THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 18, 1995 TAG: 9510180366
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Several years after beginning a search, the City Council tentatively settled Tuesday on a new site for the city's Social Services and Health departments.
The decision was reached in an informal work session and will not be finalized until contract negotiations are completed in 30 to 60 days.
The new five-story building would be located on Rosemont Road near the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway. Both departments are operating from a building on Virginia Beach Boulevard that is too small and not worth renovating, according to city staff.
A proposal to move the departments to Independence Boulevard was rejected by the council in September because of opposition from residents in the nearby Larkspur neighborhood. The new building - to be built, owned and operated by the Runnymede Corporation - will be located in an office park at the corner of Rosemont Road and Sentara Way. The city will lease the building for 20 years at a total cost of just under $20 million.
The city did not want to buy the building, because more federal and state money is available to the departments if they rent rather than own their own space. Louis R. Jones said he was concerned about the decision to rent. W.W. Harrison Jr. questioned the financing on the deal.
The city council also will consider whether to locate a homeless shelter and a detoxification center on the site. Michael J. Barrett, chief executive officer of Runnymede, said he expects the building will be ready in the spring or summer of 1997. The site is served by TRT bus Route 29 and was the cheapest and would be the most quickly built of the options considered, according to the city staff. by CNB