Survey says a park, not a hotel is wanted on Rudee Loop in Virginia Beach

In its quest for ideas for one of the most coveted pieces of waterfront properties on the East Coast, the Virginia Beach City Council received several submissions from local development groups. But in the end, it seems one of their own may be the favorite.

The concept for a large park on Rudee Loop, designed by the city’s Parks and Recreation department, was preferred by respondents in a recent survey, according to Work Program Architects (WPA) of Norfolk.

The city paid the firm $50,000 to gather community feedback about Rudee Loop through the online survey, in-person public input events and interviews with Oceanfront civic leagues and business people.

Ross Cannon of WPA presented the results of the outreach to the City Council Tuesday.

Of the more than 4,000 people surveyed, approximately 83% responded they did not want another hotel. Green or open space, restrooms and playgrounds and shade structures were among the top desires. A similar sentiment to limit commercial development was expressed by 100 people who voiced their opinions at an in-person event on the Boardwalk at 2nd Street, and those who attended a session held in Kempsville, Cannon said.

“It’s the last free open space at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, is what people noted it as,” he said. “They felt no matter what you put there, the tourists are going to come and enjoy the amenities that the locals can use timed throughout the whole year.”

Virginia Beach began seeking ideas for eight acres of the peninsula in May last year. The city criteria included support for the existing surfing and fishing environment and maintaining public access to the beach, Boardwalk and inlet.

Rudee Loop is bordered by Rudee Inlet and the ocean, and the resort area’s southernmost point. Southbound drivers on Atlantic Avenue can use Rudee Loop to circle around the edge of the inlet and then head north.

The area has long been a destination for surfing near the jetty, and fishing in the active inlet waterway. Rudee Loop has also been a staging area for Oceanfront events including Something in the Water and the East Coast Surfing Championships. It’s currently being used for surface parking.

The city presented four proposals to the public last year from the following groups: Bruce Smith Enterprise, Madison Marquette Development Team and Armada Hoffler; Gold Key | PHR; The Virginia Gentlemen Foundation and EDSA; and Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation. While each concept included open or green space, parks and recreation department’s design had the most public amenities.

The 4,269 people who participated in the online survey were asked to prioritize the top three amenities they’d like to see at Rudee Loop. Options included open space, a hotel, bike racks, surfboard storage and others.

Respondents were also asked what proposal they preferred with a list of each project’s key elements. Links to their proposals were on the survey website. Comments could also be made.

Bruce Smith Enterprise’s idea for a mixed-use project that included hotels, condominiums and a park received 6% support with positive comments about how the design would created jobs and bring in more tax revenue. Virginia Gentlemen’s idea had support from 25% of respondents who favored its proposed surf museum, public accessibility, a jetty walk and an expansion of Grommet Island Park, a playground on the beach. Gold Key|PHR had 4% of support with interest in its proposed surf hall of fame walk, splash pads and a dog park.

The highest support was 64% for Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation’s design. The respondents liked the idea for green space, surface parking, a skate park and keeping the same loop configuration for traffic flow.

“People really seemed to gravitate toward that,” Cannon said.

Mayor Bobby Dyer said he prefers park and recreation’s pitch, describing his vision of people watching the skateboarders from park benches.

“We want to give useful activities for youth to come out and do,” he said. “We might be able to incorporate a number of the best aspects of the number of recommendations coming in.”

Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson, who represents District 5 where Rudee Loop is located had the same idea.

“I don’t think it has to be exactly like these proposals we put out because now we know what the people want, we can sort of take all of that to formulate something,” she said.

Wilson likes Virginia Gentlemen’s idea because as a private group, they could fundraise to build it, she said. The issue of how the city will handle homelessness and panhandling in a future public park came up. The mayor asked the city attorney’s office to look into a conservancy model to manage the park, citing Central Park in New York City as an example.

Councilman Worth Remick said he agreed with what some of resort area business owners said they supported, which is incorporating additional land on 2nd Street, where the Schooner Inn hotel is currently located. It will require the city to purchase the hotel, an idea first pitched by former Councilman Linwood Branch last year.

“I really think this is an incredible opportunity for the city and this resort to take advantage of what has been called the best piece of property on the East Coast and turn it into a public park,” Remick said.

The City Council agreed to hold a workshop on Rudee Loop after the 2024 city budget is finalized.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com