VIRGINIA BEACH
Jeffrey Murden's appliance store is a throwback. Some of the washing machines on display are on their second or third life. The wooden school desks, seating for customers, are out of production. The squat store itself sits on a block that Murden's family has owned for three generations.
"I prefer to keep it sweet and simple," Murden said, wiping grease from his hands.
From a window of his shop at the corner of Laskin and Holly roads, Murden can see progress - the 31st Street Hilton towers before the Atlantic Ocean. Two blocks south of Murden is a new brick condominium. To his northeast is a recently built parking deck.
Virginia Beach officials hope that type of development will stretch from the Oceanfront down Laskin Road.
To make it happen, much of the city's scarce transportation money may be poured into a roadway project that will convert a quarter-mile stretch of Laskin Road, which becomes 31st Street at the Oceanfront, into a pedestrian-friendly corridor.
Today, the Laskin Road Gateway has leapfrogged over other transportation needs in the proposed 2009- 10 budget. To help speed work on the gateway, money has been taken from other road plans and the city's savings.
Meanwhile, the gateway's cost has more than doubled to $28.4 million in the past year. Much of the cost increase is in acquiring the land to extend 32nd Street, which wasn't initially part of this phase.
Utility design work could start next month and road work this winter.
The rush to turn Laskin Road from a four-lane to a two-lane corridor and extend 32nd Street to carry more residential traffic is spurred by a project proposed by hotelier Bruce Thompson, whose company developed the Hilton.
At the corner of 31st Street and Pacific Avenue, Thompson wants to build a $58 million restaurant and retail district with apartments and offices, a major step in converting the Laskin corridor. Construction on Beach Centre at 31 Ocean, as the project is tentatively called, is to begin early next year.
"He's fast-tracking it," Councilman John Uhrin said. "It doesn't make sense for him to do that and not coordinate with the city."
The steps the city has taken to speed up the Laskin Gateway have upset Princess Anne Councilwoman Barbara Henley. Under the proposed budget, money from Seaboard Road, a project in Henley's district, would go to Laskin.
"I don't know when we made this a top priority," Henley said. "I'm really sort of at the end of tolerating these Princess Anne projects being shoved aside."
Henley and other council members said they have not received updated information about Thompson's project or the road work necessary to make it a success.
The last time council members were briefed about Beach Centre, city staff estimated that the public's commitment for road and utility work would be $7 million. That projection was based on improvements only to the block by Thompson's project.
Not wanting to tear up the road again and disrupt Beach Centre to do the gateway project, city officials have combined street work for Thompson's development and the gateway project.
"I think we should have some input," Henley said of staff decisions on road projects.
The city already has set aside $12.5 million in the 2008-09 budget for the gateway project, and staff has proposed making up the difference by taking:
- $4.2 million out of the Seaboard Road project, which was supposed to be bid for construction in two months. Now it would be indefinitely delayed.
- $4 million from the public utilities savings account.
- $1 million from the Southeastern Parkway project.
- $2 million in charter bond capacity.
- In 2010- 11, the city would divert $3.2 million set aside for the proposed Town Center pedestrian bridge and $1.5 million from a fund that supports strategic growth areas.
Seaboard Road was supposed to tie into improvements of Nimmo Parkway, which have been delayed because of cuts in state funding. Without Nimmo, Seaboard is a "road to nowhere," Uhrin said.
The Laskin Gateway offers the city a chance not only to spur Thompson's investment, but also to complete a public vision and make road improvements officials have discussed for years, Uhrin said.
Another part of the gateway project, the extension of 30th Street to Laskin, was completed last year at a cost of about $15 million.
Despite the increased cost of the gateway, if the road improvements encourage more development like Thompson's 31st Street Hilton, it would be worth the city investment, said Mayor Will Sessoms.
"There are a lot of improvements there that need to occur that have been long overdue," Sessoms said.
Jeffrey Murden said he has no plans to redevelop his family's property.
"They have all these visions," Murden said, showing off a stack of old city plans for the corridor, few of which have been completed.
"If it ain't broke, leave it alone."
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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Strategic planning and implementation.
Thanks, I appreciate all the kind compliments. But what continues to astound me is that I would think the so called anti tax opponents would also be supporters of economic development projects, because they have demonstrated how valuble they are for increasing the commercial tax base. But no, they are not, and instead of engaging this topic, they generally just resort to wise cracks or personal insults. Even John Moss had a strong economic development plank in his platform, but this support gets drowned out by erstwhile supporters who prefer to rant and rave about help for any business person who proposes an investment dependent upon revitalization of adjoining public assets. The fact that we have the lowest tax rate, the fastest growing commercial tax base, the best programs and services did not happen by accident. It happened because of a strategic plan, votes to fund the plan, and yearly objectives moving us toward the goals in the plan.
Mike Barrett, I think
Mike Barrett, I think you’d make a terrific political speech writer for $e$$om$…….hopefully, you won’t charge the city $9,000 a pop.
Re: Mike
So are you suggesting we ignore our ever grown road problems at an attempt to promote new commercial growth during these economic times when countless businesses are closing? You say there is no more funding coming from Richmond, and that the city does not have the resources to take care of the road issues (yet they have it in the budget, its just now they want to cut it), so we simply choose to overlook these problems? I guess you're saying screw infrastructure?
The future
Well, it is true that is a private entreprenuer wants to invest $58,000,000 on Laskin Road to create a much more positive environment than the old real estate that can only be called shabby chic, that at least that developer ought to be heard. Many economic entities around this nation spend thousands of dollars every day to lure such prospects to their city. Here we have a home grown developer with an excellent portfolio of successful projects offering to continue that development in our fair city if we make public improvements in the ROW, and the 15% that voted for John Moss would rather that he be ignored than welcomed. Fine, if you actually believe that our munjicipal corporation can have quality growth and prospertity without an increase in the commercial tax base, please let me know how you will accomplish this objective without major service degradations in education, public health and human services, courts and justice, and public safety.
Mike-e likes it.
Mike never met a public funded project he didn't like.
You running the city now ole boi?
We have had both!
We are not Myrtle Beach, never will be, thank goodness. We have a small resort center in the middle of a large city multi dimensional city within a diverse region. No problem with that. But the problemn of trnasportation in the southern part of the city will not be solved by local government; it is a responsibility of the Commonwealth of Virginia that has been hijacked by the anti tax republicans in the House of Delegates. Council has wisely adopted a strategic plan that emphasizes economic development in order to grow our own tax base to meet the demands of our citizens. Our citizens have constantly told council they want quality services and low tax rates; the only way to accomplish that is to grow the commercial tax base. Frankly, with 31st Street, Town Center, the Convention Center, planned growth in strategic growth areas, and frankly, the entreprenurial effort of countless business owners, our city has done what few have; increased the commercial tax base and reduced the tax rate. Stop complaining and start working smart.
Ever notice how Myrtle Beach is doing so much better than VAB?
Maybe that's because MB keeps their beach front exactly that, bright lively fun BEACH FRONT! You see the t-shirt/bathing suit shops, the cheap souvenirs and plenty of people dressed appropriatly for the beach. VAB seems to have confussed the beach with Colonial Williamsburg. At VAB instead of fast food joints, tacky fun beach shops, cool drink and ice cream vendors. The city seems to want up-scale expensive, no swimsuits allowed fine dining, up-scale cloths stores, snobby art galleries and other retailers that don't go well with sand. MB keeps all their up-scale shops and resturants a few roads off the beach where they do a booming business. Of course MB doesn't pick the tax payers pockets to pay for the private developers projects. Maybe we should put an end to the public/private development projects. If it's worth building, a private developer will build it with their own investment funds. If it's subsidized with our tax dollars, you can expect for it to be a money pit.
Oceanfront
The development looks good to me. I was at the Oceanfront today and while it's lovely to see so much Ocean, many of the surrounding shops with their perpetual "going out of business" sale signs is downright tacky. If we want to attract tourist who can help build our city up with their cash, we better be able to provide more than cheap t-shirts and made in China souvenirs.
31st St. Rip-off
Haven't they screwed-up the whole 30-31st St. access enough?
There are IDIOTS at work here who could care less about regular people. They want to help their Developer buddies who paid for thier ear at election time, what a crock of crap!
With all the true emergent needs of this city,they are entertaining the greedy desires of a developer they have helped MORE than enough.
Wake-up VB City council and start listening to the people you are supposed to represent!
Looks like time to clean house at the local level this time!
Early Bird Get's The Worm
Thompson wants to fast track the project because he want's to beat out any development that would happen at the old Dome site, connecting that area to the convention center and possibly a new (city financed?) hotel. I can't see both projects being succesful, yet the city may end up paying a good chunk of cash to get both done.
Citizens mean nothing
The VB council lead by the puppet of developers could care less about anything but spending. We over-taxed boo-birds, as the developer in VB says, are scum to the council.
With sessoms and spore being directed how to spend citizen tax dollars, we boo-birds are going to become the poo-birds and left with that waste to clean up.
A Crumb for Centerville?
Mike: I agree about Bill Howell and his total control problem. However what we are talking about is existing city funds that are going to be taken from other projects to go to the oceanfront again... Frankly have you looked at all the traffic and visitors/employees coming into VB from Chesapeake every morning? There are thousands of homes in Centerville that were not there ten years ago and they still can't get their road until 2016 (at best). Also there is a big new mixed use project at Centerville and Lynnhaven that will also bring in more jobs, customers and taxes to this city. This is a contributing area of our vast city.
There is more to VB than tourists and the oceanfront. Bruce should wait his turn as he has received tens of millions while the Centerville residents are left with no road to get home, work or school. There lives are in jeopardy everyday as it takes a long time to get public safety out there with no easy access roadway.
BTW: I'm not a boo bird. I'm a citizen who would just like to see a small crumb thrown to the Centerville community. They deserve their due as much or more than Bruce does.
Sad but True
William, nice to hear from you again. I certainly do not like the fact that the republicans in the House of Delegates from the Beach have simply rolled over and played dead in view of the power and sway of the Speaker of the House, Bill Howell. I believe the decay and deterioration of our local, state, and interstate road system over the last decade is one of the most serious and irresponsible acts ever done in the Commonwealth of Virgina. So Bill, direct your ire where it belongs, and that is with those in the House of Delegates who have refused to support increased funding for transportation, even when some of your dedicated employees have testified to them about the disruption that congestion has caused. Our City Council simply does not have access to the sources of funds for transportation, and they are correct to focus what little local funding we have on projects that will stimulate private investment and an increase in the commercial tax base.
April 28th VB town meeting
everyone posting comments needs to be at the city meeting on the 28th.
Barrett
What Mr Barrett is really saying is that he and his developer friends want all of the road money to be put in front of their buildings. Forget the rest of the city just keep our tax money on front of their buildings. Corporate welfare at its best. Who needs Nimmo Parkway anyway? No developer will line his pockets there! Just those Boobirds might get some traffic relief.
use the money wisely
Stop pizzing around the bush, use the money to buy back land around Oceana to reduce the encroachment so it will remain a viable option for the Navy to keep the F/A18 aircraft here or they will move to Florida. What will happen to VB then when the aircraft are gone and the next BRAC hits Oceana. "Better start sucking up to the Navy or they will be gone then you can say goodbye to your buttered bread.
A better idea
Don't we have enough commercialism in Virginia Beach? Why not use that money to replace our SHAMEFUL animal shelter with something modern world and humane?
Big Bad Wolf
How interesting that so many people are lashing out against the city helping developers and the like. I feel safe in assuming that many of the people posting here consider themselves conservatives. Well correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the conservative/republican mantra to assist the wealthy in their endeavors because that wealth and prosperity will inevitably trickle down for the greater good of everyone else? Surely the conservatives of VB haven't given up on Reganomics? Guess they only support that theory when it's practiced in somebody else's city or state.
Foul ball Mike Barrett The
Foul ball Mike Barrett The tax RATE may be one of the lowest in the area, but when the city ASSESSMENTS go through the roof (as they have up until this year), the city ultimately gets what it wants. Don’t play the political shell game.
.8th of a Mile in Centerville
Mike: Is it really too much to get two simple lanes thru to Centerville so drivers and emergency vehicles don't have to speed thru the nieghborhoods? Since 1992/93 the citizens have waited their turn in line...
Tell Bruce that he can have Laskin Rd finished once Lynnhaven PW has its .8th mile... BTW: I don't live in Centerville.