
DATE: Tuesday, September 30, 1997           TAG: 9709300219
SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  102 lines

HIGH-TECH FIRM TO BUILD CLASS A OFFICES AT BEACH THE CITY HAS HIGH HOPES FOR ``THE SIGNATURE BUILDING'' PLANNED BY ONE OF THE NATION'S FASTEST-GROWING HISPANIC-OWNED BUSINESSES.

No shovel has been lifted, no foundation poured.

Nonetheless, city officials have high hopes for the future headquarters they've dubbed ``the signature building'' in Corporate Landing Office Park.

It is to become the home of S3 Ltd., a Beach-based technology company and one of the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic-owned businesses. The firm provides computer analysts, file clerks and systems experts for government and industry.

Construction could begin this fall, resulting in a three-story, glass-and-brick building with a large atrium. At 60,000 square feet or larger, it would be the biggest of the few buildings erected during the sparse park's first decade.

``It's the best site at Corporate Landing,'' said Robert Ruhl, business development manager in the city's Economic Development Department. ``It will be a very beautiful building.''

The seven-acre parcel, which cost the company about $95,000 per acre, carries the nickname ``the fountain site'' because of an adjacent fountain and lake. The Virginia Beach Development Authority sold the property to S3 earlier this summer.

``We're hoping that once we get started with the signature site in the park, other high-technology firms will follow us in,'' said Sandra Carraway, S3 vice president of administration.

The company has yet to pick an architect, she said, although ground-breaking could take place this fall.

William Casanova, a retired Navy lieutenant, founded S3 as a software and computer systems firm in 1985. He was out of town Monday on business and was unavailable for comment.

In a recent interview, he said the military's closure and realignment of bases led to a major change for his company - from focusing on software and hardware products to the people who create and maintain them.

Hispanic Business magazine listed the company this summer as the country's 31st-fastest-growing Hispanic-owned firm.

Carraway said 1996 sales reached $28 million. The 1997 projection: $60 million.

``We've grown by leaps and bounds in recent years,'' she said, ``and we expect to continue to do that.''

S3 has more than 600 workers, and offices in several states. The firm eventually could consolidate several hundred employees to its headquarters, with room for new hires.

The average employee salary is $29,530, according to a city report on the project from last spring.

Ruhl said city officials are working on signing at least a dozen other ``serious'' tenants for Corporate Landing.

The development authority - an independent agency whose members are appointed by the City Council - launched the 337-acre park in 1988. The authority's mandate is to increase the city's tax base by developing industrial parks. It pays for projects by selling bonds and park property and acquiring loans from the city.

For the first five years, the park sat empty and was widely seen as a bust. Highway access, which still remains years away, is seen as crucial to landing big companies.

The development authority landed just one tenant, Al-Anon, in those first five years.

Since then, the situation has improved.

Membership Marketing Services Inc. has opened a telemarketing center and headquarters. Oceana Sensor Technologies opened an office, warehouse and manufacturing facility. JFH International Inc. built a corporate headquarters and national warehouse.

Ruhl said S3's building represents a $6 million investment in the park.

``The stock,'' he said, ``is rising at Corporate Landing.''

Michael Katsias, a longtime Beach commercial real estate developer, described the new building as ``a much-needed coup'' for the city.

``I don't know if that means other corporate tenants will follow,'' he said. ``But it's definitely good for the city.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

ABOUT THE COMPANY

S3 began as a software and systems firm in 1985 but has evolved

into a staffing source, providing trained high-tech workers for

government and industry.

Map

ANOTHER CORPORATE LANDING

S3 LTD., a Beach-based high-tech company, plans to soon begin

building a 60,000-square-foot or larger, three-story, ``Class A''