Church Restoration Proposed

Derek Dubay presented plans to preserve and restore the historic Ocean Park Baptist Church. His father and he have restored properties in Chic’s Beach (in slide presentation) and have a record of responsibly restoring old buildings. Derek described the Ocean Park church built in 1949 as having details such as 6 over 6 windows and woodwork that make it appealing. He has already talked to many city departments about the project: Planning and Zoning and has had a very positive response from the city. A zoning change to B-2 with conditional use restricted to assembly use is required. In response to questions, Derek gave some further details. The capacity of the church is 125-130. He will work on cross parking permits with Bucketheads. Currently there are 35 parking places and 70 would be required. A shuttle could be run from their offices a short distance away for additional parking. Care would be taken to ensure the live oaks on the property would be preserved.

Derek mentioned that the immediate area of the church is also unusual because it is one of few intersections in the city where all four corners have original buildings standing. He is pursuing inclusion on the local historical register. He described the passion he shares with his father for saving old buildings of which we have few in Virginia Beach in general and not too many in Ocean Park. Comments and questions are welcome! president@opcl.org