VIRGINIA BEACH — An esteemed 18-hole Virginia Beach golf course designed by legendary golfer Pete Dye could soon be transformed under new ownership.

City officials announced Tuesday the Dragas Companies is the city’s preferred buyer of Virginia Beach National Golf Club. The real estate development company wants to buy the course and adjacent land for $17.9 million and plans to redesign most of the course’s back nine holes to accommodate more than 600 new housing units, with roughly half considered affordable housing, said Emily Archer, acting director of Virginia Beach Economic Development.

The Virginian-Pilot first reported on Dragas’ interest in redeveloping the course late last year after the company began discussions with the city in 2024.

Century Golf Partners, which operates Walt Disney World Golf, would manage the course. Timothy Liddy and Associates, a company with experience in redesigning Dye courses, would lead the reconfiguration. The course will remain at 18 holes, with the developer planning to buy an additional 45 acres of adjacent city-owned land where two  holes are proposed to be relocated.

The real estate development company wants to buy the course and adjacent land for $17.9 million

The Dragas Companies

The real estate development company wants to buy the course and adjacent land for $17.9 million

The front nine will be retained, though the numbers will shift, along with the 18th hole, according to the proposed course map.

“This checks so many boxes,” said Vice Mayor Rosemary Wilson. “This is going to be one of the top golf courses on the entire East Coast.”

Virginia Beach residents would no longer have to pay an initiation fee to join the golf club, and daily fees would start at $69 in‑season and $49 offseason. The proposal would also include 20 stay-and-play cottages designed to support golf tourism and the creation of an illuminated 18-hole putting course, according to Dragas Companies.

“Virginia Beach National is a treasured community asset, and our vision is to secure its future for generations to come,” said Dragas Companies President Helen Dragas in a statement.

The proposal would also include 20 stay-and-play cottages designed to support golf tourism.

The Dragas Companies

The proposal would also include 20 stay-and-play cottages designed to support golf tourism.

About 75 acres of the land is used for the YMCA First Tee, a youth golf training facility. The City Council is in the process of transferring ownership of the First Tee — Hampton Roads property to the YMCA, which had leased it from the city’s Development Authority. It will require a public hearing and a City Council vote. First Tee would remain under the terms of the transfer.

The developer plans to invest $38 million in the course and build 659 townhomes. More than half of them considered affordable or priced at or below 120% area median income, which for Virginia Beach is considered $129,240 for a four-person family. The proposal includes a childcare facility and preserves 45 acres of wooded land.

The residential portion of the proposal will require a conditional rezoning.

Under the proposal terms, the city would invest a maximum of $7.9 million for road work, utility relocation, a sewer extension and contingencies. The city’s Development Authority would spend $1.8 million for golf course improvements.

The Dragas Company

"Residents