After the 2013 Virginia Supreme Court case put a stop to the use of eminent domain to acquire properties, Old Dominion University was forced to rethink how to expand their educational facilities as well as service industries. This left Highland Park with a half-finished identity. Although much of the area has been redeveloped, particularly Monarch Way, there are many pocketed areas with vacant lots as well as industrial buildings whose future is unknown.

In order to identify areas that may lead to future development and a more cohesive look and feel to Highland Park, an overall land use map was created. Then selected attributes, industrial-zoned properties and vacant land were extracted to isolate potential areas. Information about those properties were found on norfolkair.gov.