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Tag: Mighty Dream

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

Out and About December 2022

1. L to R: Applied Systems CEO Taylor Rhodes; Chris Rogerson, Towne Insurance executive vice president and chief operating officer; and Towne Insurance President and CEO W. Douglas Russell hold the Applied Systems’ 2022 Pinnacle Award that Towne Insurance received in October. Photo courtesy Towne Insurance.  2. Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association President and CEO Sean Connaughton speaks during Richmond Ambulance Authority’s Nov. 4 announcement that it would donate an ambulance to the U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine effort. Photo courtesy VHHA.  3. L to R: Port of Virginia’s Joseph P. Ruddy; Orangetheory Fitness’ Juli Mosnes; Birdsong Peanuts’ Sonny Deuell; PRA Group Inc.’s Chris Graves; S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co.’s Bill Overman; OVM Financial’s Chip Simkins; Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists’ David Clifford; Conte’s Bike Shop’s Luca Conte; Norfolk Southern Corp.’s Jason Zampi; Conte Bicycling Group’s David Conte; J&A Racing Inc.’s Amy Frostick and Jerry Frostick; Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists’ Chad Manke; and TowneBank’s Kelly Peck participated in the 40-mile Cycle for Smiles bike ride in Virginia Beach celebrating Operation Smile’s 40th anniversary in November. Photo courtesy PRA Group.  4 PRA Group Inc. President and CEO Kevin Stevenson rings the Nasdaq closing bell in early November to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary
as a publicly traded company. Photo courtesy PRA Group  5. L to R: UVision Air Ltd. CEO Avi Mizrachi addresses audience while UVision USA CEO Jim Truxel listens during Oct. 6 ribbon cutting for the UVision USA facility in Stafford County. Photo courtesy Stafford County Economic Development & Tourism Office. The Mighty Dream forum’s Small Business Block Party took place Nov. 2 in Norfolk’s NEON District.  6. Kimberly Wimbish, owner of KMK Productions and professor at Hampton University  7. Cam Jarnagin, co-owner of Social Supply in Virginia Beach, and Tommy Cerja, advisory member of Team Yellow, Pharrell Williams’ educational nonprofit organization  8. Kimberly and Lester Deane, owners of House and Home 757 LLC  9. Kate Baldwin, chief operating officer of the Virginia Beach SPCA, and “Lost” star Terry O’Quinn  10. Angel Teagle, CEO and inventor of Carseat Companion  11. Patrice and Nick Morant, owners of Heavenly Homes Realty Group in Yorktown  12. Lewis Iwu, CEO of London-based Purpose Union  13. Tyshawn Bryant, CEO of Green Regimen, and Blair Matthews, chief operating officer and co-founder of Zuri Fertility

Pharrell brings Mighty Dream to Norfolk

In November, Grammy-winning music superstar Pharrell Williams hosted the three-day Mighty Dream forum in Norfolk and broke some news about his Something in the Water music festival and the status of his team’s proposal to redevelop Norfolk’s Military Circle Mall site.

Mighty Dream, a sequel to his 2021 Elephant in the Room business conference at Norfolk State University, featured Williams in conversation with corporate and cultural movers and shakers, including Google Inc. Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker; actor and comedian Hannibal Buress; SpringHill Co. CEO Maverick Carter; retired NASA astronaut Leland Melvin; and Annie Wu, H&M Group’s global head of inclusion and diversity. The conference, which focused on equity and inclusion, innovation, and entrepreneurism, also featured musical performances, a small business block party, and a pitch contest with $2.5 million awarded to three entrepreneurs from Williams’ Black Ambition nonprofit.

Comparing Mighty Dream to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “but for marginalized communities,” Williams challenged other local business leaders to host events to increase opportunity for disadvantaged groups, including Black, brown and LGBTQ people.

“I know it’s sort of kumbaya-ish, but this shouldn’t be the only forum dedicated to [diversity, equity and inclusion],” he said.

During the forum, Williams also announced that his Something in the Water music festival will be returning to its Virginia Beach birthplace on April 28-30, 2023.

The festival started at the Oceanfront in 2019 but was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. In fall 2021, Williams announced he would move the festival to another city, citing his hometown’s “toxic energy,” following the March 2021 police shooting of his cousin, Donovon Lynch, and a grand jury’s decision not to indict the Virginia Beach officer who killed Lynch. The festival was held in Washington, D.C., this year.

“The demand for the festival in Virginia Beach and the 757 — among the people — has never wavered. If anything, it has only intensified,” Williams said from the Mighty Dream stage, flanked by Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby M. Dyer and other city officials. 

Also during Mighty Dream, Williams spoke out to urge Norfolk to officially approve his team’s Wellness Circle redevelopment project at Military Circle Mall, saying, “The ball’s in their court.” As of early November, Norfolk officials said the project, which would include a 15,000-seat arena, a 200-room hotel and 1,100 housing units, was still under negotiation.  

Something in the Water will return to Va. Beach in 2023

Music superstar and Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams announced Wednesday that his signature three-day music festival, Something in the Water, will again be held in Virginia Beach on April 28-30, 2023, after the festival moved to Washington, D.C., this summer.

The inaugural Something in the Water festival was held on the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in April 2019, before the pandemic caused its cancelation in 2020 and 2021. Williams announced the next iteration of the festival at the second day of his Mighty Dream forum in Norfolk. Speaking on stage, surrounded by officials from Virginia Beach, Williams preceded the news by saying, “It’s all about the 757.”

“The demand for the festival in Virginia Beach and the 757 — among the people — has never wavered. If anything it has only intensified,” Williams said in a statement. “College Beach Weekend continues every year and the city of Virginia Beach leaders have been eager to reconcile and move forward. The environment is finally optimized for return and the announcement will delight everyone — from HBCU students across the eastern USA to the hundreds of small businesses who will play a role in the festival to the cities within the region and neighborhoods that will serve as hosts. I need to come back home. There is a pervasive feeling by almost everyone that the festival belongs in Virginia Beach, and the time is right to bring it back.”

“It is exciting to be so close to the possible return of the Something in the Water festival,” Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said in a statement. “The city and Mr. Williams have negotiated what I think are mutually beneficial draft terms in good faith. We sincerely appreciate Mr. Williams and his willingness to bring this marquee event back home, and we look forward to hearing from the public Nov. 15.”

Virginia Beach City Council will discuss a contract for the festival and accept comments from the public during its Nov. 15 meeting and will vote on whether to approve the festival on Dec. 6. Dyer walked back an earlier, more effusive statement welcoming the festival’s return, replacing it with the newer statement acknowledging the required public comment and council vote to approve the city’s contract with the festival.

The proposed contract between the city and the festival includes a $500,000 financial contribution from Virginia Beach. The festival would be held between 4th and 15th streets at the Oceanfront and the city would provide in-kind contributions such as the use of various resort stages for concerts, use of public parking lots, city public safety and public works personnel “already programmed for College Beach Weekend,” city support to use school buses and availability of the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The last time Something in the Water was held in Virginia Beach, the hotel occupancy rate for the event was about 90% throughout the city and hovered between 94% and 96% in the Resort area, and 86% throughout Hampton Roads, according to an economic analysis done by Old Dominion University. Hotel revenue generated $4.85 million for all of Hampton Roads, including $2.2 million in Virginia Beach. According to the OCU report, the economic impact of Virginia Beach-based and visitor ticket holders was $21.76 million, with resulting tax revenue of $1.19 million and a total economic impact of $24.11 million across Hampton Roads.

In September 2021, Williams wrote a letter to Virginia Beach’s city manager saying that he would not be bringing the 2022 festival to his hometown because of the city’s “toxic energy,” citing his cousin Donovon Lynch’s 2021 killing by a Virginia Beach police officer and a special grand jury’s finding of no probable cause to charge the officer. That, combined with other issues surrounding Williams’ economic development projects in the city, made Williams decide to move the festival, which yielded $24 million in local economic impact in 2019, to Washington, D.C. for 2022.

The Something in the Water website displays the location and dates of the third festival.

Tickets for the 2023 Something in the Water festival will go on sale on Nov. 5. The first two hours of ticket sales will be limited to Hampton Roads residents — “the 757,” Williams said. Performers will be announced later, according to the Something in the Water website.

 

 

Mighty Dream Day 1 focuses on diversity, equity

Grammy winning music superstar Pharrell Williams put on his business hat Tuesday in Norfolk, welcoming attendees to his Mighty Dream forum, which he likened to an event like the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “but for marginalized communities.”

The three-day forum kicked off with spoken-word poetry and a mighty boom of drums and crash of cymbals played by the Norfolk State University Spartan Legion marching band. Ryan Shadrick Wilson, founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and a member of Williams’ Yellow education foundation, promised a new kind of business conference — “important but pretty fun” — and Williams himself, clad in a Spartan-green double-breasted suit jacket and jeans, threw out a challenge to fellow businesspeople in the Hampton Roads region.

“I know it’s sort of kumbaya-ish, but this shouldn’t be the only forum dedicated to [diversity, equity and inclusion],” said Williams, a Virginia Beach native whose primary residence is in Miami. “Norfolk is the host, but this is about the whole 757.”

Google Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker and Ryan Shadrick Wilson, founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and a member of Pharrell Williams’ Yellow education foundation, take the stage at Mighty Dream. Photo by Mark Rhodes

Among the first day’s speakers were Google Inc. Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker, Columbia University neurology professor Dr. Olajide Williams and Todd Triplett, TikTok creative lead for the east region of North America.

Parker, who was greeted with cheers when she said she was a Hampton University alumna, said she considers herself “the chief steward of inclusive culture” at Google, which increased its emphasis on diversity and equity following George Floyd’s murder by a police officer in May 2020. The tech giant has doubled its number of Black employees, increased the number of Black executives and provided more mentoring and funding to Black entrepreneurs over the past two-and-a-half years, she said.

In a conversation about health equity, Dr. Olajide Williams, who co-founded Hip Hop Public Health, a nonprofit initiative to teach people about their health, said that Black representation in the medical, financial and educational fields is crucial to overcoming barriers built by structural racism. “The elephant in the room is racism,” Williams said. “First we have to acknowledge it, and then we have to dismantle it, and that’s a whole different conversation.”

Triplett added that self-education, imagination and hope were also key to achieving change.

Williams said during a news conference Tuesday morning that the name “Mighty Dream” comes from a Langston Hughes poem and that the forum — a sequel to his October 2021 Elephant in the Room event at NSU — was renamed to avoid political associations with elephants, the traditional symbol of the Republican Party.

Pharrell Williams and Ryan Shadrick Wilson, founder and CEO of Boardwalk Collective and a member of Pharrell Williams’ Yellow education foundation, take the stage at Mighty Dream. Photo by Mark Rhodes

He said he wanted to get away from politics, but acknowledged that diversity, equity and inclusion — and providing his home community with more business opportunities — was still impacted by politics.

“Hopefully, we set an example,” Williams said. “The gatekeeping has to stop. It just doesn’t help anybody. We’re all human beings.”

In response to a question about the shutdown of Norfolk nightclubs frequented by young Black people following a spate of gun violence, Williams said, “I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s fair. If [city officials] really cared … [they would say], ‘We’re going to talk to these people and help them and educate them.’ This will work, and this is what the area needs.”

Williams said he plans for Mighty Dream to return next year, but didn’t answer a question about the future of his popular Something in the Water music festival, which debuted in Virginia Beach in 2019 and moved to Washington, D.C., after Williams criticized Virginia Beach as “toxic” following the 2021 police killing of his cousin.

Pharrell urges Norfolk to speed up Military Circle development

During a news conference before his three-day Mighty Dream forum kicked off Tuesday, music superstar Pharrell Williams said he is waiting for Norfolk to officially approve his development team’s Wellness Circle project at Military Circle Mall, noting, “I’ve been told many times that we won it. … You have to ask the city. The ball’s in their court.”

Reached Tuesday through a city spokesperson, Norfolk city manager Larry “Chip” Filer confirmed that they are currently working with the Wellness Circle team.

“I can confirm that the city is in discussions with Wellness Circle regarding the exciting redevelopment of the Military Circle mall site,” he said. “The parties are currently negotiating deal terms so we may bring a world-class arena, affordable housing and more to the site. We are making good progress and I want to thank the individuals on the Wellness team for their steadfast commitment to the project. I look forward to finishing these initial discussions and moving on to the completion of the traffic analysis, economic impact and other studies needed to bring the project to life.”

Pharrell added that the project, which would include an arena and flagship Yellowhab school, as well as residential and retail components, does not have a set timeline, although he said he’s excited to move forward.

“There’s a couple of gatekeepers that are not necessarily happy about that, so they make trouble and kick up dust and do the things that they do,” Williams said. Though he did not name any specific people, Williams and Virginia Beach hotel developer Bruce Thompson, CEO of Gold Key | PHR, had a public spat in October 2021 after Thompson denied Williams the use of the Cavalier’s iconic front lawn for an 800-person party where controversial comedian Dave Chappelle would have performed. Thompson is part of a competing group that also submitted a proposal for the redevelopment of Military Circle Mall.

Reached Tuesday, Thompson said that he heard that Williams’ team was in negotiations with the city, adding, that Williams’ “proposal is very ambitious, and if they could pull it off, it would be great for Norfolk. We stand ready, willing and able to step in with an expansive, unique and economically viable development for sustainability and diversity if he is unable to find a pathway to bring his vision to reality.”

During his Tuesday news conference, Williams also joked about the “generic” developments that have characterized the region and called on city officials to move forward with the Military Circle redevelopment. “Over and over again … knockoff restaurants and generic brands. We deserve more. We are on the middle of the Eastern Seaboard. We can’t keep leaving it to five [or] six people with not the best taste. Sorry, I mean, am I wrong? No. I’m saying it with love. Open it up, guys. Open it up. This [development] should have been moving a long time ago.”

Norfolk’s EDA purchased the 75-acre property for $11 million and the nearby DoubleTree Hotel property for $2.4 million.

The Wellness Circle proposal includes 1 million square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel, 1,100 new housing units and a 15,000-seat arena. The project’s other developers include Virginia Beach-based Venture Realty Group and California arena management company Oak View Group, both of which are also co-developing the Atlantic Park surf park with Williams at Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront.

Two other development teams, including groups connected with Thompson and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith of Dallas Cowboys fame, submitted competing proposals for the project. The city returned $100,000 deposits made by each of the three developers in June, citing the amount of time it has taken the city to choose a developer, according to The Virginian-Pilot.

Stay tuned for Virginia Business’ coverage of Mighty Dream, taking place through Nov. 3 in Norfolk.

Pharrell’s Mighty Dream forum coming to Norfolk Nov. 1-3

Executives from Google, H&M, Universal Music Group, Yelp and McDonald’s will join Grammy winner Pharrell Williams Nov. 1-3 in Norfolk for his Mighty Dream forum, a sequel to last fall’s Elephant in the Room event.

Along with panel discussions and networking events focused on making work and business opportunities more equitable and supporting and growing Black-owned businesses, the conference will include a small business-focused block party and nightly concerts.

Last October’s Elephant in the Room event at Norfolk State University included discussions with business leaders co-moderated by Williams, who is involved in two major Hampton Roads developments — the redevelopment of Military Circle Mall and the Atlantic Park surf park project in Virginia Beach.

Williams also is the force behind Something in the Water, which debuted in 2019 on Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront, but he moved the music festival to Washington, D.C., this summer, after announcing in 2021 that he was pulling the festival from his hometown because of the city’s “toxic energy,” including the police shooting of his cousin.

Despite this, the music and fashion superstar maintains close ties to Norfolk and, in particular, Norfolk State University, where he has twice addressed graduating classes. Mighty Dream, while featuring appearances by Williams and fellow Hampton Roads hip-hop star Pusha T, as well as musical performances, will be more focused on business.

In an interview with Virginia Business in January, Williams said he planned the conference to include “full days of caucuses and panels,” featuring Fortune 500 business leaders but also including Norfolk and Virginia Beach voices — a cross between Davos, Switzerland’s World Economic Forum and Austin, Texas’ South by Southwest. The focus, the Virginia Beach native says, is to provide more economic opportunities for the region and make them more equitable for underrepresented groups, particularly Black residents.

Executives slated to participate include Felecia Hatcher, CEO of Williams’ Black Ambition Opportunity Fund, which provides grants to diverse entrepreneurs; Corey Smith, vice president of diversity and inclusion at LVMH Inc., the holding corporation that owns Louis Vuitton and other luxury companies; Stacey Owsley, executive director of Yellow, Williams’ nonprofit educational organization, which started the Yellowhab school in Norfolk; former NBA all-star Joakim Noah, who is an ambassador to the Basketball Africa League and an investor in NBA Africa; and Lisa Osborne Ross, the U.S. CEO of Edelman, the global public relations firm. Astronaut Leland Melvin, comedian and actor Hannibal Buress and Google Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker are also scheduled to appear.

The three-day event kicks off Nov. 1 with “Black Ambition Demo Day,” a showcase of “trailblazing Black and Latinx entrepreneurs,” including a special guest and a conversation with 2021 grand prize winners. Williams will take part in several panels, including several business leaders, angel investors and NSU President Javaune Adams-Gaston, who will provide updates on what has happened since Elephant in the Room. A “Business Block Party” is scheduled the evening of Nov. 2, with small businesses, organizations and food trucks setting up in the NEON District, and on Nov. 3, H&M’s Annie Wu, who leads the clothing retailer‘s global diversity and equity efforts, will discuss her company’s path to becoming more inclusive.

A full schedule is available at mightydreamforum.com.

Mighty Dream will also feature evening concerts at local music venues around Norfolk. Tickets for daytime events are available at mightydreamforum.com, with three-day badges ranging from $75 for students up to $3,500 for “C-Suite level” access.