downtown Norfolk.  One of the two options being considered comes through the Indian River area, going along Volvo Pkwy, Greenbrier Pkwy, Military Hwy, and Indian River Rd.  The other option follows Battlefield Blvd/Atlantic Ave, cutting over to Poindexter St.

Awards and Recognitions

We thank the Burns and McDonnell Foundation Fund for making a generous grant to the Friends of Indian River to support our efforts.  Employees from their local office also joined us for our Earth Day Volunteer Event at the Oaklette Bridge and Blue Heron Landing Park in April.  

Friends of Indian River Board of Directors

Rogard Ross      Carol Warren      Jayne Whitney      Helene Haluska

    Amy Weber    Jennifer Raymond    Vickie Easley    Anna Cook    David Miller

Active Supporting Members and Volunteers 2025

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority V Gary Ball MV* Susan Ball M Homer Babbit and family V Catherine Bernard M Yonna Billingsley V Rhawyn Bradshaw V Mark Bunker V Diane Burke MV* Don Burke V Joe Burke M Justin Burns V Burns and McDonnell, Inc. V USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)  V David Carter V Ha Chau M John Cheshire M Cindy and Ken Church M Anna Cook MV Phillip Cox V Benjamin Custis V Art Davenport M Chauneci Davis and family V Alexis Dekrone V Rene Deleon V Robin Dolce V Robert Dorman V Brian Easley MV Vickie Easley MV Eliza Farrell V

Jeff Ferlanto and family V Keven Gambold and family V David and Lynn Greenfield M  Becky Greenwald V Annie Guertin M Helene Haluska MV* Jim Haluska M Jim Hartle MV* Jorge Henao V Kerri Hoffius V Robert Ike, Jr. M Kelsey Jamison MV Harpreet Kaur Jassal V Kaiyac Jenkins V Blessing Jones and family V Lisa Kennedy M Tom Kennedy M Janet Kerns V Sharon Komenda MV*    Jim Lang M Susan Lang MV Greg Layton MV Paige Lewis M Scott Lotan M Charles Lowe M Amya Lynch V Arriene Maloney V Barbara McCane M* Kemi McRae M David Miller MV Jonathan Miller V

Damida Mills-Henao V Noah Milun V Maerine Mitchell V Victoria Mitchell V Keith and Debbie Moore M  Debbie Newman V Vic Nichols M Sean Patrick V  Amy Petersen M Jennifer Raymond MV* Bidhan Regmi V Rogard Ross MV* Zion Saint Ange V  Brooke Schaab M Ethan Shum V Jill SkipperMV Trena Smith V Jim Spiegeler M Ted Swearingen M Douglas Throp V Ashley W. V Carol Warren MV* Gabriella Washington V Amy Weber MV* Chris Whitney M* Jayne Whitney MV* Drew Wiggans V Jacqueline Wilson V James Wilson V Janet Wilson V Marc Winans M

M – Supporting Member       V – Volunteer     

* - Completed more than 100 lifetime volunteer hours with FIR