$50M Hotel Project Clears Hurdle

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA-The $50 million public-private plan to construct the 31st Street Project–a 300-room luxury hotel, retail development and 65,000-sf public park–moves forward with the City Council’s recent approval of a controversial zoning change allowing the hotel to be as tall as 200 feet, instead of 100 feet. The proposed hotel will be the first and the tallest four-star luxury hospitality facility on the oceanfront.

Virginia Beach and Professional Hospitality Resources, a division of Gold Key/Professional Hospitality Resources Holding Company, are developing the 31st Street endeavor. City officials acquired the property in 1988 for $3.5 million and have bargained with its partner to include an 850-space public parking garage in the deal. The project has been in the works for years and the city has committed $20 million to augment PHR’s $30 million investment.

City officials claim the ordinance change will allow for accommodation of more hotel visitors, and a greater opportunity to capitalize on the resort’s dramatic ocean views. Controversy over the zoning alteration stems from some public opinion that the city made the change specifically to accommodate the 31st Street hotel developers. But speaking to local citizens after the decision, City Manager James K Spore said, “with or without the 31st Street Project, this ordinance makes sense.”