Virginia Beach developer building $80M mixed-use development

Construction is underway on an $80 million project in Virginia Beach that will transform a roughly 12-acre former elementary school site into a significant mixed-use development with retail, apartments and office space.

The Franklin Group is developing The Canopy at 1413 Laskin Road. It will include 132 apartment units, approximately 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and a five-story, 50,000-square-foot building segment dedicated to office space.

The site had previously been home to Linkhorn Park Elementary School, which operated there from 1955 until the late 1990s. The Franklin Group CEO Taylor Franklin said that his company purchased the site last year for $7 million and demolished the former school building.

According to Franklin, construction on the apartments and retail space started in October 2024, and that component of the project is expected to wrap up in February 2026. The apartments will contain 40 one-bedroom units, 60 two-bedroom units and 32 three-bedroom units. While retailers haven’t been finalized yet, Franklin said there is “a ton of interest” in the site.

Christen Faatz, senior vice president of corporate finance and accounting for The Franklin Group, said apartment amenities will include two pickleball courts, an event lawn at the rear of the building, a covered cabana with an outdoor kitchen, a resort-style infinity pool, fire pits, walking trails, a fitness center and electric car charging stations.

Franklin said construction on the office component of the development is expected to start in summer 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027. The Franklin Group will relocate its headquarters from 32nd Street in Virginia Beach to the new building, occupying 25,000 to 30,000 square feet of the office space.