CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Chesapeake City Council on Tuesday approved a conditional use permit with a height exception for a manufacturing tower more than 600 feet tall that would become the tallest building in Virginia once constructed.
The LS Greenlink manufacturing facility on the banks of the Elizabeth River – at the southeastern terminus of Enviva Way adjacent to Saint Julian’s Creek Annex – would manufacture subsea power cables supporting the offshore wind industry.
The proposed tower will be up to 685 feet tall, according to the permit approved by the Chesapeake City Council on Tuesday. That would surpass the Westin Virginia Beach Town Center & Residences, which is 508 feet in height, for the state’s loftiest building.
Christopher Abel presented on behalf of LS Greenlink, saying the company has coordinated with multiple stakeholders, including the U.S. Navy, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Norfolk-Southern.
“The reason this height is relevant is it’s the most efficient way to produce the cables while maintaining the highest level of quality control,” Abel said. “The process generally involves feeding the cable materials from the top of the tower building and allowing gravity, which is free, to perfectly center these components and create the finished cable product. The cables are then transferred to circular storage carousels along the water, where they will be loaded onto ships and taken to job sites around the world.”
The facility will bring 330 high-paying jobs, Abel added, with an investment of $680 million. Construction is expected to be complete in 2028.
City Manager Christopher Price said Navy representatives attended Tuesday’s meeting and that concerns they have, including being able to review site plans, are being addressed.
“Hampton Roads has the assets to become a hub of the U.S. offshore wind industry, specifically through the growth of the domestic supply chain and manufacturing capacity,” said Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance, during the public hearing.
So would the approved building be a “skyscraper”? There is no universally accepted definition of what a skyscraper is – different organizations have different definitions. However, the new building seems to meet most definitions. Emporis, a global provider of building information, considers a skyscraper to be a building that is at least 328 feet.
The B1M, a video channel focused on construction, considers 492 feet to be the minimum height for a skyscraper, which the Chesapeake tower would also meet. However, its definition also requires that at least 50% of the total height be habitable floor space – and the Chesapeake building, as a manufacturing facility, would not qualify.
