The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Two of the city's biggest development projects inched forward Tuesday night when the City Council voted 9-2 to transfer land for them to the city's development authority.
The authority is working on deals with developers to build a hotel next to the convention center and an entertainment complex on the part of the old Dome site. Both projects are estimated to cost more than $100 million each. City officials said they will attract more visitors and extend the Beach's tourism season.
Supporters said the land transfer, while important, doesn't mean the public-private projects - four years in the works - are guaranteed to happen. Many details remain to be worked out with developers, including the city's contribution to the projects. The hotel site is 6 acres and the Dome site is 8 acres.
Councilmen Bob Dyer and Bill DeSteph voted no on the land transfer.
A deal on the convention center hotel could be reached by the end of the year, said Warren Harris, the city's economic development director. It's estimated to cost between $110 million and $120 million, with the city contributing 25 to 30 percent, or up to $36 million.
Lou Haddad, CEO of Armada Hoffler, the developer tapped to build the hotel, said his company has a "skeleton of a deal" worked out with lenders and investors that he hopes can be finalized now that the land will be transferred.
The Dome site deal could be put together by the first quarter of next year, Harris said. A Texas developer is working on the estimated $130 million project. The public subsidy on that project has not been figured out, city officials said.
The political timing of Tuesday's vote went virtually unmentioned. Land transactions must be approved by at least nine members of the 11-member body.
The vote came just before next week's election, which could result in a new council member. Undersheriff Dennis Free and former Beach tax alliance leader John Moss are challenging Councilman Prescott Sherrod. Moss, a former council member, said he did not support the land transfer and, if elected, might have been the third vote needed to block the projects.
If the projects move forward as planned, the City Council would vote on them individually. A simple majority is needed to approve them.
Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
What is Offered From a 5 Month Ocean Front Resort
The core beachfront and aquatic activities are limited to a 5 month period when waters are warm and weax fair. Of course there are such activities during off season, but those limited to locals and the infected few, surfing, fishing, rowing, so forth. Council's tool has yet to provide average occupancy rates for the hotel saviors to CoVB's economy during October thru April although he has a sack of numbers for everthing else. From the rate of return, his sole job is to perform damage control at the slightest leak from the dike of public displeasure. So, what is the draw? If those outside the region knew profits exist here in the off season, then we would be awash in cash without public/private offerings. This rolling stone needs some MOSS.
Low tax rates for us
Mr. Paul ignores the fact that the Beach has more visitors in the off season than in the season itself. However, he is correct that we do have hotel capacity in the November through May time slot, and both these projects are intended to capitalize on that unused capacity to leverage our resort investments. The convention hotel will make us more competitive for high end convention business, and the entertainment facility at the Dome will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors in the off season to see broadway shows, to enjoy the indoor amusement park, to skate on the ice rink, and to enjoy the many restaurants in the facility. Visitor will pay admission taxes, sales taxes, meals taxes, and room taxes which means low tax rates for us.
I ignore nothing MB
Daily throughout the year, personal observations of traffic and folks through the resort area is nearly constant and has been for decades. Don't know how you figure we have more visitors during the 7 months of an off season unless counting each person in cars viewing Xmas lights, perhaps many times over, or deploy other means of recounting those locals that truly favor the resort area when seasonal visitors depart. Direct observations of empty hotel parking lots and darkened facades of vertical cave-like structures during much of the off season impart a different story. I deal with numbers every day and one can bend any set of numbers to fit many different equations depending on the desired outcome. I'd rather see flooding 'hoods fixed first!
hostility and sabotage
Given the hysterical posts from the members of the moribund VBTA and their sycophants on this forum, it is clear that they are indeed losing support, members, and the last vestiges of credibility that they once had. Seeing citizens of the Beach and Hampton Roads flock to projects the Beach has created, like Town Center, 31st Street, Lynnhaven Mall, a saved and improved Sandbridge, the Sportsplex, the Convention Center, the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex, and others, their message of extreme enforced austerity simply does not resonate with Beach citizens/voters. A vote for John Moss is a vote for continued hostility, harangue, and lost opportunity, just like his failure to support improving the intersection in Kempsville that he sabotaged.
Well we all know that you'll
Well we all know that you'll be voting for your puppet Prescott. Just pull the strings and you'll get what you want. And as for creditability, I don't think you had any to begin with.
So we can assume the handful
So we can assume the handful of you who are against everything will be voting for Moss then? Glad we could clear that up. Now let me look into my crystal ball...yep, he loses.
I thought you were a
I thought you were a conqueror of evil spirits. Looking into the crystal ball? Hmmm. Or maybe a Bob Marley wanna-be?
What city compares?
What city in Virginia compares to VB for being in the backpockets of developers? It seems they get whatever they want and the people just have to put up with it. If a developer's project fails, no problem: his buddies on the city council will get the taxpayers to pay for it. This has really gotten out of hand and needs to be stopped. This coming election will be a good start.
Had enough?
All the more reason to vote John Moss November 8th for city council. This is what happens when you have a (in my view) a city government bought and paid for by developers. Here we have the city that can afford to soak the taxpayer for $70-75MIL for a hotel and entertainment site, but can't find it in the budget to "adjust" for trash collection and sewer maintenance. Time for taxpayers to start taking care of taxpayers instead of special interest developer pocketbooks.
Real evidence
Well Keith, you were always going to vote for Moss anyway so this situation made no difference to you at all. You are one of those who would deny the benefits you receive from commercial development in the form of lower taxes no matter what. You, like Moss, Greenmun, and Dean enjoy the benefits of citizenship in the best city in the Commonwealth, but complain about it non stop nonetheless. That of course is your right, but the hypocrisy of those who take the advantages while denying them is the real evidence of their character.