DATE: Wednesday, June 11, 1997              TAG: 9706110410

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   78 lines

NEW LOOK FOR A LANDMARK\ HOTEL NORFOLK TO RECEIVE $10 MILLION FACELIFT AFTER PURCHASE BY INVESTORS

The Hotel Norfolk, originally the acclaimed Golden Triangle Hotel but now an eyesore, has been purchased by a private investment firm that plans a $10 million renovation.

Richmond-based Patrick Investments Corp. hopes to open the hotel's 344 guest rooms and 24,000 square feet of meeting space next March under a franchise agreement with a major, upscale hotel chain.

Remodeling plans include new windows and facade, interior redesign, new mechanical systems and streetscaping. The hotel, which is across from Scope at Brambleton and Monticello avenues, will remain open during the renovation.

In full operation, the hotel will employ 150 with an annual payroll of about $1.5 million.

``We are anxious to see what had clearly been a landmark facility reborn into a new, modern facility,'' said Rod S. Woolard, Norfolk economic development director.

Patrick Investments purchased the hotel, which was built in 1961, for $3.7 million from H. Which Corp. on March 31, according to city records.

It's the latest in a string of private investments in the rebirth of downtown Norfolk: In April, the Hilton Suites Hotel said it was considering a site on Granby Street. Last year, a Connecticut developer said he will build a $22 million residential development between Duke and Boush streets.

But it was the $300 million MacArthur Center, being built by The Taubman Co., that attracted Patrick Investments to downtown Norfolk.

``I am really excited about the MacArthur Center,'' said Catherine Toomey, president of Patrick Investments. ``That was the absolute deciding factor.''

``(MacArthur Center) has certainly lifted the city's visibility to developers,'' said Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim. ``And the fact that the Taubmans have enough confidence to invest $200 million in downtown Norfolk has caused a lot of people to rethink their notions about downtown, and they're voting with their money.''

Woolard said he is often asked whether he thinks MacArthur Center will work, whether it can bring economic prosperity to downtown Norfolk.

``It's already working,'' Woolard said.

Patrick Investments is a family-owned corporation with a successful record in the real estate industry over the last 30 years.

Most recently, the company purchased and renovated a former Howard Johnson hotel in Raleigh, N.C., converted it into a highly successful Holiday Inn, then sold it.

``We generally have one hotel at a time,'' Toomey said. ``We buy and renovate it. When it's up and running very successfully, we move on to something else.''

Patrick Investments applied for a Holiday Inn franchise for the Hotel Norfolk. But the application was denied, Toomey said, because of objections from other Holiday Inn operators in the area.

Patrick is now working with other chains on a franchise agreement.

``We have some other companies that are excited about coming in here,'' Toomey said. ``We expect to have a franchise in place in a couple months.''

While some work has begun, major renovations will begin early this summer.

``This place had become so badly run down,'' Toomey said. ``It's obvious why so many people didn't want it to stay here anymore.''

Before Patrick Investments entered the picture, the hotel property had been eyed for arena development.

``There are other potential development sites for an arena,'' Fraim said.

The purchase and renovation of the Hotel Norfolk helps fulfill the city's need for an additional 800 to 900 downtown hotel rooms.

A consultant recommended two months ago that Norfolk develop a mid-market, full-service hotel to open next summer. Woolard said the Hotel Norfolk fits that bill.

The consultant also recommended a full-service, convention-caliber hotel, which would be satisfied by a Hilton. All that remains of the consultant's recommendations is a mid-price, limited-service hotel.

``We have a definite need for more hotel rooms in the downtown market,'' Woolard said, ``which from time to time has created a handicap in fully using our convention and conference facility.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

STEVE EARLEY/file photo

The once-acclaimed downtown Norfolk hotel has been purchased by an

upscale chain that plans to reopen it next March.

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