THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994 TAG: 9406090499
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN AND JEFF HOOTEN, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: 940609 LENGTH: CHESAPEAKE
Now the project is looking for a new home. In Chesapeake.
{REST} The community, a subsidiary of CBN called Founders Village, would be built on CBN-owned land behind Greenbrier Mall, according to plans submitted to the city in May.
Chesapeake council members are intrigued and ready to barter. But in exchange for allowing a real estate tax exemption worth hundreds of thousands, they want CBN to build a cultural attraction - such as a theme park or theater.
``The city needs in return something it can generate revenue from,'' Mayor William E. Ward said. ``I see an opportunity to bring a cultural center to the city.''
Ward said he discussed that point with Robertson when the two men met in January for ``preliminary discussion'' on the project. No promises were made.
For years, city leaders have longed for something, anything, to bring people to Chesapeake. They have tossed around ideas for a convention center, a fine arts complex, an amphitheater and a NASCAR race track. Nothing got off the drawing board.
City leaders hope the latest proposal will be a ticket to fulfilling their dream for an attraction that distinguishes the city.
Councilman Peter P. Duda, a television producer at CBN, said Robertson has long thought about building a theme park similar to Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.
``The concept of a theme park in Chesapeake is a great idea,'' Councilman Arthur L. Dwyer said. ``The main hurdle you'd have to jump over is traffic access.''
Founders Village Inc. wants to build the retirement center on a 36-acre portion of a 237-acre tract CBN owns in Chesapeake between Greenbrier and the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake city line.
Over the past few months, Founders Village officials have met privately with council members to show them plans and discuss the possibility of a tax exemption.
The village would be mainly for the wealthy: Robertson's advertisements bill it as ``one of the most advanced senior living communities in America,'' offering housing, ministry and long-term health care for senior citizens who can pay $95,000 to $490,000. Monthly fees are expected to range from $1,070 to $4,200.
In December, the Virginia Beach City Council turned down a $727,000 real estate tax exemption for the $63.7 million retirement mecca, proposed near the Mount Trashmore II landfill. In a tie vote, council members questioned giving a tax break to a retirement home that didn't serve the poor.
Founders Village has already been given a federal tax exemption as a nonprofit organization. Under the state code, religious and charitable organizations can be given local tax breaks, with General Assembly approval.
The Chesapeake proposal doesn't state the retirement community's total value. But if Founders Village is worth about $63.7 million - the estimated value in Virginia Beach - the tax exemption would be about $825,000 a year, according to Chesapeake Real Estate Assessor Laurence Street.
CBN pays $1,192 a year in real estate taxes on the entire 237-acre site - assessed at $4.7 million - because the land falls under a tax break program intended to preserve agriculture and open space.
Chesapeake does not have any private retirement homes that are tax-exempt, Street said.
Hearings before the Planning Commission and the City Council to rezone the proposed site are not expected to happen before July.
According to the plans, Founders Village is envisioned as a Georgian-style red brick community with 753 living units, a day-care facility for up to 30 children, a physical therapy center, a geriatrics clinic and other health clinics. The facility would employ about 190 people.
State Sen. Mark Earley said a tax-exempt retirement home could bring major benefits to Chesapeake, even if a cultural attraction were not built. Wealthy retirees will invest and spend throughout Chesapeake, Earley said.
by CNB