‘Like ricochet canyon’: Concerns growing in Virginia Beach over potential noise from Atlantic Park project

Residents of the Oceanfront’s Resort Beach neighborhood have grown accustomed to hearing the sound of live music from their homes. The tunes from bands performing on a beachfront stage can carry for several blocks.

But they’re not used to having a music hall with open doors in their backyard, which is essentially what’s coming when the Atlantic Park project finally breaks ground, possibly this fall.

A major component of the mixed-use project, which includes a surf park on the former dome site, is an entertainment venue that will host dozens of events each year. Music celebrity Pharrell Williams, who grew up in Virginia Beach, is a partner in the project.

The music hall was relocated deeper into the neighborhood last year. And now residents are growing increasingly concerned about how their lives will change. Noise, exterior lighting and traffic flow are among their worries.

“It’s a major project, and it has a huge impact,” said Nancy Parker, immediate past president of the Resort Beach civic league. “It can be positive, but also it can very negative if these issues are not resolved.”

The residents want more transparency from Venture Realty Group, the developer. They’ve requested a copy of a noise study from the developer.

Parker said she first brought up her concerns about the noise last year when she learned that the music venue would have open doors with lawn seating, but she hasn’t been reassured yet that the sound will be mitigated.

“It’s landing in the middle of a residential area,” Parker said this week. “This is like ricochet canyon here.”

Mike Culpepper, a managing partner at Venture Realty Group, said he’s been more than open with the civic league about the project’s plans and will attend their next meeting to provide more answers to their questions.

Originally, the entertainment venue was going to be on 18th Street and would face north.

Then COVID-19 changed the concept. Live Nation, which will be the venue’s operator, wanted to provide an outdoor viewing area.

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“No one knew if at that time we would be having the same kind of indoor entertainment in the future,” Donna MacMillan-Whitaker, managing partner at Venture, said. “We were persuaded to make this a convertible venue to accommodate outdoor events.”

But with the doors open, the amplified music would project into the Resort Beach neighborhood, said MacMillan-Whitaker. So Venture moved the proposed venue to Arctic Avenue between 19th and 20th streets.

“We mutually agreed to relocate it so that it would face east,” she said.

The outdoor amphitheater will accommodate 1,500 people. The three-story music hall will fit 3,500 people.

The city will own the venue. Live Nation and Oak View Group will operate it and will enter into a lease with the city. Venture Realty Group is coordinating the design and construction. The city has agreed to provide Venture with a grant of up to $5 million annually for 20 years.

Last July, Metropolitan Acoustics conducted a noise study for the music venue. It studied the impact of sound on neighboring residential properties to the north, south, and west of the venue.

According to the analysis, typical neighborhood ambient sound levels can range from 40 decibels in very quiet locations to 65 decibels in urban locations. In the neighborhood around Atlantic Park, it is likely that ambient sound levels range from 50-60 decibels.

While the highest decibels will project to the east, the immediate surrounding homes will be subject to more than 85 decibels, which is comparable to a freight train 100 feet away or a construction job site, according to the analysis, obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.

The study recommends ways to mitigate the noise, but it’s unclear as to what the city will require.

Councilman John Moss said the city has committed to respecting the neighbors. He also said Venture Realty may be coming to the City Council with more changes soon.

“The city has to resolve the differences between Live Nation’s requirement (for the outdoor pavilion) and the commitment made to the community about noise before we make any changes with Venture,” Moss said.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com