VIRGINIA BEACH — City council members Jessica Abbott and John Moss have put forth a resolution in Tuesday’s agenda that would block City Manager Dave Hansen from re-configuring Atlantic Avenue, according to the agenda.
The road realignment would result in a cul-de-sac in front of the Cavalier Hotel, at the northern-most end of Atlantic Avenue where it intersects with Pacific Avenue near 40th Street.
The hotel’s developer, Bruce Thompson, has sought the city’s assistance with the project for more than two years, and the city has applied for state transportation grants to bring funding to the project. Although City Council approved the project, they refused to spend city taxpayer dollars on it.
Councilman Ben Davenport, believe the realignment will improve traffic flow and lead to a safer intersection. According to a McPherson Consulting traffic study conducted in 2016, the project could mitigate an increase in traffic caused by upcoming Oceanfront hotel developments near the Cavalier.
The reconfiguration would also recreate the Cavalier Hotel’s historic grand lawn that once stretched to the original Cavalier Beach Club on the sand.
Tuesday’s briefing, slated to be presented by City Engineer Phil Pullen, manager of the project, is an apparent reaction to the Moss-Abbott resolution.
“We have placed this briefing on your upcoming December 11 agenda because we have been informed that council members Moss and Abbott are bringing forth a resolution to direct the City Manager to not reconfigure Atlantic Avenue near 40th Street,” according to a Dec. 7 letter from Hansen to Mayor Bobby Dyer.
Related story: Developer hopeful for state, city funds for Atlantic Avenue redesign
The attempted realignment comes during the construction of the 305-room Oceanfront Cavalier Towers, along with an Embassy Suites, now in the design phase, to the north and south of the beach club, respectively. Hansen calls the complex “the largest tourism-related development project currently underway in the state,” and writes the realignment will help “preserve the quality of life for the adjacent neighbors in the Oceans Condominiums.”
Moss has a different opinion of the project, and has referred to it as “Bruce Thompson’s private driveway” during council meetings. The resolution set forth by him and Abbot is not the first time they’ve made their opposition to the project known.
In June, Moss and Abbott sought to bar Hansen from further applying for state Transportation Partnership Opportunity Fund grants to fund the reroute. Hansen resubmitted a second grant application after being rejected the first time, which triggered the Moss-Abbott resolution and a public scolding of Hansen by Moss.
According to the Dec. 7 letter, after the city and state refused to fund the project, Thompson and his company Gold Key offered to fully fund the project’s $2.1 million construction cost.
Hansen urged City Council “to remain steadfast” in support of the project, which council approved in 2017 and 2018, provided that local taxpayers would not pay for its construction.
