The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
State regulators approved plans Tuesday for a "super yacht" development on Little Creek in Norfolk, one that would include new condominiums and a scenic walkway around the waterfront parcel.
The luxury project at Pretty Lake Avenue and 30th Bay Street, involves the restoration of an old boat slip that once housed an infamous vessel, the Sea Belle.
A retired ferry boat, the Sea Belle was at one time supposed to become a restaurant but instead turned into a local eyesore that once caught fire. It since has been removed, paid for by one developer of the super yacht project.
That developer, Buddy Gadams, of East Beach LLC, is partnering with another company, Vinings Marine Group LLC, to fill in the shallow slip with sand and dirt, build waterfront condos and construct a 240-foot-long pier that would cater to million-dollar yachts cruising the Chesapeake Bay.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted unanimously to issue a permit for the project, despite objections from dozens of local residents.
Critics argued that the East Beach area of Norfolk already is flush with empty condos and that more housing would increase traffic on undersized streets and would harm wetlands and wildlife that have suffered from rapid development in recent years.
"Enough is enough," wrote two protesters, Lynne Phipps and Sylvia Goodhall.
The state marine permit was the last government approval the project required. The Norfolk Wetlands Board and the Army Corps of Engineers already had signed off on the deal.
But that does not mean construction will begin any time soon.
Brian Baker, representing Vinings Marine Group, told the commission that "we have no time frame" for development, noting the national economic recession and housing downturn.
Still, Gadams said state approval Tuesday represents an end to a five-year journey, one that included spending "a couple hundred thousand dollars" to scrap the Sea Belle and clear the way for redevelopment.
Gadams and his Marathon Development Group have gained notoriety for renovating homes and building housing in downtown Norfolk. He also is entangled in the controversial Granby Tower project, which Gadams hopes to develop as the tallest building in Norfolk, a 34-floor condo complex. The project has stalled, however, a local symbol of the housing and financing crisis gripping the country.
The super yacht development is sandwiched by two existing marinas on Little Creek. Its hallmark would be a long, thick pier where yachts up to 170 feet long could tie up and take on supplies.
An elevated, aluminum walkway would ring the property, according to plans presented Tuesday.
The developers will have to pay the state $21,192 as royalties for disturbing the river bottom.
They would also have to create tidal wetlands as mitigation for filling in marshes to make the project happen.
Scott Harper, (757) 446-2340, scott.harper@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
ggriggs
I hope that you are not suggesting that there is anything sinister about Gadams operating as a LLC. Should the same implications be applied to Virginian-Pilot Media Companies LLC? The owners of this website.
Another fine mess...
Here we go again! I wish I was invited to the backyard barbeque that ALL of the Norfolk City leaders were invited to that approved Buddy Gadams downtown project--Heck I wish I could have gotten my hands on one of those checks he slid the city council members. Anyway...Why is the state allowing this rich-thug to start another project? What's the real story?
He is smart. All of his companies are LLC...you can sue one but not all and he still keeps his deep pockets. I would bet that over the next 2 years, we will see at least 3 of his LLC interest involved in this project.
I am running for council...I could use the extra money!
Is this guy for real?
East Ocean View --- Mega Yacht Center --- yeah right! They tried building the new homes there and that flopped. Half of them are empty or in foreclosure. NO ONE with a multi-million dollar yacht give a tinkers toot about East Ocean View. The only attraction there is drugs and hookers. This guy and Norfolk needs some serious shock treatment!
Million dollar yachts in Oceanview???
I'm with you andef94803. Oceanview is the last place I'd want to dock if I had a million dollar yacht. Have you seen all the empty condos and homes there already? What are they going to call the condos? Crack house estates?
There was nothing 'infamous' about the departed
SeaBelle. What a fine ship she was. Sailed many a Sea and entertained numerous celebrities and dignataries in her day. She was famous. But just like most fine giving women, she was used and abused until she lost her curves and shine and left high and dry on the banks of pretty lake, too ironic for words. It makes little difference who moors there now, just as long as the wharf is named for SeaBelle, when ships were ships and men were men, she was steadfast and true to all who boarded her. God Speed SeaBelle, we be eyeing you on the horizons for eternity.
"time gets the doughnut, love gets the hole"
Granby Towers would have been financed and built already had it not been for interference and delays from the federal government.
The city attempted to get the Feds to build an new court building on the lot, but was ignored until a developer had worked a deal with the city. Then, some federal bureaucrat decides there is a need for a new facility, delaying and ultimately killing the Granby Tower project. Now the Feds will expand and improve existing facilities at the current location and Norfolk is left with a hole.
There is no reason to pay
There is no reason to pay the fees to get a permit unless you plan on building soon. Permits are not free.
andef94803 ...
If you had a million dollar boat it would make a very nice tender for a 170' yacht. You cannot even buy a used Hines-Farley for that much. IMHO, there is no better place in Norfolk for something like this. It is the first safe harbor upon entering the Bay for a boat that size. You can question his timing and his integrity but not his plan. There is already an active marine service industry in that area and there is more than enough room for a boat that size to maneuver; Witness the Navy ships opposite the channel. Insofar as Ocean View not being very desirable, as one commenter suggested, you may rest assured that anyone who owns such a craft will not be unfolding their traveling bicycles and riding them through OV. Also, to say that they are destroying wetlands is a little silly since it looks like a spoils area but, whatever; You have to play the games.
First, $200K is overpriced
First, $200K is overpriced for condos unless it's on the water. You own no land, have to pay condo association, bleh. Condo is all the downsides of apartment living, except you're stuck with it. Try $80K. Second, the Granby tower site is *HIS* mudpit, so he should be able to deal with his project on his time line. Quit whining! I for one welcome more inventory to the market, as it will help drive prices that much lower. Want to build overpriced apartment buildings all throughout downtown Norfolk? Have at it! Will be laughing when they are auctioned off, and will welcome the purchase of them at a "fire sale" prices. The new owners can return them to the market at hopefully a more realistic rental price. It might take a few rounds of knife catchers to clear things up, as long as the gov't keeps out of it. I wasn't kidding when I said Hampton Roads prices will revert to 2001 levels. Take away funky lending, and that is what the salaries support.
Superyacht pier and Condos
Kind of strange that the city would let Gadams develop this site, what with all the people who put down deposits on Granby tower still on the hook. The city ought to require Gadams to return those people's money immediately, before any permits are issued here.
There is a trend in the Marina industry toward catering to these megayachts, but I'm not sure East Ocean View is going to be a destination for many of them. There's nothing to do there, and you cannot support shops and restaurants on the 1-2 boats that pull in every week.
That stretch of Creek is pretty crowded now, I can't imagine a 170 footer coming in there.