Virginia Beach Development Authority approves conduit bond for Victoria Place, adopts housing-grant changes and hears $38M golf-course proposal

The Virginia Beach Development Authority on July 14 approved a series of routine and substantive actions, including authorizing conduit financing for a major renovation of Victoria Place senior apartments, adopting amendments to the city’s attainable‑workforce housing performance grant, lowering the Atlantic Avenue grant match floor, awarding an EDIP grant and an incubator sublease, and hearing a staff update on a proposed sale and $38 million renovation plan for Virginia Beach National Golf Course.

The authority voted to approve an inducement resolution that will allow Victoria Place LP to seek tax‑exempt revenue bond financing to underwrite a substantial rehabilitation of Victoria Place Apartments. Bond counsel Michael Graff said the bonds are a conduit financing “at no cost to the authority, no liability to the authority or to the city,” and explained the financing is typically required so affordable apartment projects can access federal low‑income housing tax credit subsidy. Dan Heebel, CEO of Ripley Heebel Company and a member of the ownership team for Victoria Place, described the scope: one wing of 32 units will be demolished and rebuilt on deep piles, the remaining 90 units will receive full interior refreshes, and the project currently reports 100 percent occupancy. Heebel said the team has prepared a relocation plan and “will work with each [resident] individually to find housing” during construction, with returning residents given priority rights to reoccupy their units.

Board members asked procedural and resident‑relocation questions during the public hearing; the chair closed the hearing and the board approved the resolution by voice vote.

In a separate action, the authority approved amendments to the Attainable Workforce Housing Performance Grant program to conform the policy to recently enacted state legislation and to align the program policy, application and grant agreement. Staff outlined several requirements added to policy language, including a recorded restrictive covenant tying assisted units to affordability for up to 30 years, an explicit requirement that land‑use approvals exist before an award is paid, and a change to the program calendar so grant years begin on January 1. Staff also proposed a “not‑to‑exceed” cumulative cap mechanism for long‑term performance grants and showed an illustrative example of how the cap would limit total payments over a 30‑year term.

The board discussed the program’s rent limits and compliance monitoring. Staff said that projects using federal tax‑credit financing are subject to the rent caps published by Virginia Housing and that the program’s compliance standards will enforce those limits.

The authority also amended the Atlantic Avenue grant rules to lower the minimum matching award from $10,000 to $5,000, changing the allowable grant range to $5,000–$25,000 and lowering the required minimum project spend to $10,000. Staff described the program as a one‑time, 50 percent matching grant intended for exterior building, site and outdoor‑dining improvements and said the change is intended to boost participation among small storefronts.

On economic development awards, the board approved an EDIP Part A recommendation for CLAC Enterprises (recommended award: $16,000) and approved a two‑year sublease in the international incubator to Acapulco, a Norway‑headquartered company. Board members disclosed conflicts and recorded abstentions where appropriate; votes were taken by voice and the chair announced the motions carried.

Director Emily Archer updated the board on the Virginia Beach National Golf Course at 2500 Tournament Drive. Archer said the city owns the land and the BBDA holds a ground lease and an operating agreement that expires at year‑end; staff ran an RFP last fall and forwarded a top proposal from Dragus Companies that pairs a proposed renovation of the course (roughly $38 million in private investment) with a southern area that would include as many as 659 mixed for‑sale housing units, of which staff said a majority would be priced at or below roughly 120 percent of area median income. Archer said the proposal includes a 99‑year purchase agreement with a repurchase option to preserve the golf‑course use in the long term and that the candidate operator would be Century Golf Partners with Tom Liddy & Associates as the course architect. Archer cautioned there are “a lot of unknowns” on stormwater, subsurface conditions and traffic, and that the proposal anticipates some city infrastructure contributions; council will hear the sale proposal on Aug. 11 and BBDA would be asked to act on short‑term operations before year‑end if the sale proceeds.

Administrative items included a June recap of outreach events (a state of AI event at ODU’s Data Science Center and trade‑show participation), staff hires and transitions, and the anticipated return of EDIP Part F small‑business grants later in the year. The authority recessed to a closed session under the Freedom of Information Act exemptions for property acquisitions and negotiations and for prospective business discussions, and later certified the closed session.

What’s next: Council is scheduled to hear the golf‑course sale proposal on Aug. 11; BBDA staff said further action (including any contribution from BBDA toward capital maintenance or infrastructure) would be brought to the authority before any closing.

Sources and attributions: direct quotes and project descriptions come from presentations and the public hearing record at the BBDA meeting on July 14, 2026. Specific program changes and numeric examples were presented by staff during the meeting.