VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A memorial to honor the 12 victims of the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach is progressing and is on pace to be finished next year.
At the Virginia Beach Economic Development Conference Room Wednesday, the 5/31 Memorial Committee got an update on the memorial, being built at the corner of Princess Anne Road and Nimmo Parkway.
According to architect Clay Dills, construction for the memorial began in December and has been underway since.
“They’ve secured the site,” Dills said. “You’ll see a construction trailer. There’s silt fence, there’s protection measures up for the trees in the woods in there. They’re starting to stake out where the fountain would go, where the walls would go.”
Virginia Beach City Council previously voted in October to appropriate an additional $4.3 million to build the memorial.
Ervin Cox, also on the committee, was at the meeting. He lost his brother Ryan Keith Cox in the shooting.
“We came together for this,” Ervin Cox said. “It was a beautiful thing, and we made a beautiful thing with this memorial.”
Councilmember Michael Berlucchi said the committee was formed with the intention to pay tribute to those who died, the survivors and the first responders.
“It’s just the worst historical event that’s occurred in our city’s history, and it’s very serious,” Berlucchi said. “It’s been very impactful, and the memorial is a very special way to honor all those whose lives were touched and to remember those whose lives were lost.”
He said that the committee meets on a quarterly basis to discuss the project, with the next meeting on the first Wednesday in May.
Cox said the memorial will be worth it once it’s done.
“We wanted to make sure it was done right and not a rushed put together piece,” Cox said. “We wanted it to be the best in the world, and I believe we accomplished that,” Cox said.
The project is expected to be complete by May 2026.