THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 1997 TAG: 9701210198
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 56 lines
The developer of Harbour View, a massive neighborhood in northern Suffolk, wants to build a hotel and shopping center at the first Interstate 664 interchange south of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge.
The center and the hotel, which would be separate, would be on 30 acres at College Drive and Town Point Road, in an area that Hampton Roads planners have identified as being ripe for commercial growth.
Robert T. Williams, executive vice president of the Jorman Group, general managing partner of Harbour View Partners, declined Monday to name the hotel chain with which he is working. But he said he has preliminary agreements - contingent upon rezoning approval - for the hotel, a chain grocery store and a restaurant.
The hotel would not be a budget inn, he said.
The site, west of College Drive, is part of 90 acres previously designated for heavy manufacturing. City Planning Department staff has recommended rezoning to general business use.
The Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on the rezoning request today at 2 p.m. in council chambers of Suffolk City Hall, 441 Market St.
Williams said studies show that two motels in the nearby Churchland section of Portsmouth stay full. The proposed hotel would be convenient for visitors to the military's Joint Training Analysis and Simulation Center, the FAG bearing facility and other nearby commercial ventures. ``The demand has now surfaced for this hotel,'' Williams said Monday. He said it also would appeal to to Northern travelers bound for Southern resorts such as Nags Head and Myrtle Beach.
Williams proposes a strip shopping center of 80,000 to 100,000 square feet - about the same size as Great Bridge Shopping Center and Indian River Shopping Center, both in Chesapeake. It would have independent fast food outlets.
Williams said the center would accommodate a large grocery store, a pharmacy, a major retailer and several small shops.
Within a year, Williams said, there likely would be a second hotel, and still more room for future expansion. The site is cleared.
The hotel and shopping center are expected to be the start of something even bigger. ``This would really be a convenience for what we're looking at across the street, on the other side of the interstate,'' Williams said. ``We're working on a major retail development there.''
The developers are offering a 30-foot easement along College Drive for this first phase of retail services in Harbour View. They also said there will be no curb cuts on College Drive other than the main entrance to the center.
The Planning Commission is an advisory body to the City Council, which has final say on zoning matters. The council also will hold a public hearing before its vote. ILLUSTRATION: Map
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