VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — We're taking a look over one Virginia Beach neighborhood where some people are upset over plans for a new luxury residential community.
Developers have plans to build a 197-unit apartment complex at the corner of Marlin Bay and Shore Drive, in the Ocean Park neighborhood near Chic's Beach.
But a group of neighbors is asking the city not to approve the project.
President of the Ocean Park Civic League Daniel Murphy says he’s not opposed to the idea of development, he just thinks the unit is too big and doesn’t fit in with the community.
“We’re really concerned about what it’s going to do to this tight-knit neighborhood with so many units," Murphy said. “We fully acknowledge that there needs to be development within the city but what we’re looking for is an appropriate development and not such at a density and scale that will destroy the tight-knit community and character of this neighborhood."
Photos provided by the Virginia Beach planning department show what the condo community will look like if given the green light by the city.
The building consists of three to four stories, with a four-and-a-half story parking garage in the middle.
There would be about 190 units, restaurant space, and retail space for the existing boat sales company on the property.
"It has to do with the density of the issue. They're actually looking at about 32 units per acre," Murphy said.
It's 31.77 units per acre to be exact.
Over the weekend, Murphy passed out fliers to people in the community asking neighbors to help “preserve” the neighborhood.
The flier says the project would negatively affect the identity of Ocean Park.
“Almost everybody we talked to, to a person, has been opposed to such a development on these lots," Murphy said.
The project is still in the beginning stages. The planning commission will hold a public hearing on the matter in June, after which they’ll give a recommendation to the city council, who has the final say on whether the project can move forward.
A spokesperson for the city’s planning department said they have received many letters from concerned residents about the development and they will take everything into consideration.
The public hearing is set for June 9. The company behind Marlin Bay has not yet returned a request for comment.