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Pleasure House Point

Photo: Tim Solanic

Pleasure House Point, a 122-acre waterfront parcel at Chesapeake Bay in Virginia Beach has been eyed by residents, conservationists, real estate developers, and local officials for years. With a mile of frontage on Pleasure House Creek and the Lynnhaven River, it had been targeted for a 1,000+ unit housing development that had been in the works until the downturn in the real estate market gave conservation advocates a chance to protect it.

We learned about the opportunity in 2008, from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The developer's financial difficulties and a series of bank mergers, placed the land under control of Wells Fargo Bank—a San Francisco-based bank which has worked with us since our earliest days. We talked with city officials, other conservation groups, and potential funding agencies, and used our connections with Wells Fargo to develop a plan to buy and protect most of the site.

"Often times a distressed property can find itself caught up in endless wrangling and corporate bureaucracy so we never have a chance to make a bid," said TPL President Will Rogers. "In this case, when we learned Wells Fargo was on point, we knew we would have that chance."

Wells Fargo had been approached by several potential buyers, so knew the property was valuable. However they also knew TPL's record of success and saw an opportunity to sell the property at a very substantial discount and create a win-win solution—both for the bank's shareholders, and for the people who live in Virginia Beach. "We couldn't be more pleased," Rogers said. "Wells Fargo is banking on the twenty year history with TPL, just as we bank on Wells Fargo's solid financial footing."

Although the deal is not yet finalized and TPL continues to bring the financing package together, all the parties are looking forward to seeing the majority of this critical property protected as another gem for Chesapeake Bay.

Read media coverage
WTKR-TV3
Associated Press
Press release, 7/13/2010