The Virginian-Pilot
©
Chesapeake
Edinburgh has luxury homes, numerous shopping and dining options and probably will add at least one hotel by next year.
A Chesapeake company wants to build a hotel complex on South Battlefield Boulevard in Southern Chesapeake near Hickory High School.
Hotel chains expressing interest include Hilton, Marriott and Holiday Inn, according to Doug Fuller, president of
Edinburgh South Inc., the company that aims to build the hotel complex in the residential development.
"There have been a significant number of inquiries," Fuller said, noting that the company has fielded hotel requests for three years.
The company has asked Chesapeake to rezone a 7-acre parcel for the hotel complex. Fuller said he thinks Edinburgh can support as many as five hotels, and he hopes to have the first one open by 2009.
The first hotel complex could be near the Edinburgh Commons East shopping center near Home Depot, Wawa and Southeastern Elementary School.
If the land is rezoned, Edinburgh South will construct a two-building complex, which would be sold to one or two hotel companies. The buildings would have about 200 rooms and about 1,000 square feet of meeting space. A restaurant isn't included in the plan because many restaurants are nearby.
The site is ideal for those traveling between home and the private security contractor Blackwater in North Carolina and the Northwest Naval Complex, Fuller said. The next closest hotel, in the Greenbrier area, is about eight miles away.
"This is the first hotel project that is proposed for Edinburgh," said Jennifer White, a senior planner with the city of Chesapeake. Officials said the project is expected to net the city at least $289,000 a year through taxes.
Another hotel is in the works for the Chesapeake Lakes Gateway Center, which would be located just over the state line in North Carolina. The Edinburgh South project in Chesapeake is at the end of the city public sewer line.
The Planning Commission will hear the proposal for rezoning from Edinburgh South, Inc. on Wednesday. City Council is expected to vote on it in February.
Amy Couteé, (757) 222-5216, amy.coutee@pilotonline.com
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Hotel is needed...
I live in Great Bridge and work at the Northwest Naval complex and we constantly have personnel (both military and civilian) coming from out of town to work or train with us. Currently, they have very limited options for locations to stay. The closest is Greenbrier, and because they usually book last minute, is almost always full. Recently folks have had to stay at the beach, which they are subject to having to deal with traffic and a lengthy commute. This would be a win-win situation, offering a closer alternative with a better chance of availabity for business travelers. This would also allow the overflow ($$)from Greenbrier to stay in Chesapeake, increasing the revenue and taxes to the city. We need to be realists and understand that these Hotels will be built somewhere, and as long as they are done properly, allow the developers to proceed. As for becoming another Greenbrier, that is not possible since we don't have an Interstate travelling through the Great Bridge/Edinburgh corridor.
A Pitched Ploy to Entice Developers
These hotels are not needed. This is a ploy to entice developers to start moving towards the southern part of Chesapeake, the citizens of Greenbrier and Great Bridge and other more northern locations in Chesapeake, have started to effectively fight the vision of turning Chesapeake into an overdeveloped mini metropolis, with minimal greenery and focusing on giving the corporations and special interest groups the right of way to alter the quality of life of citizens as they see fit. Citizens must ban together and fight this "mixed use" district look that will devalue homes. While the approval of this particular hotel is up to the residents in Hickory, please be advised, that once they start, they will not stop until Hickory ends up looking like Greenbrier. If you don't believe me, start watching The Planning Commission and City Council meetings, notice how much, more and more citizens are complaining about corporations improaching on their property and altering their quality of life.
What?
This area is what 5-10 miles from the state line, so say someone leaves Blackwater in 10-20 minutes they're going to stop, I don't think so. Folks coming from the Outer Banks will generally have been on the road a couple of hours, with usually many more to go or home is just around the corner, don't think they're stopping either. What a huge waste, but then wastefulness around here doesn't seem to stop anyone or really surprise me much anymore.
Hotels
This is so stupid. Who is going to stay in these hotels? Blackwater and their current track record will not be around too much longer. Northwest does not have enough personel to support a hotel, let alone several of them. And the hotels that you named are FULL service hotels. That DO have Restaurtants. So you must mean a limited service offshoot of Marriott, Holiday inn, and Hilton such as springhill, Holiday inn selects, econo lodges, and travel lodge which are box style buildings.The city needs to do more research on this. It is NOT a winner.