VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — After more than five years of planning, the Atlantic Park project at the Oceanfront is finally becoming a reality.
During a Development Authority Meeting Tuesday morning, one city official said the surf park and entertainment venue backed by Virginia Beach native and Grammy Award winner Pharrell Williams has “made it.”
It’s been a long time coming and while no formal announcement has been made, Deputy City Manager Taylor Adams calls this an exciting day in Virginia Beach.
The site started as the Virginia Beach Civic Center, better known as "The Dome" in the 1950s, but was torn down in 1994.
Now, the property that’s been sitting vacant for 25 years is one step closer to getting new life.
"We have made it with Atlantic Park," Adams said Tuesday morning.
Proposals for the property started coming in in 2019, including one from Williams himself.
"Perfect opportunity to show people that we're open for business. We want people to see us as like that star destination of the entire east coast," Williams said during a surprise appearance at a Virginia Beach City Council meeting in 2019.
The city ultimately decided to partner with Williams and Venture Realty to create a $300 million facility. It’s slated to include a Surf Park, a state-of-the-art live entertainment venue, as well as stores, restaurants and hundreds of residential units.
"I want to thank our city council, I want to thank all of you, I want to thank my team for your patience and persistence with us and your commitment to this project," Adams said Tuesday.
Plans seemed to stall in 2021 when Williams sent a letter to Virginia Beach city leaders, expressing concern over “toxic energy” and disappointment with their response to the death of his cousin, Donovon Lynch.
Lynch was shot and killed by a police officer at the Oceanfront in 2021.
A meeting last August seemed to get the project back on track. Then-Councilman Aaron Rouse and other city leaders met with Williams in New York.
"He is a great partner in our dome site which is the largest public and private partnership in our city's history, as well," Rouse said after that meeting.
Fast forward to Tuesday morning, Adams said “closings are happening.”
"I don’t want to get ahead of any announcements that are coming here, I just want to tell you that it’s an exciting day in the city of Virginia Beach," he said.
No word yet on when they are expecting to break ground on the project.
The venue will sit on Arctic Avenue between 19th and 20th streets.