More details have emerged regarding Virginia Beach’s proposed surf park project. Photo: Venture Realty Group
A surf park development project at a highly sought-after plot of Virginia Beach real estate has received necessary approvals from local officials to pursue next steps, according to reports.
Late last month, we reported that the project, proposed by Venture Realty Group, sought to bring Wavegarden’s Cove technology to Virginia Beach’s “Dome site,” a plot of land that’s remained undeveloped for years. Most notably, the project got the buy-in of music superstar Pharrell Williams.
Last week, the Virginia Beach Development Authority voted to enter into an exclusive six-month contract with Venture Realty Group, in hopes that the company can make the ambitious proposal a reality. The contract will expire May 21 of next year.
The surf park would be the centerpiece of the proposed project. Photo: Venture Realty Group
Pharrell, especially, is hopeful.
“There is a lot of symbolism to be able to build something that is so monumental and is such a magnet for our city where the Dome site was,” he told The Virginian-Pilot. “To me, it’s ironic. It’s poetic.”
Growing up in Virginia Beach, the music icon is using his status in an effort to support critical projects he believes will transform the city he loves.
“I got involved for the critical opportunity to watch our city expand,” he told the Pilot. “There has always been an incredible and an enormous growth potential there.”
Perhaps more important for the surf world at large are details that have emerged as a result of this proposal like how many waves a single surfer can expect in an hour-long session, or how much an hour session might cost.
30 waves per hour for $45 bucks. Photo: Venture Realty Group
“In Virginia Beach, tickets to surf would cost $45 an hour,” explained the Pilot. “Monthly membership options would also be available. Waves could be customized for surfers of all levels, including beginners.”
The article goes on: “[The Cove] is capable of pumping out a wave of nearly any size and length every 8 seconds. Several members of the development team surfed in a Wavegarden Cove in Spain and said a surfer who is hustling could catch up to 30 waves an hour.”
For comparison sake, NLand Surf Park in Austin that leverages Wavegarden’s original technology charges $90 per hour to surf their “reef” wave, with the expert surfer catching nowhere near 30 waves per hour.
Venture Realty, of course, has yet to break ground on the project, but if the development goes through without complication it’ll be the first public “Cove” in North America.
