Massive tower set to be Virginia’s tallest building gets height exception from Chesapeake council – The Virginian-Pilot

CHESAPEAKE — City Council on Tuesday approved a building height exception for a massive tower to be built on Chesapeake’s waterfront by 2028.

The tower will be connected to a manufacturing facility producing undersea cables used in the offshore wind industry. At a proposed 660 feet, it’s expected to be the tallest building in Virginia, exceeding the height of the The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center, which stands 508 feet tall.

The tower is part of a recently announced $681 million investment by LS Greenlink USA, a subsidiary of South Korean-based LS Cable & System, to construct a 750,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on 100 acres of Chesapeake brownfield adjacent to the Southern Branch Elizabeth River. The investment is expected to create more than 330 full-time jobs.

Chesapeake City Council voted unanimously — and eagerly — Tuesday to approve a conditional use permit for a height exception to allow for the proposed tower, which will be located at the Chesapeake Deep Water Terminal, at 1213 Victory Blvd. Under the new exception, the building can measure up to 685 feet.

The site is considered a by-right development since it’s already been zoned Waterfront Industrial District, so the Planning Commission and City Council only approved a conditional use permit for the height exception.

The tower is needed because as the cables are made, gravity helps center the core of the cable. Once produced, the cables are stored in spools and loaded onto ships directly from the pier that’s located on the project site, where they can then be shipped out for offshore wind energy projects across the globe.

Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2025, and the company plans to begin operating the facility by early 2028.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, LS Greenlink USA Managing Director Patrick Shim said the company is thrilled to make Chesapeake the major manufacturing base for North America.

“Although our parent company is headquartered in South Korea, we are bringing only two things from Korea — capital and technology,” Shim said. “Everything else — from raw materials to, most importantly, the work force — will come from the United States. And more specifically, from Virginia.”

Council’s vote included several conditions suggested by both planning staff and the Planning Commission to mitigate concerns from the Navy, including the location of windows, equipment permitted on top of the tower, electromagnetic interference and security cameras. Before construction can begin, the applicant must receive approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and submit plans to the Navy’s Norfolk Naval Shipyard.

The Navy will have 90 days to review and respond with any additional concerns.

Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, [email protected]