VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Offices have sat empty for the past 14 months inside of Building 2 at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, after a dozen employees were gunned down during a mass shooting.
"Our foundation was rocked in the city on May 31, 2019," said Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer. " But the ability to come back and be resilient with strength and resolve is important going forward."
However moving forward is now delayed. The coronavirus pandemic is laying down a road block in the buildings renovations.
"COVID really threw us a curve ball," said Dyer.
City officials don’t have the cash to cover the renovation costs due to the coronavirus crippling parts of the economy. The project set to be complete in 2023 had a price tag of around $130 million.
"It doesn't hurt to ask, once again we are working to find every avenue we can to lessen the burden on the taxpayer," Dyer said.
Last week Dyer wrote a letter to the General Assembly asking for the allocation of $10 million dollars towards the renovation project.
Earlier this year the General Assembly froze more than $2 million in funding predicting state revenues would be lower due to the pandemic.
"We are confident that as we go forward and getting financial stability back we can move forward," said Dyer.
Building 2 would house the police department after the project. Previous employees of Building 2 would be dispersed to other buildings on campus.
"Building 2 is important to us, some folks want it torn down but we don't give in to evil deeds," said Dyer.
