VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The City of Virginia Beach is looking at a plan to bring more visitors to the convention center and the surrounding areas.
City council members heard a proposal for a development on 19th street Tuesday. The site is directly adjacent to the convention center, an area that council members said has been underutilized.
A recent audit of the convention center showed over the last five years fewer than 20% of its events resulted in hotel bookings.
"I can say with a high degree of confidence that numerous groups and conventions that desire to come to Virginia Beach are choosing other destinations due to the lack of a headquarter hotel," said Norm Jenkins, president, Capstone Development.
Representatives of the Capstone Development firm told the city that a 300-room hotel next door to the convention center would help bring visitors in.
"We think the sweet spot is close to 300-400 [rooms] and that would allow that hotel to fill up during convention center dates and overflow would go into the resort and other areas," added Jenkins. "We are really trying to drive the decisions of these groups and organizations to come to Virginia Beach. We think that's the right number, and it won't necessarily disrupt the amount of business going to the resort."
"Additionally this kind of mixed-use development is going to be a kind of bridge between the Convention Center and our Vibe District, which is doing so well and is organically being a place that people love to go to," said another spokesperson for Capstone Development.
The other details of the project include more than 900 apartments, including workforce housing, more parking, restaurant and retail space, and space to grow.
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"There's a whole other service parking lot that we didn't touch with our planning, specifically to preserve planning capabilities," added a Capstone Development spokesperson.
None of the proposed buildings are more than seven stories high. Developers said once ground is broken, it would take roughly 26 months for phase one to be ready for residents or visitors.
Council members haven't made any decisions on the proposal, but said a project like this could be a "game changer."
"When you think of the other potential, when you think of the sports center, the revitalized convention center, the Vibe District, Atlantic Park, Rudee Loop, this makes it a true destination for everybody, not just tourists, everybody who lives in Virginia Beach," said Virginia Beach Mayor Robert Dyer.
Developers suggested the project be broken into four parts to manage financing.
The firm, Capstone Development, has done work like this before. They developed a $520 million hotel connected to a convention center in Washington DC.
