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Virginia Beach outlines $386 million Central Resort District flood plan; phased work and grant pursuit discussed
Summary
Public Works presented a multi‑phase Central Resort District stormwater plan — including tide gates, pump stations and micro‑tunneling — with preliminary cost estimates, phasing and projected reductions in roadway and structure flooding; staff said phase 1 is funded while later phases will require additional financing and grants.
City engineers briefed the council on a preliminary design and phased delivery plan for comprehensive stormwater improvements in the Central Resort District on May 21, describing engineering options, expected flood‑reduction benefits and a multi‑phase funding approach.
Mike Tippen, who leads the Stonewall Engineering Center in the Department of Public Works, told the council the study area runs from Laskin Road in the north to Birdneck in the west and includes Atlantic Avenue and Seventeenth Street. He summarized a selected alternative that combines tide‑gate and culvert upgrades at Laskin Road, a Parks Avenue pump station adjacent to MOCA, micro‑tunneling of three large trunk lines under Fourth Street, channel and culvert replacements and other localized improvements.
Tippen emphasized the presentation was an update and “we're not asking for any decisions right now,” and explained design criteria that aim to contain the 10‑year storm within the system and provide passable conditions during a 100‑year event while accounting for sea‑level rise on critical infrastructure.
Staff presented detailed phasing and benefit estimates. In today’s‑dollars construction totals for the identified phases were presented as about $386,000,000; Tippen also showed longer‑term escalation scenarios and cumulative costs as later phases are added. The package’s first set of projects (tide gate and a culvert upgrade at Laskin Road, and a Parks Avenue pump station) was described as currently funded and estimated to take about two years to build. Tippen said those initial projects alone would remove dozens of structures and more than a mile of roadway from modeled storm flooding, and that later phases — including the micro‑tunneling and a large Fourth Street pump station — are needed to unlock the full system benefits.
Council members praised the planning work and noted the project’s citywide significance. Staff said the city will pursue grants from FEMA (Flood Mitigation Assistance), the state Community Flood Protection Fund and other federal and state sources; they reported more than $66 million in grants secured recently for other flood protection work and reiterated that phase 2 and later phases would require additional financing or future bond reissuance.
No council vote was taken; staff said the intent is to proceed with design and outreach for the funded phase and to return with procurement steps. The presentation included maps and visualizations that showed incremental flooding reductions as phases are completed and outlined a procurement schedule that anticipated RFQ/RFP work in mid‑2026 and construction of phase 1 in late 2027 if schedules hold.
Ending: Staff urged continued public outreach and coordination on funding strategies; councilmembers asked staff to continue community briefings as the design and procurement work proceed.
