How Pleasure House Point was Saved

For years, the Virginia Beach community, environmental groups, and others fought an intense 1,100-home development called Indigo Dunes slated for Pleasure House Point. Pleasure House Point is a quiet peninsula of beach, marsh, and maritime forest near Lynnhaven Inlet in Virginia Beach.The property, located just west of the Lesner Bridge and south of the Chesapeake Bay at the confluence of Pleasure House Creek and Crab Creek, overlooks the Lynnhaven River.

Through a collaborative effort among the community, government and corporate officials, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), City of Virginia Beach, and the Trust for Public Land, 118 acres of beautiful marsh, beach, and maritime forest were acquired in July. The Trust for Public Land purchased the property for $13 million. The City of Virginia Beach acquired 108 acres from the Trust for Public Land for $12 million, and CBF will purchase 10 acres of the property for $1 million.