A $250 million expansion project at a Virginia continuing care retirement community no longer is on hold now that the state Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from condominium owners seeking to stop construction of the 22-story tower, which the Virginia Beach City Council had approved in 2020.
According to court records, the Ocean Shore Condominium Association, Ship’s Watch Condominium Owners’ Association and two individuals sought to overturn a previous judgment that had allowed Westminster–Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay to proceed with the addition.
The current campus includes 442 independent living apartments, 80 assisted living and 108 nursing beds for atotal of 630 CCRC units. J. Benjamin Unkle Jr., CEO of Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay, told the McKnight’s Business Daily that the Bay Tower project will add 27 assisted living apartments and 265 independent living apartments for a newtotal of 922 units of all types.
“We are glad the state Supreme Court, their last stop, finally dismissed it. Had we lost, the case would have set a dangerous precedent regarding the ability of democratically elected leaders to balance all citizens’ needs in land use decisions,” Unkle said. “The suit was extremely thin. We were confident of the result.”
The appellants named the city council, the city of Virginia Beach and the CCRC in the appeal, claiming that the expansion would violate height limits stated in the city code. They also claimed that the life plan community tower would negatively affect their sunlight, ocean view and privacy.
“Our neighbors claimed the city did not adequately consider the impact of our expansion on their views and traffic, which the city weighed thoroughly,” Unkle said. “Our project will create less traffic and congestion than the mixed-age residential uses our immediate neighbors already enjoy today.”
Shore Drive Community Coalition Vice President Empsy Munden told the local ABC News affiliate that current residents want to keep the area limited to “single-family homes, the height no more than 15 stories.”
“With no more surrounding land and no other developable parcels near our flagship campus, it is important to us that we develop this adjacent parcel optimally. We only get one chance,” Unkle said. “Going vertical unlocked the best value and affordability for future residents in all parts of our campus.”
The height of the project, he added, “was driven not by the panoramic views. Rather, the height was required to make the newest tower thinner to help, not hurt, water and sky views for all the people surrounding the new tower.”
The delay, Unkle said, means that future residents of Westminster–Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay will need to pay higher prices than had the organization been permitted to begin construction when the project was first approved.
