Remains of Virginia Beach Nike missile site could become history

VIRGINIA BEACH

Nearly half a century ago, missiles sat poised in this field, ready to strike Soviet bombers and protect Hampton Roads’ maritime and military interests.

Then the federal government removed the missiles and left the property not far from Salem High School on Lynnhaven Parkway – to the city.

The building where Cold War-era missiles were armed became a welding shop for Virginia Beach’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Ping pong tables, therapeutic balls, and boxes of candles took over the base’s former mess hall. Last year, the Army Corps of Engineers finally came by and filled the empty missile magazines with concrete.

Soon, any remaining evidence of this Nike missile site, one of eight that once stood guard in Hampton Roads, could disappear.

Virginia Beach officials plan to ask the National Parks Service to remove deed restrictions limiting the land to park use from the Lynnhaven Parkway site and its companion base a mile away.

If the parcels could be used for residential development, the city could sell them for several million dollars, said Dave Hansen, the city’s finance and technology chief.

“A military bunker and missile support facility is past its prime,” Hansen said.

The federal government gave Virginia Beach the 21 acres in 1967. The city has refurbished some of the squat buildings and added on to others.

But the facilities are starting to show their age. New wires are tied around exposed water pipes, and some of the buildings flood. The storage facilities and offices also stand out in what has become a primarily residential neighborhood, said Barry Shockley, a facilities manager for Virginia Beach.

“It’s time to modernize,” Shockley said.

City officials say they believe that the land is valuable enough that a developer would be willing to build the Parks and Recreation Department new facilities elsewhere in Virginia Beach in exchange for the properties.

It’s an interesting idea and one that hasn’t been tested in the city, said Councilman Ron Villanueva.

“We asked the staff to think outside the box,” said Villanueva, who first inquired about whether surplus city property could be sold to cushion the budget through an expected lean period. City officials are reviewing several other properties for potential sale.

Councilman Bill DeSteph said he wants to sell any land the city no longer needs, but he worries about swapping land for the new buildings through a public-private venture. To make sure that several companies place bids, the sale of the Nike land should be separate from the construction of the new facilities, DeSteph said.

There are likely few companies that could afford to do such a swap, said Councilman Jim Wood. “The concept of leveraging the land for construction dollars, I’m not sold on that,” Wood said. “You’re asking a developer to put up cash and build a building for you in exchange for land he would develop later.”

Hansen believes the public-private approach is the best way for the city to get a low price and finish the construction quickly.

While City Council members disagree on how to sell the Nike site , few argue that the property should be saved.

City officials are compiling information for the National Parks Service request. The city would have to transfer the deed restriction from the current Nike site to open space elsewhere in the city.

Even Albert Burckard, an Army veteran who is trying to preserve the Carrollton Nike base in Isle of Wight County, said the Lynnhaven Parkway site no longer has as much historical integrity.

“Because it has been compromised historically and changed, there is no point in preserving it,” Burckard said.

 Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com