VIRGINIA BEACH — An aging office building at the Oceanfront could soon be replaced with a modern senior living facility featuring an indoor pool and pickleball court. Marlyn Development Corp. of Virginia Beach is seeking approval from the city to build a 150-foot-tall senior living tower between 33rd and 34th streets along Pacific Avenue.
The existing five-story Beach Tower would be razed to make room for a new building twice as tall with independent living apartments for ages 62 and older. Several surrounding parking lots would be developed into an assisted living and memory care building as well as an amenity building with an indoor pool and pickleball court. “One of the things we were focusing on was to have year-round use,” Brian Staub, president of Marlyn Development, said in an interview Friday.
“It seemed for seniors to make sense.” It would be the first designated senior living community at the Oceanfront, according to the developers. The historic Jefferson Manor Motel Apartments on 33rd Street will remain and the Beach Tower amenities building will be constructed in front of it.
Marlyn Development has owned the property for nine years and previously leased it to a bank, Dave Jester, chair of Marlyn Development, told members of the Resort Advisory Commission Thursday. The city assessment of the existing Beach Tower, which was built in 1971, is $3 million. Jester’s company has developed other senior housing communities in the region, including The Arbors at Birchwood in Virginia Beach, The Arbors at Western Branch in Chesapeake, and the Arbors at Williamsburg.
As baby boomers reach retirement age and look to downsize, more multifamily housing for seniors is needed , according to studies. “The demand is really high,” said Jester. “We’ve heard about the great tsunami coming; well, it’s here.
” Beach Tower would have 85 residential units, including one, two and three bedrooms ranging in size from 850 to 1,800 square feet. Leased units will come with meal plans and other services. The plans call for 131 parking spaces, including 87 on the first three floors of the new tower and 44 beneath the assisted living building.
Parking will be solely for the senior community, and the developer is not asking for financial help from the city, Staub said. Two sky bridges would be built on the fourth floor connecting the tower to the assisted living and the amenity buildings. The top floor of the tower will feature panoramic views, Jester said.
The city’s Planning Commission could hear Marlyn’s application for a height variance to the Oceanfront zoning law in September and make a recommendation to the City Council. Staub said it would likely take a year to finalize the design and another two years to construct it. “The community just needs a place where as people age out of their homes and no longer want to take on those responsibilities, they can have a maintenance-free, carefree lifestyle and still remain close to family and friends for activities at the Oceanfront,” he said.
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