VIRGINIA BEACH — The City Council on Tuesday approved the sale of Virginia Beach National Golf Club to a private developer in a 9-2 vote.
The decision came after dozens of people spoke for and against the project during a second public hearing. More than 300 people attended the meeting, packing council chambers and an adjoining room. The redevelopment project will still require votes of approval from the council on the rezoning of land and conditional use permits.
It was a lively meeting with alternating cheers and boos from the crowd. The audience became raucous at times, and Mayor Bobby Dyer pleaded with the crowd to settle down.
Local homebuilder Dragas Cos. plans to reconfigure the Pete Dye-designed 18-hole course on the property to accommodate more than 650 homes off Nimmo Parkway — priced for mixed incomes — and build a childcare center. The neighborhood would be called Princess Anne Landing, and it would be located below the city’s so-called Green Line, an urban growth boundary.
Councilwoman Barbara Henley tried to defer the vote for 90 days to try to answer the public’s barrage of questions about the deal. She had support only from Councilman Worth Remick. The pair voted against the sale.
The developer would pay the city $17.9 million for the golf course land, but all of the money will be reinvested into the project along with $1.8 million from the Development Authority. The city will also contribute $4.3 million for infrastructure improvements and millions more for contingencies from taxes generated from the project. Dragas will contribute $18.4 million and has described the project as a $38 million investment.
Among the supporters were representatives of Dragas Cos., members of the project team, the Hampton Roads Chamber, residents of other Dragas properties and a few golfers.
Mac Weaver, vice president of business development for Dragas, described the proposal as “a sound financial decision of this council to protect public golf in Virginia Beach.”
Golf course architect and Pete Dye protege Tim Liddy, who would redesign some of the holes, said Dye taught him “great golf courses are not meant to be frozen in time,” and that he plans to honor Dye’s legacy.
Several candidates running for City Council seats in November, including former council members John Moss and Chris Taylor, said they couldn’t support it, raising questions about fiscal responsibility and lack of transparency.
“Kill the deal,” Moss said, and the crowd roared.
Resident Doug Kelly asked the council to vote no or at least take a strategic pause to consider other options and gather more public input.
“VB National is more than a balance sheet problem, it’s a community asset,” Kelly said.
The future of Virginia Beach National came into question following a 2023 city audit, which found the clubhouse and stormwater ponds needed costly repairs.
Two unsolicited proposals to buy the course ensued. In 2025, the city began formally seeking offers for the property last year. Nine proposals, including four with a housing component, were considered by a city committee.
In February, the City Council authorized a term sheet with Dragas Cos., which was one of the first firms to make an unsolicited proposal to the city. City officials began confidential discussions with Dragas representatives more than a year before the formal request for proposals was issued.
Several people who asked the council to vote no said they had concerns about the erosion of public trust and the “giving away” of public land.
Helen Dragas, president and CEO of the Dragas Cos., said after the vote the company was grateful for the council’s support.
“We look forward to all the due diligence that has to be done, the studies, the questions that have to be answered,” she said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com
