Construction work on the project is on target to get underway this summer, for an anticipated spring 2005 completion date. When all is said and done, the top-of-the-line luxury hotel will be 22 stories tall; hovering 200 feet above the beach.

The property will offer the requisite amenities of a four-star hotel, such as a restaurant, a swimming pool, and a health club facility. There will also be a retail shopping area on the premises. As for the city's involvement, Virginia Beach is charged with acquiring the land and building an 800-space parking garage on a $20 million budget.

Getting to this point in the hotel's development has taken nearly six years. In addition to disputes over land, the project was also plagued by a great deal of public opposition. Many area citizens protested the towering height of the hotel. The original proposal called for a 250-ft edifice; not the 200-ft building that made it into the final plan.