Virginia Beach council names Cypress Avenue for Vibe founder Andrew Fine

The City Council of Virginia Beach on May 20, 2025, voted unanimously to designate Cypress Avenue from 17th to 21st Street in honor of Andrew Fine, the founder of the Vibe Creative District nonprofit.

The resolution recognizes the Vibe Creative District's 10th anniversary and documents the district's economic and cultural impact over the past decade. City documents read into the record say the nonprofit has raised more than $2,300,000 and paid out about $620,000 to individual artists; that the district helped create 68 new brick-and-mortar businesses and 152 new business licenses since 2015; and that assessed real estate values in the district increased by roughly $56,000,000 over the last decade.

Council materials also cited $33,900,000 in recorded taxable sales growth in the district and a net increase of more than $900,000 in tax revenues in 2024. The resolution directs the city manager to install signage along Cypress Avenue recognizing Andrew Fine, and it formally records the council's recognition of the Vibe Creative District's contributions to Virginia Beach's cultural and economic life.

Councilmember Wirth Remick, identified in the meeting as a co‑liaison to the Vibe Creative Arts District, introduced the resolution and framed it as a recognition of a decade of private and nonprofit work to activate the Central Beach area. Mayor Robert M. Dyer presented the council's formal action; the council then voted 11–0 to adopt the resolution.

The resolution text included detailed tallies of the district's public art—more than 500 works and 73 large‑scale wall murals—and noted earned‑media coverage and signature events (the VIBE mural festival and Phoebe Street Art Festival) that attract visitors. The text also thanked private donors, corporate sponsors, and community partners for supporting the district's programming.

The council's action was ceremonial and declaratory; it does not, by itself, change zoning or land use. The resolution directs the city manager to install commemorative signage on Cypress Avenue and to carry out the administrative steps needed to place that signage.

The council adopted the resolution after brief remarks recognizing the district's organizers and supporters and after the honoree, Andrew Fine, and other guests were invited to the dais for recognition. The city clerk recorded the vote as 11 in favor, 0 opposed.