Land adds value to potential Landmark deal

It's not about the real estate. But whoever buys Landmark Communications Inc. - if the Hampton Roads segment of the company is sold - could get a lot of local property in the deal.

Some of it is extremely valuable. The new Dominion Enterprises office tower in downtown Norfolk is worth $45 million alone, according to city assessment records.

Plus, Landmark owns valuable undeveloped land on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach and in northern Suffolk.

And, of course, Landmark owns the Beacon building in Town Center in Virginia Beach. The city recently agreed to buy the property, then resell it to a developer, so a new office tower could be built there.

Altogether, Landmark and affiliates own 30 properties in four cities worth about $72 million, according to city assessments. And that's just in South Hampton Roads.

From a real estate point of view, the company's sale would raise two big questions, both in Virginia Beach:

- What will happen to the Beacon building sale?

- What will happen to the big undeveloped property across the street from the printing plant on Greenwich Road?

The first question is easier to answer.

Bruce Bradley, president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot, said there will be no change in the Beacon building sale. City Manager Jim Spore agreed.

"It's a done deal," Spore said.

In July, the Virginia Beach City Council agreed to buy the Beacon property - just more than 1 acre with a two-story brick building, across from Pembroke Mall - for $4.375 million. In turn, the city will sell the site to Armada Hoffler, which is building Town Center, for the same price. The city also will pay $300,000 in moving expenses for The Pilot.

Armada Hoffler plans to demolish the Beacon building and construct a 20-story office tower in its place.

The second question has no answer yet, but the site has an interesting history. The property, directly across from the newspaper's printing plant, is assessed at $1.7 million, but it could be worth much more.

In 1986, Landmark announced plans to build a $40 million office park on the site.

That announcement came just as the city was considering whether to put a garbage transfer station on the property. Based partly on Landmark's announced plan, the city placed the garbage facility on a site near the Farmer's Market.

Ultimately, Landmark never built anything on the Greenwich Road site, and it remains vacant.

A new owner would be free to develop it, with city approval.

Marc Davis, (757) 222-5131, marc.davis@pilotonline.com