THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150382
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
More than 10 years after it was heralded as ``the crown jewel'' of downtown Portsmouth, a grand-opening ceremony Tuesday marked the reincarnation of a luxury condominium and townhouse development that languished half-finished on the waterfront until a few months ago.
Once known as Kings Crossing, the 1.8-acre project has been renamed Admiral's Landing.
``During the nine years I have been mayor, I must have said a thousand times how proud and happy I was to see a building open,'' Mayor Gloria O. Webb said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. ``Never, ever have I meant the words more than I mean them today.''
The project has ``haunted this city'' for a decade, she added.
``Today it finally opens in grand style, a first-class development in a world-class city.''
The condos, in an eight-story building along the Seawall, sell from $109,000 to $329,000.
More than half the 61 units, all with water views, already are under contract, and some residents will start to move in around June 15, said Joel Gamel, president of First Equitable Realty Corp. of Miami, the developer.
``We expect to sell them all by Sunday,'' Gamel said. ``We've sold more than half without advertising, and we're doing a media blitz for the weekend.''
Gamel said the buyers are from all over the region - five from Norfolk, four from Virginia Beach, several from Chesapeake and Portsmouth - plus several from out of state.
The project, much-heralded a decade ago, has been beleaguered almost from the beginning, plagued by the bankruptcy of the original developer, Master Development Corp.; the demise of its parent company, Norfolk's Home Savings and Loan; and the seizure of the property by the federal Resolution Trust Corp. In 1993, the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority bought the property - assessed then at $6.8 million - from RTC for about $2 million and last January began the sale of the site to First Equitable for $1.5 million. The deal was finalized this year. PRHA retained ownership of the commercial space.
First Equitable specializes in buying and turning a profit on troubled properties.
``We've been developing for 25 years,'' said Gamel. ``This is the finest one we've ever done.''
The project has been a headache for the city ever since Masters Development of Norfolk was chosen as the developer for the 1.8-acre waterfront site. The company missed the original closing date on the property in March 1986 and by September had missed two other closing dates before getting an extension to May 1987 to close a deal on the land and begin construction.
Meanwhile, the developer was struggling with the Olde Towne Civic League and others who did not like the building's design.
The developer's delay became so serious that then-City Manager George Hanbury threatened to scuttle the deal and offer the site to others who had made earlier proposals, including two with convention hotels.
But the city didn't follow through on the threat and continued to struggle with the local developers.
The project was named Kings Crossing and ground was broken in 1987, but little happened after the ceremony. Some pilings were driven and a metal fence was erected around the site bordering the Seawall.
The site became an eyesore, smudging downtown's image and hampering other nearby developments.
Home Savings and Loan, parent of the now bankrupt Masters Development, bought Kings Crossing at foreclosure in 1991. Home S&L proceeded with construction, but a year later the thrift was seized by the federal Resolution Trust Corp., bringing construction to a stop.
From 1992 until recently, the half-finished structure has been a sore subject in Portsmouth. Now, the completed building is winning accolades.
Barbara Barnes, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent and Chesapeake resident, called the building ``first class.''
``The marble floors and the plush, plush carpets in the lobby really set it off,'' she told Gamel. ``It's just first class.''
The condo complex also includes five townhouses and about 14,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level. Residents of the condos will have access to a swimming pool, tennis courts, a health club, billiards and card room, and underground parking. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
A crowd gathers Tuesday at the opening ceremony for Admiral's
Landing, a Portsmouth condo complex. The development is being
heralded as ``the crown jewel'' of the city's downtown.
Photo
RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot
Admiral's Landing, formerly known as Kings Crossing, had its grand
opening Tuesday. Developer Joel Gamel expects all of the luxury
condos, priced from $109,000 to $329,000, in the Portsmouth
development to sell by Sunday.
Graphic
FROM KINGS CROSSING TO ADMIRAL'S LANDING
1987: Work crews break ground on the Kings Crossing condominium
complex, but the Norfolk developers go bankrupt.
1992: The Resolution Trust Corp. takes the building during the
savings and loan crisis.
1993: The Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority buys the
building.
1995: First Equitable Realty of Miami signs a letter of intent to
purchase the property and begin lining up contractors.
1996: First Equitable finishes its purchase and opens the
condominiums. The company expects all 61 untis to be sold by
Sunday.
by CNB