1909: The school opened as the Virginia State School for Colored Deaf and Blind Children.
1964: The school was desegregated and named The Virginia School for the Deaf Blind, and Multi-disabled at Hampton.
1975: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act required all local school districts to provide educational opportunities for children with disabilities within their district.
2006: the Virginia Board of Education voted to consolidate the state schools in Staunton and close the school in Hampton.
2008: The Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-disabled at Hampton closed.
A portion of the former school site, about 20 acres, was returned to the heirs of the people who donated the property for the school. This was the portion containing most of the school buildings.
2010: The City of Hampton’s Economic Development Authority purchased approximately 55 acres of the property, including the pine grove at the southern entrance of the property.
2019: Phenix Industrial LLC bought the smaller portion from the heirs.
2022: NorthPoint Development proposed a development and purchased the site from Phenix Industrial and most of the EDA’s parcel. The property was rezoned in 2023. NorthPoint is moving forward with the Phenix Commerce Center. The project will contain 840,000 square feet of light industrial space and an estimated 250 jobs. It will also contain a workforce training center.
The City of Hampton retained the pine grove, which is approximately 10 acres, equivalent to two full neighborhood blocks in size, at the southern end of the property along Gloucester Street.