Atlantic Park
Riding The Wave at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront
Not long ago, Atlantic Park was little more than a parking lot near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Today, the same 10-acre site hums with activity. Concertgoers gather at The Dome by Rutter Mills. Diners linger over meals. Surfers hang ten in the Atlantic Park surf lagoon. Visitors check into a newly opened boutique hotel, and residents call the apartments at Atlantic Park Living home. What was once empty pavement has become Atlantic Park, one of the most ambitious developments in Virginia Beach’s recent history.
Atlantic Park Surf is the ideal place to ride your first wave or perfect your surfing skills.
For Brittany Baer Albert, Development & Operations Manager for Venture Realty Group, that’s exactly what the project set out to accomplish. “The original vision was quite similar to what you see today,” she says. “We went through a few design iterations, but we were able to preserve what we imagined it would be from the start.”
Bringing that vision to life required years of planning and collaboration. Venture Realty Group worked alongside architects, engineers, contractors, consultants, and dozens of other professionals, many of them local. Then came the unexpected challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising construction costs, and supply chain disruptions. Even so, the team remained committed to the project’s original purpose.
Today, Atlantic Park brings together entertainment, hospitality, shopping, dining, and residential living in one walkable destination. Alongside The Dome by Rutter Mills, Atlantic Park Surf, and The Sitio, approximately 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and more than 300 apartment residences create activity well beyond the traditional summer tourism season.
A large scale mural was unveiled at Atlantic Park created by Virginia Beach native Schuyler Beecroft. Pictured are Jeremy Starkey, TowneBank president of commercial real estate finance; artist Schuyler Beecroft; Buffy Barefoot, TowneBank Virginia Beach president; and Kate Pittman, ViBe District executive director (left to right).
The project has resonated strongly because the community helped shape it from the beginning. Before construction started, Venture Realty Group held numerous public engagement sessions, met with civic leagues, neighborhood organizations, and stakeholders, and sought input from residents across Virginia Beach. “We tried not to leave any stone unturned,” Brittany says. “We talked to everybody.”
That collaborative approach continues today. Atlantic Park has already become a vibrant gathering place, but Brittany believes some of its greatest impact will come through community programming. For example, Atlantic Park Surf’s Next Wave initiative, developed in partnership with Adidas and VIRGINIA, introduces underserved youth to swimming and surfing, giving many children the opportunity to enter the water and catch their first wave.
Public art has become another important part of the experience. Working with TowneBank, Atlantic Park recently unveiled a large-scale mural by Virginia Beach native Schuyler Beecroft, adding another layer of creativity and local pride to the development.
Atlantic Park includes an outdoor plaza that shares a wall with music venue The Dome by Rutter Mills. For some performances, the wall opens to a larger audience outdoors. This community gathering space will be known as TowneBank Plaza.
TowneBank has also been a financial partner throughout the project, with Jeremy Starkey, president of commercial real estate, taking the lead. The bank helped finance portions of Atlantic Park, including the building that houses the boutique hotel and Surf Lagoon operations, as well as two freestanding restaurant-anchored spaces. Brittany says the relationship extends beyond traditional banking, reflecting a shared commitment to investing in the community.
Looking ahead, she hopes Atlantic Park becomes more than a successful development, serving as an inspiration for what’s possible for the Virginia Beach oceanfront. “We always hoped Atlantic Park would become a catalyst for future redevelopment. I hope people continue to bring their families here, celebrate milestones here, catch their first waves here, and make memories here.”
For a property that once served as little more than a place to park, that’s a remarkable transformation.
For more information, visit AtlanticParkVB.com.