No Trespassing on OUR Property? Camping Out @ Camp Morrison

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The sprawling site that once housed American troops transitioned into a thriving industrial park mid-century, before slowly rotting into a graveyard of vacant warehouses. For decades, these cavernous, echoing structures have sat largely empty. But "empty" is a relative term. To developers, the land is a blank canvas awaiting its eventual rebirth as a new housing development. To Newport News’s unhoused population, it has been a rare refuge—a place to sleep where the elements can't reach them.

And to local law enforcement, it is a trespassing hotspot.

On a damp Tuesday afternoon, the tension between these competing realities plays out in real-time. Two police officers pull their cruiser to the edge of the cracked, weed-choked asphalt. They step out, hands resting casually near their utility belts, and begin their sweep of the decaying corrugated metal buildings.

They are here checking for "activity"—the clinical, bureaucratic euphemism for human beings trying to stay dry.

Flashlights cut through the gloom of a warehouse that hasn't seen legitimate industrial use in years. The beams sweep over discarded wooden pallets, crushed cans, and the telltale signs of life: a damp sleeping bag, a neat stack of plastic bins, a carefully hidden pile of personal belongings. When the officers find the occupants, the interaction is rarely physically violent, but it is always defined by the quiet violence of displacement.

“You can't be here. You need to pack it up and move.”

It’s the same script, recited under the shadow of rusted signs that read NO TRESPASSING. The irony is thick enough to choke on. The property is technically privately owned, slated for a redevelopment project that will soon replace these husks with modern housing units. But until those apartments and townhomes materialize, the land sits in purgatory.

Who Owns the Ruins?

The continual harassment of unhoused individuals at Camp Morrison highlights a glaring flaw in how municipalities handle urban decay. When people are pushed out of public parks, downtown sidewalks, and visible bus stops, they naturally migrate to the forgotten edges of the city. They seek out the ruins we have discarded.

But even the ruins are heavily guarded.

When officers clear out the encampments at Camp Morrison, they aren't solving the homelessness crisis; they are simply shuffling it to another zip code. The unhoused residents who are forced to pack up their meager belongings and trudge back out into the weather are left asking a valid question: If this property has been abandoned for decades, who exactly are we hurting?

The Future of Camp Morrison

Redevelopment is coming. The city and its developers are eager to wipe the slate clean, erasing both the lingering ghosts of the 1917 Balloon Corps and the modern-day survivalists who took shelter in the industrial aftermath. The incoming housing will likely be heralded as a revitalization victory for Newport News.

But as the police cruisers roll away, leaving behind freshly evicted citizens carrying everything they own in garbage bags, the victory feels entirely hollow. We are preparing to build housing on top of the exact spot where we just criminalized people for trying to find a roof.

At Camp Morrison, the Great War has been over for a century, but for the people camping out in its ruins, the battle for a safe place to sleep continues every single night.

Camp Morrison Associates, L.P. (also referred to as Camp Morrison Associates) owns the Camp Morrison buildings/site in Newport News, Virginia.

This is the roughly 110-acre former WWI-era Army embarkation camp (later Camp Morrison Industrial Park) in the Greater Hilton area, between railroad tracks and Warwick Village Shopping Center. The site has mostly vacant, deteriorating warehouse-style buildings and has been the subject of long-running redevelopment efforts for housing.

• Recent local news (including 2025–2026 reporting from The Virginian-Pilot) consistently identifies Camp Morrison Associates as the current site owner. It has partnered with developers such as D.R. Horton on redevelopment proposals.
• The group (described as roughly 12–15 investors) acquired the property in 1989 from CSX. It has been represented/managed in connection with the site by Drucker + Falk (Wendy Drucker).
• City records and zoning matters have listed Camp Morrison Associates, L.P. as the property owner (e.g., addresses around Export Circle).

Note that there is a separately registered entity called Camp Morrison Inc. (active Virginia corporation with a Newport News address), but public reporting on the industrial park/buildings points to Camp Morrison Associates as the owner. Ownership details for specific parcels can be confirmed via Newport News real estate assessor or GIS records if needed for official purposes.