THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160267
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 65 lines
A group of Hampton Roads businessmen wants to revive Hillpoint Farms, a classy development touted in the 1980s as part of ``Hollywood East.''
Although a movie studio and two office buildings were erected on the 982 acres off Virginia Route 10 north of downtown, most of the land has stood vacant since financial problems delayed the project.
Meanwhile, residential and commercial development has taken place nearby. Hillpoint M.O., Ltd., P&J Associates and Hawks Nest Golf Development Co., owners of portions of the property, want to begin developing the site with homes and a golf course.
The owners, who include lawyers and business owners from throughout Hampton Roads, want to amend the master plan to move the 18-hole golf course to the north end of the site and to reduce residential lots from 2,448 to 2,052. A plan approved by the city in the 1980s had the golf course running throughout residential areas.
The proposed consolidation will ``make it a much nicer course,'' said Jerry Bowman, a Chesapeake lawyer representing some of the owners. ``This way, the golf course won't be going into people's houses and yards.'' And having fewer residential units will make a nicer community, he said.
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on theproposed changes today at 2 p.m. in the City Council chambers of City Hall.
The amended request would take 6 1/2 years to be developed, about three years less than development under the original zoning would have taken, planning records show. The average cost of homes is projected at $130,000, about $20,000 more than homes under existing zoning.
Bowman said the developers, who together own about 320 acres of Hillpoint Farms, purchased the property in the late 1980s from Ocean Holdings, Inc., a Virginia Beach company owned by Richard and Albert Marten. They built the movie studio, which produced ``Navy SEALs,'' starring Charlie Sheen. The Martens filed for bankruptcy in 1991.
In 1994, the City Council voted to allow staffers to work with the property's owners on an agreement to develop the land.
Earlier this year, the City Council deferred action on the property to give its owners a chance to reach agreement on improvements the city required.
``This goes back for years,'' Planning Director Paul E. Fisher said. ``The bottom line is that the original Hillpoint developers went bankrupt, and various people have bought different parts of the property. . . . We've been trying to meet with as many as we can to make sure they understand the agreement.''
The city wants the developers to pay for building a road into the development and maintaining it. The developers are also responsible for paying to extend water and sewerage lines to the site, Fisher said.
Since the Martens filed for bankruptcy, the city has been paying interest on the cost of a sewer line that the Hampton Roads Sanitation District extended to the site several years ago. The city wants to make sure it is reimbursed for interest that it is currently paying, Fisher said.
If the council approves the amended master plan, Bowman said, owners will begin work on a preliminary plan. ``We could begin construction by next spring,'' Bowman said. ILLUSTRATION: VP Map
Area Shown: Hillpoint Farms
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK DEVELOPMENT by CNB