Path is Cleared for $42M Beachfront Hotel

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA-After years of planning and negotiations, development of the long-awaited 300-room Hilton Resort Hotel and Conference Center has gotten the final go-ahead from the Virginia Beach City Council. Well-known area developers Bruce L. Thompson and Edmund C. Ruffin are spearheading the public-private endeavor along with the City of Virginia Beach. The beachfront resort will cost approximately $42 million to develop and will occupy the sandy shores just off the Ocean on 31st St.

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.