NORFOLK
The Spectrum at Willoughby Point, a $200 million condominium project that would have remade the northern entrance to the city, has become another victim of the decline in the housing and credit markets.
Although developers said two of three sections of the development were 50 percent sold, the project has lost its financing. A letter was sent to buyers saying they will receive refunds of their deposits.
Condominium projects all over Hampton Roads, from Granby Tower in downtown Norfolk to the Point Chesapeake project at the old Duck-In site in Virginia Beach, have lost their financing or simply been put on hold.
“We just got caught up in the problems in the financing world,” said A. R. “Rick” Gregor Jr., of the Futura Group, the Virginia Beach company that was to develop The Spectrum at Willoughby Point.
“It didn’t seem right to hold onto people’s money until we got those issues resolved,” he said. “We told them they would be the first to know when we come up with new plans.”
Gregor said his company is exploring commercial development on the site. He gave no details.
“If we’d started two years earlier, the project would be well on its way,” Gregor said. “If we started two years from now, it might have worked as well. But the residential condo market is a tough market right now.”
The project was to be located at the north end of Willoughby Spit, near the entrance to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, on 15 acres with views of both the Chesapeake Bay and Willoughby Bay.
The 327-unit development would have included a 200-seat restaurant, an 80-slip marina and 22,000 square feet of commercial office and retail space.
Gregor’s group has spent millions of dollars – he wouldn’t say how many – acquiring the land, landscaping and bulkheading and driving dozens of pilings for the first phase of the project.
Construction began nearly two years ago with the demolition of a restaurant, a hotel and other buildings. Site work commenced shortly thereafter, but there has been little activity in the past year.
“It’s a big blow to Ocean View and the city,” Councilman W. Randy Wright said. “But it’s not just an Ocean View or Norfolk problem. These projects everywhere are having difficulties.”
Councilman Don Williams, a retired developer who lives in Willoughby, said Gregor assured him he will eventually develop the property.
Williams said his message to anyone who wants development in Willoughby is to be optimistic.
“Everyone needs to be patient,” he said. “In a couple of years, we’ll see something nice built out there.”
Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com
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Keving, take a good look at the picture with the article.
These seven stories tall cluster housing units look more like a future slum project than a high dollar great place to raise a family home. On each of the 15 acres you'd have almost 22 residences or businesses. Sound crowded yet? What plans for road improvements did the developer have? Couldn't have been much because the project is right next to the HRBT and we all know how congested that is. Now let's take a look at where the residents or patrons to the businesses would park their cars. Maybe in the water? Then lets take a look at the next hurricane that comes through. Oh! the federal government can send truck loads of money to rebuild. Do you really thing the roofs depicted in the drawing would fair out well in a high wind area? You know, come to think of it, Portsmouth needs some public cluster project housing to send the residents of Jeffery Wilson Homes to. This looks like the perfect spot to send them to. With the area declining in population and the surplus of overpriced condos and apartments on the market already, did the developers really intent on building these future slums? Keving bud, look up and see how much of your tax dollars were use to subsidize these foolish proje
Willoughby Condo Project
Perhaps less greedy interests will prevail in the meantime, to yield a more appropriate use of this prime spot; (although I doubt this is possible). I can quickly think of several. The condo project would have produced the ugliest, most bone-headed pile of congestion I can imagine, right at the entrance to Norfolk- Virginia Beach.
On the other hand, a fantastic Gateway-type project representing all of South Hampton Roads, would reflect a joint effort to create an image of area marketing proportions such as the St Louis Arch or New York's Statue of Liberty. Big bucks,? Sure. Far-sighted planning? Of course. Likely? Not with the short-sighted, self-indulged planners that our area continues to return to office. We doom ourselves to continued parochial mediocrity.
Funny
"Spectrum at Willoughby Point" ads are still appearing on PilotOnline - just saw one while reading the Norfolk Smoking Ban story.
I guess they must be thinking ahead....
jmo
Willoughby Condo Plan
Looks kind of imposing to me.. But it is a cool picture..The sailboats are a nice touch. I sure wouldn't want to live there and have to leave to & come home from work at rush hour though. Maybe a casino there would be a better idea. That would really bottle up the tunnel & force a new third crossing, financed by that same casino.
Chill out on other people's misery
Never ceases to amaze me the lack of basic economic education and the delight shown by commentators at another’s misfortune.
How does the private sector (i.e. the evil developer) losing his investment, or an entrepreneur’s failed project end up costing readers tax money? You'd think the cash was stolen right out of your very pockets. What tax money? Do you mean tax incentives? Most of those aren't given out until the project is finished: no project, no tax incentives.
And don’t worry about the type of proposed housing: they weren’t designed with you or that $54,000-a-year guy in mind anyway.
Why would anyone risk their capital or reputation in a community like this that trashes attempts to move us forward? Such efforts do more to generate precious tax money than you sitting around ripping every attempt to create something. How many jobs did you try to create today?
You guys don't get it
You guys don't get it. The point of the condo is not to live there, it's just to get rich quick. You buy it using a loan that has a teaser rate, so you can afford it on a $40K income (for a year or two). You just lie on the loan app, your broker will show you how. Then you don't live there, but list it as your primary residence for tax reasons. You hold it for a year or two to meet the contract requirements the builder lays down so you aren't competing with them in sales, and for tax reasons. Then after the year is up, before your loan adjusts, you sell it for $100K profit to the next person that is planning to do the same thing. The real test is to see how many of the completed condo projects have how many lights on at night. I've heard ones in Richmond and Miami are totally dark at night.
Any wonder?
Why would anyone want to live next to I64's busiest section? Traffic jams in front of your home, stuck in traffic 50% of the time you leave home but wait it's waterfront!
thanks for the honesty, finaly.
At least Rick and his group are forthcoming about the situation and returning deposits. Now how about this guy with the Granby tower?
I'd would have seriously considered this project as my retirement location but everything they are selling is just too small. Hopefully it will be worth the wait until the demand turns around.
I walked around there last weekend.....
(outside the fence) and didn't see as much as a shovel laying around.
How many of our tax dollars are tied up in THIS fiasco?
Improving Ward's Corner, Norfolk's forgotten Northern Gateway
I'd like to personally invite the developers to refocus their attentions on revitalizing the Ward's Corner area one sees as they come across I-64.
This area once was the northern gateway and shopping hub of Norfolk. The land is still there, vacant, boarded up, blighted and the residents are crying for your investment.
Commercial Development?
I believe Ocean View has a great future and hope there's no knee-jerk "commercial development" of Willoughby Point that we'll regret later.
Raise your hand if you know what the problem is!
Everyone except the developers and anyone affiliated with local government just raised their hand! Politicians like Don Williams and developers like Rick Gregor Jr seem to be the only ones that don't get it. Let's spell it out for them. Let's start with the local income level. The average income in this area is $56K a year. Do you really think a family can buy a $400K+ condo with that? Then lets move on to who wants to raise a family in an apartment (ugh...condo)? I'm sure the kids will have fun playing in the elevator or on the stairs, until the other residents complain. Then there's, do you really want to spend half-million dollars on a home and be able to hear the neighbors above you and beside you? How much of our tax dollars have been wasted on this and the other projects mentioned? Face it we (the tax payers) are getting ripped off by city government and developers taking our tax dollars and subsidizing their development projects. Seems the only ones that benefit are them. VOTE-EM-OUT!