Tag: Atlantic Park
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Atlantic Park Part 11, Epilogue: Costs, Real Costs and Lessons Learned
Presentation to the Virginia Beach City Council May 28, 2024
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Atlantic Park Part 10: Virginia Small Business Financing Authority
by James C. Sherlock On September 13, 2022, a regular meeting was held of the board of the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority (VSBFA). That board has sweeping responsibilities only one of which is the bond program. From its 501(c)3 Tax-Exempt Bond Program. On the agenda of that meeting was authorization of bonds for North Carolina’s…
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Atlantic Park Part 9: P3 Foundation and the Virginia Beach Development Authority
by James C. Sherlock Virginia Beach’s Atlantic Park entertainment district is under construction on three city blocks of public land. It is a public-private partnership with a $300 million commitment of Virginia Beach cash and property not counting bond interest. An investigation has turned up two major story lines, the first in the actions of…
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Atlantic Park Part 8: Surf Park Muni Bonds Add to Project Risk
By James C. Sherlock The surf park jumps right out at you. It is meant to. It will be the first surf pool in the mid-Atlantic region. The other components of Virginia Beach’s Atlantic Park will depend upon it to create buzz and draw visitors. A developer group led by Venture Realty Group initially planned…
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Atlantic Park Part 7: The Quest for Surf Park Financing
Commentary by James C. Sherlock A last-minute search for surf park financing delayed project construction for a year. Neither bankers nor the City of Virginia Beach wanted any part of it. The developer missed a funding deadline. The city forgave it, but the pressure was on. So, with city backing: The journey was so complex…
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Atlantic Park Part 6: Vote for Change
by James C. Sherlock Updated Sept. 14 at 11:14 AM and September 18 at 4:40 PM If an infrastructure project is assessed to be a potential commercial success, that judgement is based on a business plan. Inevitably, because they are very good at what they do, the developers of Atlantic Park had one that would…
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Atlantic Park Part 5: Economic Risks
by James C. Sherlock In Bloomberg, author Allison Nicole Smith commented on the Atlantic Park bonds. She wrote: Muni deals funding tourist attractions have a checkered past. The list of defaulted bonds is a long one, including a water park in Edinburg, Texas, and an iron and steel manufacturing-themed park in Bessemer, Alabama. Like the development…
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Atlantic Park Part 4: Seven Years of Negotiations
by James C. Sherlock Atlantic Park should prove a first-rate attraction when it opens next May. The design is attractive, quality should be good, and the surf park will be unique in the mid-Atlantic, at least for a while. But it has taken what seems like forever to get the deal done, and taxpayers got…
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Atlantic Park Part 2: City Council, Campaign Contributions and City Money
By James C. Sherlock Elections in republics are transactional everywhere. We vote for and contribute to those who we think will vote as we would. This series is about Virginia Beach. We do not vary from that script. Council members run as independents. An in-depth review of seven years of Council meeting minutes has revealed…
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Atlantic Park Part 1: Prologue
Updated September 18 at 10 AM and 3:16 PM By James C. Sherlock Atlantic Park is under construction as a massive new entertainment district near the oceanfront in Virginia Beach’s resort area. The centerpiece, a surf park, will be surrounded a 3,500-seat concert hall, shops, restaurants, offices, and apartments. If it succeeds, Atlantic Park will…