Inside Business story - Rubber Grommet Group

Best Recreation/Entertainment/Hospitality

Award of Excellence

JT's Grommet Island Beach Park and Playground for Every’body’

Owner/Developer City of Virginia Beach

Architect WPL

Contractor Custom Structures

A revolution in accessibility, JT's Grommet Island Beach Park on the Virginia Beach oceanfront was spearheaded by a local developer whose young adult son, once an avid surfer, had become immobilized by ALS. The result was a beach park expressly designed for those with physical disabilities. Built to withstand the impact of salt, sand, winds and waves, while affecting the beach as little as possible, the park features marine-grade materials and coatings, along with native beach grass, recycled wood and plastic decking, recycled rubber surfacing and scrap material from past construction projects. Now a fully accessible 15,000-square-foot beach park, the colorful Grommet Island features extra-large wheelchair accessible entrances, raised sand tables, a toddler area, a sway boat that moves back and forth, and a statue of a "grommet" being mentored by an older surfer as the two prepare to meet the challenges of the ocean beyond.

Judges’ comments Grommet Island touched both the jury's design sensibilities and their hearts. This is a park built for disabled children by a developer whose own son suffered from Lou Gehrig's Disease. This dad took it upon himself to work to create a place where children with special needs could enjoy a day at the beach. His son was an avid surfer, so the connection to the beach and to surfing was really important to their story. There was such a positive energy in this project-it's about hope for those who are told they cannot do certain things and then they can experience things most of us take for granted. We liked the way it was executed; the theme of surfing and water are symbolically woven throughout. The term grommet describes a neophyte surfer, the big brother showing the little brother. The way spaces flow over this rubberized water, making it a fun place to be, impressed the jury. We want to encourage more people to think in these civic-minded ways; this man really gave back. When life takes a bad turn you have two choices: this man chose to make a difference and it's impressive.

Judges’ comments Grommet Island touched both the jury's design sensibilities and their hearts. This is a park built for disabled children by a developer whose own son suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. This dad took it upon himself to plan and help implement a place where children with special needs could enjoy a day at the beach. His son was an avid surfer, so the connection to the beach and to surfing was really important to their story. There was such a positive energy in this project. It's about hope for those who might think they cannot do certain things. It gives them the chance to experience things most of us take for granted. We liked the way the theme of surfing and water were symbolically woven throughout. The term "grommet" describes a neophyte surfer-the big brother showing the little brother. The way spaces flow over this rubberized water, making it a fun place to be, impressed the jury. We want to encourage more people to think in these civic-minded ways; this gentleman really gave back. When life takes a bad turn you have two choices: this man chose to make a difference and it's impressive.

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