VIRGINIA BEACH -- In a 7-2 vote, City Council denied a proposal to build a new road that would lead to Norfolk Premium Outlets.
Construction on the retail development could begin as early as summer. It will be situated on the former Lake Wright Golf Course off Northampton Boulevard.
Simon Property Group, which is investing $75 million in the project, plans to redevelop about 50 acres of the closed golf course and create a 350,000 square-foot outlet mall.
The mall will feature as many as 90 designer and name-brand stores. The project also includes a 10-acre public park.
Although the bulk of the property sits in Norfolk, some of it is Norfolk-owned on the Virginia Beach side of the city line.
Simon Property Group proposed building Lake Wright Boulevard, which would run off Northampton Boulevard on the Beach-side. The intention was to help prevent backups near Wesleyan Drive, where traffic already is heavy.
"We have about eighteen hundred faculty, staff, students on a daily basis, plus visitors," Bruce Vaughan from Virginia Wesleyan College told Council. "The movement of them and their safety is our utmost concern."
Council members also received letters prior to the meeting Tuesday from supporters of the Lake Wright Boulevard option.
Among the letter writers was David Arias, owner of Swimways Corporation, an 80-employee business located near the site of the future mall.
"It's just gonna be more congestion. The idea of getting off 64 and cutting across five lanes of traffic to get into the outlet mall, which is where the proposed entrance is supposed to be, I think it's ridiculous," said Arias, referring to the other option which involved extending Wesleyan Drive into the development. "I think you're going to have a lot of accidents and I think it's not as safe as an option as the one that's currently on the table."
Arias, along with many other area business owners have written letters to council members in support of the Lake Wright Blvd. plan.
"I've written to every member of the City Council as well as sent a letter to Will Sessoms supporting the Lake Wright Blvd. over the Wesleyan extension. I've got kids who've gone to Norfolk Academy for years. I'm very familiar with that intersection -- how difficult it is on just a regular day," Arias said.
People who were against the creation of Lake Wright Boulevard argued it was not consistent with the comprehensive plan Virginia Beach put together for the Burton Station area of the city.
One person who addressed Council said,"It shouldn't be where residents are put on the back burner that have built their homes there, have built their lives there." She continued, "Some consideration, I just believe has to be done where it can be amenable for everyone."
Another speaker stated,"The developer's solution, simply pushing that traffic into Virginia Beach where Virginia Beach gains no tangible benefit from the development is short-sighted, and it's wrong.
Attorney for Simon Property Group, Eddie Bourdon, told 13News Now the developer will move ahead with extending Wesleyan Drive. The roadway will run only to the mall on the Norfolk side of the city line. It will not connect to any streets in Virginia Beach.
Simon Property Group will pay for the construction as it would have for Lake Wright Boulevard.
Following the city council's vote, Simon Property Group released this statement:
We appreciate Virginia Beach City Council's consideration of Lake Wright Boulevard. Based on this action, we will proceed with our project that includes extending Wesleyan Drive across Northampton Boulevard, and we look forward to starting construction on our Premium Outlets later this year.
Groundbreaking for the outlet mall is expected to come in July. The development should create 500 construction jobs along with 800 new full-time and part-time jobs when the center opens.
