Living near the Lesner: New Virginia Beach apartments are next to reconstructed bridge | Local News

VIRGINIA BEACH

For some apartment dwellers along Shore Drive, $2,500 in rent buys a sweeping view of the Chesapeake Bay.

But at Overture Point Chesapeake Apartments, a complex for senior citizens, those prices will afford some future residents a different view: a close look at the new Lesner Bridge.

From certain angles, the building appears to be touching the bridge, but it’s 18 feet away.

The city approved the distance between the senior apartments, which occupy the old Duck-In site, and the new bridge years ago. Developers were required only to leave 15 feet between the two structures, said Virginia Beach transportation planner Mark Shea.

“I simply wouldn’t buy one,” said Walter Fox, an 81-year-old resident at Cape Henry Towers next to Overture Point. The whole building has been talking about the new apartments, he said.

Fox said he would be concerned about car accidents on the bridge and the noise from traffic.

“It seems nice, but there are similar opportunities just down the street,” he said.

+2  Overture Point Apartments" class="img-responsive lazyload full" width="1745" height="1187" />

The new Overture Point apartments in Virginia Beach cost about $2,500 a month and some units are only 18 feet from the new Lesner Bridge. As seen April 14, 2017.Stephen M. Katz | The Virginian-Pilot

Overture Point includes a pool, theater room, gym, resident garden beds, hair and nail salon, bocce ball courts, a rooftop lounge and a kitchen used for cooking demonstrations. The complex will also offer daily activities, which could include small club meetings, wine tastings or movie events, said leasing agent Harley Handy.

Apartments at Overture point facing the Lesner Bridge were built specifically to limit noise, Handy said. They feature thicker walls, double insulation and sound-dampening windows.

Others not facing the bridge also have double-pane, tempered glass windows, he said.

Many have already been leased, Handy said. The complex will be ready for tenants by July.

Eighteen feet is a small setback for projects in Hampton Roads, said Joe Wallenfelsz, an engineer at McLean Contracting, the company building the new Lesner Bridge. It’s more common in urban areas, but it is safe and it didn’t cause any problems during construction, he said.

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The new bridge has a high barrier between the road and the multi-use path on the sides. During construction, crews worked around each other to safely move equipment, Wallenfelsz said.

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Lesner Bridge under construction: Construction continues at the Lesner Bridge on Friday, March 3, 2017, as the second of the old spans is taken down.Stephen M. Katz | The Virginian-Pilot

Greystar, the national development company building Overture Point, declined to comment about the proximity of the development to the bridge.

Terry Peterson Cos., a local development company, was the first developer with plans for the site that is now Overture Point. The company is finishing a condominium project next to Overture Point called Point Chesapeake on the Bay.

Once Terry Peterson Cos. bought the land, the project was put on hold for more than a decade, said Richard “Tuck” Bowie, the company’s president and CEO. In that time, the company changed its plan to include apartments and sold land to Greystar to develop the area closest to the bridge.

Lesner Bridge archive photos: 1930s-1950s

A new Lesner Bridge is under construction, scheduled for completion in early 2018. The old bridge – built in the 1950s – is being dismantled. The same contractor, and even some of the same equipment, constructed both bridges. The old bridge was preceded by another structure that had to open to allow boat traffic through the Lynnhaven Inlet.

September 17, 1933, photograph of road crews repairing Shore Drive at Lesner Bridge in Lynnhaven section of Princess Anne County, Virginia (now Virginia Beach). The storm damage was caused by the second storm, likely a hurricane that hit the region within a month.

McLean Contracting built the eastbound Lesner Bridge in 1957. In 1966, the company built a westbound span to alleviate traffic. Now the company is working on replacing the entire bridge.

An image from 1957 showing workers pouring of prestress beams, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

An image from 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

An image from 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

An image from Jan. 30, 1957 of workers pour concrete when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

An image from 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

An image from Oct. 23, 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018. A mechanical creed is used to strike off deck slab. A view looking Northeast.

Workers pour concrete in bent on April 30, 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

Workers pour stem to elevate is seen on April 30, 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

A view looking west showing monotube piles readied to pour concrete on Oct. 5, 1957, when McLean Contracting was building the structure over Lynnhaven River Inlet now known as the "old" Lesner Bridge. The same contractor is building a new bridge in the same location, scheduled to be completed in early 2018.

Terry Peterson Cos. always knew about the bridge-replacement project, Bowie said. During the design process, the company worked with the city to estimate how close the bridge would be and to leave room for crews to work.

“It doesn’t make sense to allow them that close,” Fox said. “I just think they don’t have enough space.”