The Pharrell factor

Some celebrities seem to forget their roots. Fortunately for Hampton Roads, Pharrell Williams is not that kind of star.

The Grammy-winning musician with a worldwide following has invested in the area repeatedly over the past several years and is poised to continue. Even as his career took a new path this year when he was tapped as the new men’s creative director for French luxury brand Louis Vuitton, Williams pulled in some hometown vibes for his Paris Fashion Week debut. Fellow Virginian Pusha T joined him on the catwalk and the Hampton Roads-based Voices of Fire gospel choir — a creation of Williams and his uncle, a Norfolk pastor — performed at at the glitzy event, which was attended by music superstars Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Rihanna, as well as NBA All-Star LeBron James.

Probably the biggest way the Virginia Beach native has worked his star power in Hampton Roads, though, is his Something in the Water music festival, which returned to the Oceanfront in April for the first time since its 2019 debut. The three-day festival is a multimillion-dollar revenue producer that creates a bump in airline traffic, fills up hotels and puts the region on display as a national tourist destination. In 2023, hotels brought in about $11.5 million, up $1.1 million from 2019.

This year’s event encountered weather- related hiccups — including a tornado warning that canceled concerts on the festival’s final day — prompting Williams to suggest on social media that he might change the date going forward.

“That’s all in discussion,” says Donna MacMillan-Whitaker, founder and managing partner of Venture Realty Group, which is developing multiple Hampton Roads projects with Williams, including the $335 million Atlantic Park surf park at Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront and the proposed Wellness Circle redevelopment of the former Military Circle mall in Norfolk.

Renaissance man

Clearly, Williams is not interested only in music. His investments range from high-dollar commercial projects to smaller community efforts aimed at helping low-income residents and promoting diversity. His pilot Yellowhab school, designed for underserved elementary students, opened in Norfolk in 2021, and he hosted the inaugural Mighty Dream Forum in Norfolk last year to promote minority entrepreneurship. The business forum attracted C-suite speakers from Google and TikTok.

Still, the splashy developments that change the landscape of the region are the most widely touted results of Williams’ impact. In March, construction workers broke ground for Atlantic Park, an 11-acre surf park development near Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront. It will also include a 70,000-square-foot entertainment venue, apartments, offices and retail shops. The first phase is expected to be complete in summer 2025.

“It took six years to get underway,” MacMillan-Whitaker says, and project leaders are hoping that some segments may open by the end of next year. The first phase includes a 2.67-acre lagoon that’s expected to draw year-round visitors to its machine-made waves.

In Norfolk, Williams is backing the proposed redevelopment of the former Military Circle Mall into Wellness Circle, an arena-centered mixed-use project. The $1 billion-plus plan calls for an arena with at least 15,000 seats, 1 million square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel and more than 1,000 multifamily housing units, including some for low-income residents.

While the City of Norfolk hasn’t formally named Wellness Circle as the top choice among the three finalists who proposed redevelopment projects at Military Circle, Williams has said he’s been told that his project was chosen. MacMillan-Whitaker, whose Venture Realty Group is co-developing Wellness Circle, says negotiations on details of the deal have lagged on the city’s end. “They haven’t really focused on us,” she says, although the city began demolishing the shopping center earlier this year.

In June, Mia Byrd, a Norfolk Economic Development spokesperson, said that plans for the site’s next chapter have not been determined. “Nothing is currently set with any of the proposals. We haven’t made any announcements.”

Natural ties

Regardless of whether Wellness Circle becomes a reality, Williams’ continued engagement with his hometown and the surrounding region is a big plus, says Taylor Adams, who left his post as director of economic development for Virginia Beach in June to take a similar job in Reno, Nevada.

Adams is a big believer that economic development events and projects need to have natural ties to the area, or they don’t necessarily add value. “There’s a reason that Austin has been such a hot market and that Nashville has been such a hot market. … Communities that get lifestyle right are the ones that have seen successes. I think there’s an authenticity that’s required to effectively deliver that.”

Williams has that authenticity, Adams says. “He grew up here; he started his music business here.” And up until this past summer, when Williams moved to Paris, where Louis Vuitton’s corporate headquarters is located, he maintained a home in Virginia Beach in addition to his former primary residence in Miami.

In November 2022, when Williams announced that Something in the Water was returning to the beach after being staged in Washington, D.C., in 2021 — in part a reaction to the city’s handling of his cousin’s killing by local police — the superstar said simply, “I need to come back home.”

Something in the Water, Adams says, “is of Virginia Beach and for Virginia Beach. … It’s authentically us, like the Neptune Festival.”

Virginia Beach shouldn’t be copying what other cities are doing to attract visitors, Adams adds. “If you spend all your time keeping up with the Joneses, you can never become them.”

Instead, it’s important to focus on what makes the area special and make the most of it. That’s why Williams’ understanding of Hampton Roads is so important, he says. “You couldn’t ask for a better person to work with … in celebrating the best things Virginia Beach has to offer.” ν