THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150313
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
The Walt Disney Co. is keeping alive its contract to purchase more than 2,000 acres near Haymarket, Va., officials of the company that owns land once slated for a Disney theme park said Monday.
Officials of Friendswood Development Co., the Exxon Corp. real estate arm that owns 2,070 of Disney's 3,000-acre assemblage in Prince William County, said Disney remains engaged in a complex, multi-stage contract to buy the property and has continued to put money down on the site in order to keep that option open.
Friendswood President John E. Walsh would not discuss specifics, how much Disney had paid or when the contract would expire.
He said simply that Disney ``has made a decision not to develop the property for a theme park, but they haven't made a decision yet to buy the property. That's, I guess, the bottom line.''
Walsh added, ``There is a period of time when (both) parties have some flexibility to act or not act.''
Speculation about Disney's plans in Haymarket and elsewhere continues to swirl.
Disney's America spokeswoman Claudia Peters said the company is still ``regrouping and refocusing.'' She said the company would not comment on its dealings with Friendswood or on relocation of the project, except to say it remains committed to Virginia but is not actively looking for an alternate site.
Still, communities throughout the Eastern Seaboard have figured in speculation about where Disney could build the $650 million project.
On Friday, for instance, a Winchester, Va., newspaper reported that 21 landowners had written Disney saying they would like to sell it 1,500 acres at Interstates 66 and 81 near Front Royal.
Earlier solicitations have come from Maryland, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas and public officials, including a Virginia congressman and neighboring governors.
``We're not confirming or contradicting those kinds of proposals that have come in to us,'' Peters said. ``It's just too early to know what our search criteria would be.''
Currently, Friendswood has zoning rights on its Haymarket property to build up to 2,700 homes and a community retail center.
On the balance of its 3,000-acre site, Disney has negotiated options and owns several hundred acres outright.
Several real estate professionals said the bigger the assemblage of land at I-66 and U.S. 15, the more attractive the already promising site will be for major housing and retail development.
Meanwhile in central Florida, Disney reportedly is planning a $2 billion expansion. The project, according to the Associated Press, would include hotels, an animal theme park and a cruise ship operation. It would open in 1999.
KEYWORDS: DISNEY AMERICA VIRGINIA by CNB