After hitting the pause button, the City Council may be nearing a decision to transform Rudee Loop at the Oceanfront into an eight-acre park that could be built by the end of 2028.
The city set aside $50 million to build Rudee Park as a destination for tourists and locals in the southern area of the resort.
It would have trails, paths, elevated overlooks and amenities such as a water plaza. It would also preserve opportunities to fish, a popular activity at the existing site.
But competing needs, including funding for the Virginia Aquarium and parking at the Oceanfront, led the council in June to hold off on pushing forward. Some hope to lower the public cost. Over the summer, officials have worked on a gameplan to secure private funding sources.
“We’re going to be looking for external funding,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said at a meeting last week. “I think it’s a very, very strong possibility. We have a very stretched budget with a lot of needs, especially with other projects at the Oceanfront and capital needs.”
Other concerns include whether to include a parking structure at the site. With a garage, the estimated cost of the park is nearly $70.5 million. With surface parking only, it would be about $42.6 million.
The council is expected to discuss a range of projects at the resort that rely upon funding through the Tourism Investment Program at an upcoming meeting. On Aug. 19, the body will hear an update on the Rudee Loop park and, potentially, give the go-ahead to city staff.
Dyer said the council may proceed without the garage, which could be revisited.
“As of right now, hopefully we can work a plan without a garage and make it a friendly destination for everybody,” he said.
He also said the possible sale of the Schooner Inn, a hotel near the park site, means the city could partner with its buyer for a parking structure down the road.
Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson, who represents part of the Oceanfront area on council, said there is a lot of public support for the park, which she has called a “game changer” for the city. She said the council needs to work through issues such as increasing private funding through naming rights for areas within the park and addressing Rudee Loop’s use as a staging area for major events at the resort while the park is being built.
In May, a presentation to the council estimated sponsorship may bring in $5 to $10 million, though Wilson has said it could deliver $15 million or more.
The City Council will provide direction to the staff when those items are hashed out.
“There doesn’t need to be a vote,” Wilson said last week. “The council just needs to be comfortable moving forward.”
On Aug. 7, a majority of the Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation Commission voted to recommend proceeding with the surface parking-only option. One member voted against that position because they wanted the parking garage included.
“Time’s our enemy,” Phil Hines, chairperson of the commission, said during an interview. “We want a park, and the public wants action now.”
Michael Kirschman, Virginia Beach’s director of parks and recreation, told the commission that city staff hopes to receive direction from the council and approval of the park design later this month.
He said the surface parking-only option provides flexibility when it comes to the need for staging areas for large special events, while the garage provides additional parking and opportunities for retail and a restaurant location.
“Those are the tradeoffs that council will be considering.”