Cost of Va. Beach Laskin Gateway project looks to get heftier

VIRGINIA BEACH

The cost of completing the Laskin Road Gateway, a street and utility project aimed at jump-starting economic development near the Oceanfront, has mushroomed by about 45 percent to nearly $40 million.

Most of the additional cost is tied to an increase in the project's scope, said Dave Hansen, a deputy city manager.

Utilities were buried, more sewer work had to be done, a park was added at the entrance to the gateway, the city had to buy more property than engineers anticipated, and city officials want to raise a nearby bridge to relieve flooding problems, Hansen said.

In all, the cost will have increased by $12.5 million if the City Council approves a request for an additional $6.8 million.

"The footprint of the project has grown," Hansen said.

City leaders launched Laskin Gateway in 2009 to help developers Bruce Thompson and Gordon Huey as they upgraded a block at Pacific Avenue and Laskin Road, which becomes 31st Street at the Oceanfront, with a $72 million mixed-use complex called 31Ocean.

Beach officials also called it an opportunity to update the city's aging utility infrastructure and to set the stage for further private investment that could modernize the resort and create a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere.

At that time, the City Council set aside $27.5 million for the work, moving money from other road projects to fund it. Council members added $5.7 million to the project in the budget they adopted in May.

Now, Virginia Beach officials want to transfer about $6.8 million from a handful of roadway projects that are of lesser priority - including intersection improvements near Lynnhaven Mall and on First Colonial Road - to complete the last phase of the Laskin Gateway, which is set to start later this fall.

Beach officials can't sign the construction contract for the final phase - which includes extending 32nd Street to Laskin Road, building a roundabout, setting up a park, and burying more utilities - until the City Council approves the transfers.

The council is set to vote Tuesday on boosting the project's cost.

"It's unfortunate that we have the additional cost," Vice Mayor Louis Jones said. "But when you look at what it's being spent on, we had to do it anyway, eventually, or would want to do it eventually."

The park, for example, which will cost about $1 million mostly to replace a failing bulkhead on the property, will provide an amenity to the neighborhood and improve the appearance of what is going to be a primary entrance into the Oceanfront, he said.

It's better to complete one project entirely than to do it in sections, Jones said.

Councilman Bill DeSteph said the project crept up in size and now that it's at the final stage, the City Council has little choice but to spend the money.

"I feel like we have a shell game going on, after we've moved all the shells," DeSteph said. "We're put in a box."

Unlike other road and infrastructure projects, which are planned over the course of three or four years, engineers initially designed this one within a few months, Hansen said.

Beach officials rushed this project in part to ensure the infrastructure work was complete by the opening of 31Ocean.

"We want to make sure we present to the private investment world that we're willing to invest in our infrastructure," Hansen said.

Councilman John Uhrin, who represents the Oceanfront, said the Laskin Road Gateway project shows private investors the city is willing to not only plan a revitalization but complete it.

One set of private developers have already invested in the area, and there will be "a lot more to come," he said.

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