THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412090638
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
The City Council is expected to purchase the failed Lake Ridge development next week for less than it fetched at a bankruptcy sale last year.
The council's agenda for next week, which was made public Thursday, indicates the city will offer $9.5 million for the 1,192-acre parcel that backs onto the Municipal Center. NationsBank paid $10 million last year for the land which the city assessor now values at $21 million.
The council has not decided precisely how it will use the property, once owned by some of the city's highest-profile developers. Likely options include an amphitheater, three schools, soccer fields, offices, light industrial development and possibly golf courses, several council members said.
Proper uses for Lake Ridge have been debated since a group led by developer R.G. Moore amassed the acreage between 1984 and 1987. Moore and his partners intended to build a planned community, complete with subdivisions, a hospital, a shopping mall, an office park, hotels and a golf course.
Council has been talking about buying the property since its plans to put the proposed amphitheater in nearby Princess Anne Commons were scuttled this fall.
When the city was outbid for that property by a bank, the council began looking for other sites for the amphitheater, several members said.
They decided to buy Lake Ridge when they realized how low the price had dropped, several members said Thursday. Just two years ago, the parcel was assessed at $44.5 million.
``We cannot let this opportunity pass us by,'' Vice Mayor W.D. Sessoms Jr. said Thursday evening. ``I think we'd really regret it down the road.''
Councilman Louis R. Jones noted that he had bought property near the site in 1978 for $10,000 an acre, $2,000 more per acre than the city is offering for Lake Ridge.
But not everyone thinks the deal is a good one.
Councilman John D. Moss, who last month made public the secret council negotiations said the city could use the $9.5 million to avoid a promised tax increase next spring.
The cheapest way council could create opportunity at Lake Ridge, Moss said, would be for it to remove the zoning restrictions that are artificially lowering the land's value.
``As long as the council is not willing to release the proffers on the property,'' he said, ``that property is going to remain vacant.''
Councilman Robert K. Dean, who also opposes the purchase, said it is irresponsible for the council to buy property for which it has no immediate need.
``If this is such a wonderful deal, why hasn't somebody else stepped up to the plate and tried to take a swing at the ball,'' Dean said, referring to the apparent absence of offers from the private sector to purchase the land.
Other council members say they have no intention of keeping all of Lake Ridge off the tax rolls forever.
The council will likely sell part of the property back to the private sector once a public planning process has determined how the land would best be used, Councilwoman Barbara M. Henley said.
``I want it to go back to the tax rolls, but back with the uses we have planned and we have determined to be in the best interest of the city,'' Henley said.
Building the roads, schools, water and sewer systems for the development that had been planned for Lake Ridge would have cost the city more than the $9.5 million, Councilman Louis R. Jones said.
Buying Lake Ridge will also save the city money in school acquisition costs, several council members said. The school district recently has paid as much as $65,000 per acre - eight times what land at Lake Ridge will cost, they said.
And the city will also be spared the expense of buying rights of way through Lake Ridge for the proposed Southeastern Expressway, should that project ever be built, according to several council members.
A one-page financial summary sent to council members this week indicates that most of the money to buy Lake Ridge will be diverted from other capital projects that have either been delayed or for which there is no immediate need.
Some of the funding sources outlined in that summary:
$1.6 million will be taken from a fund set aside for purchasing Southeastern Expressway right of way.
$1.6 million will be diverted from next year's pot in the Outdoor Plan Initiative Reserve because park land will be part of the plans for Lake Ridge.
$1 million will be taken from the general fund balance.
$500,000 will be contributed from money reserved for building the proposed amphitheater.
$340,000 was freed when the state racing commission decided not to locate a horse track in Virginia Beach.
And $2.1 million is available because of a delay in renovations to the Social Services building.
Like most of the other council members who support the Lake Ridge purchase, Linwood O. Branch III, said the land gives the council an opportunity to create a new vision for the Beach.
``We want to be known as a vibrant recreational city,'' said Branch, an Oceanfront hotel owner. ``With the amphitheater and the park expansion and the possibilities of golf and bike trails, this fits perfectly into the type of city that we want to be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Map
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WHAT'S IT WORTH?
The 1,192-acre Lake Ridge tract, for which Virginia Beach is
preparing to offer $9.5 million, is now appraised at $21 million.
Its value has varied widely, depending on who was asked and when:
$44.5 million - Virginia Beach assessor in 1992.
$38.5 million - Virginia Beach assessor in early 1993.
$38 million to $40 million - R.G. Moore, a former owner.
$35.7 million to $41.7 million - Nancy Creech, a former owner.
$21 million - Virginia Beach assessor in late 1993.
$11 million - A Swiss development group in August, 1993.
$10.5 million - NationsBank appraiser in August, 1993.
$10 million to $15 million - Edward S. Garcia a former owner.
$10 million - The price it fetched at an auction in April.
by CNB