THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504210239
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 190 lines
IN THE WORLD OF CORPORATE development, many hands make the deal. But in Hampton, where a string of civic and private projects has helped transform the Peninsula city, one pair of hands stands out: Donald Maxwell's.
In the 20 years that Maxwell has worked for the city's department of development - 17 1/2 years as its director - he has helped land some of Hampton's most prized attractions and development projects. Among them:
The $35 million North American headquarters of Lucas Industries, a British electronics firm lured south from Stamford, Conn., and the largest new firm to locate in Virginia in 1992.
The Hampton Roads Center, a 300-acre, high-tech research and office complex for which he directed property acquisition and the subsequent public improvements.
The $28 million Virginia Air and Space Center, for which Maxwell helped purchase the site and participated in the design of the award-winning building, notable for its gull-wing roofline.
Now the 47-year-old deal maker is heading to Virginia Beach as the resort city's director of economic development, replacing Andrew Burke who resigned last July to become senior vice president of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
Maxwell's arrival in Virginia Beach on May 8 comes at an important period. With the legal wrangling over Lake Gaston's water showing signs of ending and the viability of Oceana Naval Air Station apparently secure, many business leaders believe Virginia Beach is once again poised to surge forward economically. Maxwell is among them.
``The potential for growth in Virginia Beach is tremendous,'' he said. ``I'd like to be a part of that, but I don't want to be a part of the region's growth. I want Virginia Beach to be the leader.''
When he settles into his office at One Columbus Center, an office tower in Pembroke, Maxwell will have plenty of opportunities to put his years of experience to work in areas that so far have stubbornly refused to yield progress.
Chief among them are two projects - one a more immediate concern than the other. The first is Corporate Landing office park off General Booth and Dam Neck roads, which has yet to land its first major client despite repeated city efforts. The other is Burton Station, the sleepy, 175-acre neighborhood off Northampton Boulevard that the city is buying piecemeal despite complex land title problems.
Launched by the Virginia Beach Development Authority in 1988, Corporate Landing was expected to be the agency's next great triumph. The authority - an independent agency whose members are appointed by the City Council - already had built the Lynnhaven, Airport and Little Creek industrial parks and Oceana West Corporate Park, a portion of which was sold to create the hugely successful Lynnhaven Mall.
But Corporate Landing has been a disappointment. In five years, the park has managed to land only one tenant, Al-Anon, a support organization for families and friends of alcoholics that has announced plans to relocate its headquarters here from New York. It will occupy a 5.2-acre parcel in Corporate Landing.
Under the deal, the authority lost two thirds of the money it invested in the small parcel. Altogether, the park measures 337 acres.
Mark R. Wawner, acting director of the department of economic development, said that despite such setbacks, any misgivings about Corporate Landing will disappear when the first big tenant breaks ground.
In the last four years, he said, his department has come close to luring five major corporations to the complex, and a manufacturing concern reportedly has plans for 50 acres of Corporate Landing but cannot move until its union contract expires.
``By their presence alone it will make the park a success,'' Wawner said. ``Without it, we would not be in the ball game.''
Wawner would not say who the client is, saying only that ``it's a major manufacturing company'' that wants to cut its labor costs.
Burton Station, too, shows promise. First on order was acquiring the land, which is adjacent to Norfolk International Airport. About 61 houses sit in the way of the city's plans. The city had planned to buy two dozen homesteads by now, but has only acquired 18 to date.
The neighborhood is so old that many property owners have died and not left behind wills instructing who should inherit the property. That has made it nearly impossible in some cases to figure out who to pay for the land.
On one such lot, nearly 100 people from among three families have legitimate title claims, said Jim Lawson, of the city's real estate office.
The title problems, a current shortage of city water for growth, and the lack of condemnation rights for the development authority probably mean long delays for the industrial park. It is not expected to be on line for at least a decade.
Vice Mayor W.D. ``Will'' Sessoms Jr., who served on the search committee that settled on Maxwell, nevertheless believes Burton Station has tremendous potential because of its proximity to the airport, expressways and rail lines.
``If that isn't a home run on the horizon, I don't know what is,'' Sessoms said. ``A lot of work has gone into that in the last number of years. A number of years ago, people said we would not be able to acquire the land. But we've made progress.''
But prospects for Corporate Landing seem somewhat less assured now that the South eastern Expressway probably will not be built, he said, adding that it's something Maxwell will have to overcome.
``Corporate Landing will continue to be a challenge, but it will be his challenge and his direction from the city manager to make it a success.''
Sessoms said he hopes Maxwell is as much a businessman as a deal maker.
``I'm looking for a person who can close a deal,'' Sessoms said. ``We have a lot of things going on right now. What is reality is when a deal closes and that's what I'm waiting to see.''
For now, Maxwell is mum about which projects are the hot ones, saying only that he wants to meet with each council member individually and to sit down for a long talk with the city's existing economic development staff.
But as any business leader knows, economic development is more than simply wishing it were so.
``There are a lot of factors that just can't be controlled,'' he said. ``But there are a lot that can be, and one is land, having enough of it and having the proper controls placed upon it, having a good labor force, good education, and a vision about what to do with the land.
``Once you have that, you have to prepare the land to attract the market you want. That's a big key. We have to pinpoint the market we want and then have the resources to accomplish it.''
Lake Gaston, he admits, has been a major stumbling block.
``I think it's had a negative impact,'' Maxwell said. ``When you have a prospective company looking to come here, it's got to feel comfortable. It has got to be a low risk. If there is uncertainty about water, then they won't even explore it.''
Maxwell, who has not been fully briefed on the water struggle, said, ``I would love nothing better than to step into the job and find that it has all been changed. Perception is everything in this business. If you don't have a signed agreement, then the cost of doing business becomes more difficult.''
Perhaps nowhere in Virginia was that cost more apparent than the decision announced April 11 by Motorola Corp. to build a $3 billion computer chip plant in Goochland County.
While hundreds of factors came into play in what may be Virginia's mega deal of the decade, water was clearly an issue. The plant will need 3 million to 4 million gallons of water a day when full production is under way, an amount Virginia Beach could not provide.
Still, as the commonwealth's biggest city by population, the opportunities to grow businesses in Virginia Beach remain strong, he added. And while he's not saying which businesses he wants to pursue, Maxwell said there's a need for companies that produce computer components.
``It appears to me there is a big emphasis on the high-tech, clean, white-collar industries,'' he said. ``There is a lack of companies in the area that produce computer circuit boards. We don't have one, so we have to go out and find one.''
Maxwell said he also sees potential in companies working in environmental, insurance, real estate and medical fields.
Not surprisingly, he thinks there is still room for growth in tourism, and credits the city's ongoing efforts to spruce up the resort area through its Atlantic Avenue - and possibly Pacific Avenue - revitalization programs.
``There are still a lot of opportunities for tourism,'' he said. ``You have a destination point for summer, but now want to diversify to year-round programs, to develop themes around the season. What makes Virginia Beach attractive is that it's perceived as a good, wholesome place to go.''
As for the street improvements, Maxwell said simply, ``It's money well spent.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
HIS JOB SEARCH NEVER ENDS
[Color Photo]
Donald Maxwell
Staff photos, including color cover by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
In 20 years in Hampton's department of development, Donald Maxwell
helped land some of the city's prized attractions, including the
gull-winged Air and Space Museum.
When he settles into his office at One Columbus Center on May 8,
Donald Maxwell will have two dominant, stubborn problems to deal
with - the complex title woes of Burton Station off Northampton
Boulevard (above) and the so-far empty promise of Corporate Landing
office park off General Booth and Dam Neck roads (right).
THE PERSONAL SIDE
Marital Status: Married 27 years.
Children: None.
Wife: Virginia Maxwell, an employee of Siemens Automotive in its
computer operations department.
Hometown: Duncannon, Pa.
Hobbies: Jogging, basketball, traveling to New England and
Europe.
Pay: $89,000 base
Perks: Ford Explorer, supplied by the city.
Favorite sports team: The Ohio State University Buckeyes football
team and the Cleveland Indians and Browns.
License plate: ``BUCKEYE''
Schooling: Bachelor's degree in architecture from Ohio State
University, master's degree in urban and regional planning from
Virginia Tech, certificate of advanced studies from Yale
University's School of Organization and Management.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE DONALD MAXWELL VIRGINIA BEACH ECONOMIC DIRECTOR by CNB