THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610190459
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 163 lines
You would never know who Dickie Foster is by driving through Virginia Beach along the Norfolk-Virginia Beach Expressway.
But venture farther south and you'll spot his trademark seagull, the symbol of Baymark Construction Co., on a swift succession of residential development entrances.
Pine Meadows. Park Place. Hillcrest Farms. Holland Pines. Bentley Gate. Buckner Farm. Indian River Plantation. Castleton at London Bridge.
Those are just Baymark's residential communities, dotting the landscape in the southern half of Virginia Beach. Foster's company also has built houses in other communities throughout Virginia Beach, such as Ocean Park and Red Wing.
When asked if he's the biggest developer in Virginia Beach, he declines to answer. He just smiles.
Richard S. Foster III and his company, Baymark Construction Corp., created headlines two weeks ago when he took an option to buy nearly 2,000 acres owned by Brown & Root Inc. around Cape Charles on Virginia's lower Eastern Shore. The news generated tremendous interest in the Chesapeake Bay village and raised residents' hopes that something would finally happen with the Brown & Root property that laid fallow for 22 years. But it also piqued curiosity about the man and the company that may act as a catalyst to the town's revival.
If Cape Charles residents look closely enough, they'll find what they want to know about Foster-built developments in his hometown, where he lives and does business.
Foster, 53, insists upon being called ``Dickie.'' At 5'10'' with steady blue eyes and sandy hair, he has no problem talking to strangers or sharing his many opinions. He is an affable, energetic man with a pleasant, open face and a straightforward manner.
On an aerial photo, he points out where Route 184, the solitary road leading into Cape Charles, will diverge and feed cars toward the Sustainable Technologies Industrial Park, an industrial park for ecologically sensitive businesses. His finger traces another imaginary road that will lead throngs to his community. His enthusiasm is infectious.
``If you need to get around town with only a car, that's no town,'' he said, after outlining his plans for a pedestrian bridge to link Cape Charles and the Little League baseball field over ``the hump,'' an overpass above the railroad tracks. Golf carts and walking trails also drift into his conversation.
Although Foster insists that the purchase of the Brown & Root property ``is not a done deal,'' he's been meeting with people as if he already belongs to the community. The deal is scheduled to close around April.
Foster won't say how much he paid for the property, except that it's a multimillion dollar deal. Brown & Root zoned the tract for up to 3,000 housing units, a marina and two golf courses. Foster plans to build two golf courses designed by companies affiliated with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. He also wants to build a retirement community and vacation or ``second'' homes.
Invitations to local events, faxes, phone messages from people who want to help him or just thank him for his participation have flooded his office since he announced on Oct. 9 that Baymark was taking over. Last week, he met with the Northampton County Administrator, Cape Charles shop owners, a few City Council members, Brown & Root representatives, Cape Charles residents, the Nature Conservancy, Eastern Shore Railroad and the golfing community.
``Cape Charles is a leap for me,'' Foster admits. He's never strayed far from the city he calls home, which he defends loyally but criticizes like any long-time native. He grew up in a much more rural Princess Anne County before it became the most populous city in the state.
``That's been his niche,'' said Vincent Napolitano, president of Napolitano Homes who has built alongside Baymark. ``He's zeroed in on Virginia Beach. He knows the politics of it. Whereas a lot of people have left Virginia Beach to go to Chesapeake and Suffolk (to build), he's hung in there. I guess it's paid off for him.''
Foster's project are expansive. Some hold up to 1,400 units of housing.
Among his most ambitious is a retirement community named Coastal Green, below the city's ``Green Line,'' an imaginary boundary below which the city said it will not extend public water or sewer. The project calls for up to 900 units.
Political opposition could kill the project. It lies in an area south of Princess Anne Road set aside to preserve the rural nature of the southern half of the city.
That rebuff has dampened Foster's enthusiasm mildly for the city.
Coastal Green is controversial ``because it's not in compliance with our comprehensive plan and our growth management,'' said Councilwoman Barbara M. Henley. Allowing Coastal Green to develop would mean changing the city's strategic growth plan, she said. More importantly, she has said in the past that Coastal Green would derail the Agricultural Reserve Program, a farmland preservation plan meant to slow development in the city's southern half.
Foster staunchly defends it. Homes are already planned for construction below the Green Line, he said. The city's proposed developments on Seaboard Road and in Lake Ridge protrude south of Princess Anne Road. So does Courthouse Estates, one of Baymark's other developments.
``They haven't talked about the need,'' he said about resistance to his idea among City Council members. ``There's quality of life issues for the adult population that's not being addressed.''
He contrasts the tale of Virginia Beach, which abhors growth and development, with Cape Charles, which needs some development to sustain the town and jump-start its economy, he said.
``The other side of the equation is Cape Charles,'' he said. ``We've got to have some kind of growth because we won't exist anymore.''
Foster can hardly contain his excitement over Cape Charles. He envisions communities where neighbors know each other and where walking reins supreme. It's Small Town, U.S.A. He has his own ideas of what he wants to do but he invites participation and input from others, particularly those living in Cape Charles.
``Believe it or not, I want their permission and I want their approval,'' he said.
``I make no presumption to know what (Cape Charles residents) want.''
Foster got his start in construction as a laborer for Tidewater Construction Corp. Employed by Tidewater for 18 years, he worked his way up to a position as a project manager. He left in 1979-80 to start his own company, Baymark Construction Corp. It was incorporated on July 17, 1980.
He ran into trouble shortly after opening.
Foster got involved with Henry L. Overstreet, who became his partner in various other spin-off companies under similar names. Overstreet started Baymark Realty, the sole listing agency for the Foster-built houses. Then came Baymark Mechanical, Baymark Development Corp., Baymark Insurance.
Foster was the largest stockholder, but he never owned a controlling majority of any one company, except Baymark Construction, which he had started with partner Paul Warner.
Foster parted company with Overstreet around 1982-83. Overstreet formed the Baymark Cos. as a holding company over Baymark Builders and other subsidiaries. He began developing marinas and condominiums. By 1984, Baymark Cos. had lost most of its Norfolk real-estate holdings for failing to pay off millions in construction loans. It went bankrupt.
Baymark Construction Corp. emerged from the confusion very much in tact.
Foster was able to distance himself from his former partner and got back on track with what he knew best - building.
Baymark began work in 1986 on Pine Meadows, the first community it developed. It was the first time the company landscaped a community, planned its streets, put in sewage, utility and water lines. Residential development and home construction became the company's primary line of work.
Hampton Roads builders, developers and residents give Baymark pretty high marks. Many describe Baymark as a ``quality outfit.'' Houses in Foster's developments range from $100,000 to more than $200,000. The styles vary from two-story houses with covered porches to one-story houses with a stoop.
Baymark has won many awards, including the 1995 Outstanding Residential Development Award from the Virginia Beach Planning Commission. It has reduced the density of most of its developments, which means more space for landscaping, lawns and trees. Foster is well-known for transplanting mature trees instead of saplings, attractive entrances and an affordable range of houses.
``He's unusual,'' said Councilwoman Reba McClanan. ``He always wants to do more than what's required. Instead of meeting the minimum, he goes beyond that.''
Foster pushed for trees between the sidewalk and curb when it wasn't allowed. He wanted curving sidewalks. He preferred landscaped street medians and brick entrance signs. And he fought the city to accept his way of doing things.
He takes great pride in North Landing Elementary School, adjacent to Courthouse Estates. He landscaped the school's property, at his own expense, put in drainage canals, lakes, fences and walkways to allow neighborhood kids a place to cross from their houses to the school.
``I can almost guarantee that Dickie Foster will give them a product on the Eastern Shore that will be affordable and will be the new benchmark for development on the Eastern Shore,'' said Robert K. Dean, a former City Council member.
``I know he won't just go over there. He'll meet with people on the board of supervisors. He'll make concessions. He's not that pompous and arrogant,'' Dean said. ``Dickie knows the right way to do things.''
Foster enjoys such praise.
``Judge me by my conduct,'' he says repeatedly, ``not by my occupation.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE PROJECT
JOHN EARLE/The Virginian-Pilot
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] by CNB