PerfectSwell Richmond

Richmond Surf is a 6-acre PerfectSwell wave pool at the heart of The Lake, a mixed-used community planned for Richmond, VA.

Brett Burkhart is the director of project development and operations at Flatwater Cos, the company The Lake. Mr. Burkhart told Costar.com that they have permits necessary to begin construction and expect to do so in early 2020. If everything goes well, the wave pool will be producing waves in fall of 2021.

Wave Size and Shape

While details about the size and shape of the waves have yet to be publicized, the team behind the project made it clear that the wave pool will produce a variety of waves that appeal to all levels of surfers.

Given the variety of waves that American Wave Machines PerfectSwell wave pools can produce, it’s a safe assumption that the waves at Richmond Surf will include barrel, air and turn sections on waves the run left and right.

At 6-acres, the Richmond Surf wave pool will be roughly twice the size of the wave pool at BSR Surf Resort. Check out the Wave Pool Comparison Tool for side-by-side comparison of wave pools around the world. BSR Surf Resort produces waves that run for 8-10 seconds, so Richmond Surf could end up producing waves that run for 15+ seconds.

Frequency and Capacity

It’s not clear how many waves the Richmond Surf wave pool will produce per hour, or how many waves a surfer can expect in a one-hour session. For reference, BSR Surf Resort provides surfers with 12-15 waves per hour, per surfer.

Around the Wave Pool

Outside of the Richmond Surf wave pool, the Lake will incorporate 150,000 square feet of retail and entertainment, 100,000 square feet of office space, a 170-key hotel, 750 apartments, a 13-acre wakeboard lake and an amphitheater.

Mr. Burkhart expects 20% of the visitors to come from outside the Richmond metropolitan region, which has a population of 1.3 million.

Other Wave Pools in Virginia include a SwellSpot project in Hanover Virginia and Atlantic Park (also known as The Wave) in Virginia Beach.

Sources: Costar.com