Center of Attention

The Central Business District (CBDA) in Virginia Beach is where Armada Hoffler calls home. It provides a popular uptown spot to live, work, and play. In CoVaBiz most recent issue they captured the history and businesses that have made CBDA what it is today:

Virginia Beach was officially incorporated as a city in 1952, making it one of the youngest of the area’s seven cities. However, thanks to the resort area, with its vast expanse of Oceanfront excitement, including a 3-mile boardwalk, it quickly grew to become the largest city by population with the highest income per capita in Coastal Virginia.

In the 1980s, city leaders had a vision to create an “uptown” area that would provide a mixed-use development that included living spaces (condos and apartments), restaurants, high-end and unique retailers, spectacular offices spaces, entertainment venues, a hotel or two and even a couple of grocery stores. The idea was to make it an all-inclusive place where people could live, work and play in a space where one could easily walk to wherever they needed or wanted to go. They also wanted to make a space where people from outside of Virginia Beach would want to visit, bringing additional revenue opportunities to the area. To put their plan in action, they created the Central Business District Association (CBDA).