
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994                    TAG: 9406220498 
SECTION: BUSINESS                     PAGE: D3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: By MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940622                                 LENGTH: Medium

GOODMAN SEGAR DEAL CREATES MAJOR REALTY FIRM IN VA.

{LEAD} Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler, a commercial real estate giant in Hampton Roads, announced Tuesday a merger with a Richmond company that would create one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the state by the end of summer.

The acquisition of Virginia Realty and Development Co., a 24-year-old firm, will form a company with 15.5 million square feet of commercial property under leasing or management in the Southeast. The deal will significantly strengthen Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler's foothold in Richmond, something lacking from its extensive regional portfolio.

{REST} ``It'll definitely give Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler a nice presence up there,'' said Paul Peck, vice president at Harbor Group Real Estate.

Experts in the real estate industry, in both Hampton Roads and Richmond, were impressed with the magnitude of the deal.

Ralph Spencer, an executive vice president with the commercial real estate firm Harrison & Bates, called Virginia Realty a ``substantial player'' in the Richmond market and nearby areas. Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler is ``committedto growth,'' and acquisition is the fastest way to do it, he said.

``What it really demonstrates is that the markets are getting better and brokers tend to expand in improving markets,'' Spencer said. ``The alignment of Tidewater-Richmond is part of the megalopolis, the golden crescent,'' a huge commercial market forming an arc from Hampton Roads to Washington to Baltimore.

A letter of intent to consummate the deal has been signed, said D. Richard Felker II, managing director of Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler.

Details, such as the name of the new company and any stock exchange, are still being hammered out. Discussion between Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler and Virginia Realty began this spring.

``We've very excited about the opportunities,'' Felker said. ``We had the desire to have a large presence in Richmond.''

``This transaction will provide clients the opportunity to receive top-notch real estate service anywhere within the state and through the Southeast region,'' said Daniel A. Hoffler, a director at GSHH and chairman of Armada/Hoffler Holding Co.

Founded by Jim Ambler Jr. in 1970, Virginia Realty now has 70 employees with full-service leasing, management and tenant buildings.

A new senior management structure for the company was announced Tuesday along with news of the deal.

Ambler will join the board of directors of Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler. Felker, now managing director of GSHH, will become the company's chief executive officer.

Based in Norfolk, Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler has 120 employees and includes property in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. It was formed in 1993 as a merger between Goodman Segar Hogan, a Norfolk real estate company controlled by Richmond's Dominion Resources Inc., and Armada/Hoffler Holding Co. of Chesapeake. by CNB