ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130021
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
The third time wasn't a charm for the developers of the snakebitten Collegiate Square project Tuesday night.
The Blacksburg Town Council turned down a bid by the Brantner Limited Partnership to ensure it could develop a hotel beside heavily traveled Prices Fork Road on the edge of the Virginia Tech campus and downtown.
The proposal marked the third time Collegiate Square had come up for a Town Council vote since 1992. Council rejected it solidly 7 to 0 Tuesday, amid concerns about a lack of parking and a need for more detailed plans. The developers said they'll try again later.
The Collegiate Square Center project brought only one member of the public to speak out - a man representing a nearby church concerned about spillover parking. The plan did, however, prompt intense questioning by Town Council of two men from the Charlottesville-based Great Eastern Management Co., the managing partner for Brantner.
Donald J. Wagner, president, and Richard H. Reiss, corporate counsel, detailed for the Town Council the developer's struggle to land a major tenant for the 3.7-acre, wedge-shaped site at Prices Fork Road and Turner and Gilbert streets. Great Eastern took over the project in late 1993 from a local developer who ran into financial problems.
The partnership has already invested $1.6 million into the project to buy the land and pay engineering fees and other costs. But until it has a guaranteed major tenant, it will have a difficult time obtaining financing to develop the site beyond the installation of a stormwater system and the grading that have already taken place, Wagner said.
Follett's university bookstores, a major chain, was about to bite, but backed out when the Tech-affiliated University Bookstore Volume Two opened nearby in 1995, he said. Another big local retailer expressed interest, but then underwent a change of management and backed out. Last fall, a developer of private student housing gave the site a once-over and asked for changes to the plans, which led to the present amended zoning request, first filed in November. That prospect also backed away.
But then two major hotel chains showed interest.
That's when Great Eastern officials discovered that Blacksburg's pending zoning ordinance overhaul would eliminate the construction of a hotel from what's called a by-right usage for the land. Under the present zoning, Great Eastern could build a hotel on the land. But under the proposed rules - which could come up for a vote by early spring - the developer would need a special-use permit from council, which would require a public hearing and vote.
Without being able to guarantee there will be no costly delays, the developers say they can't reach an agreement with a hotel chain. But without a commitment from a major tenant such as a hotel, they also can't get financing to develop the site.
Mayor Roger Hedgepeth acknowledged that in the interest of fairness there has to be a two-way street between the developer and the town, especially given that Great Eastern inherited some of the problems with the project from the original local developer. But Hedgepeth said the existing zoning, approved by Town Council in October 1994, gives enough leeway to resolve the development dilemma for both sides.
That 1994 plan calls for three buildings, the largest of which would contain more than 80,000 square feet.
Other council members were bothered by the parking situation and by the change from a medium-density mixture of retail and office space, to a high-density hotel and retail mix. Councilman Lewis Barnett called parking a "disaster" in the making. The defeated revision would have limited the development to a maximum of 128 bedrooms, but had only 129 parking spaces. Councilman Ron Rordam was also concerned about a proposed fourth story for the building. The original three-story concept fit the site better, he said.
Councilwoman Joyce Lewis said she would like to see a more definitive plan for the land. After the meeting, Wagner and Reiss said they'll do just that. "We will come back with something more specific and make another request," Reiss said. That way, Town Council will be able to see a more detailed plan for parking at the outset, he added.
Wagner, too, pledged to have the exposed strip of dirt that's now Collegiate Square seeded with grass again this spring. Two previous attempts have not taken, he said.
In turning down the change, council backed up its Planning Commission, which had recommended a "no" vote 8 to 0 last week.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff. color.by CNB