
DATE: Monday, August 11, 1997               TAG: 9708110046

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  132 lines

CBN'S DEVELOPER HAS WON PRAISE HASKELL HAS ALREADY BUILT SEVERAL HIGHLY REGARDED RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES.

The Florida company picked to develop, build and initially run Pat Robertson's upscale retirement community has a solid reputation in the industry.

Haskell Community Developers created two similar retirement complexes that are listed among the top 50 nationwide. Its parent company boasts a wide-ranging stable of past and present clients: Disney, AT&T, Mercedes-Benz, Marriott and the federal government.

``Even their competitors said they have character beyond reproach,'' said C.A. Volder III, president of Founders Village Inc.

That Robertson's team picked Haskell - a company completing hundreds of millions of dollars in projects annually - shows his desire to add a top-notch retirement community to his stable of religious holdings.

Viewers of ``The 700 Club'' have expressed tremendous excitement so far, although CBN officials have been quick to say the village won't be an exclusively Christian oasis.

By mid-week, some 6,300 people had called the network to learn more about living in the village. A few callers asked how they could land one of 170 full-time jobs the community is to create.

``We know that there will be a lot of partners of the ministry who want to be here, be active,'' CBN spokeswoman Patty Silverman said. ``We have the advantage of having a national TV audience.''

Founders Village Inc. may be a non-profit affiliate of the Christian Broadcasting Network, but its officials are billing the community as open to all faiths.

Neither hiring decisions nor residential approval is to be based upon an individual's religious background. That's not to say the community will be any different than other ministry efforts or that it will lack spirituality.

``People in the ministry want to retire here,'' explained Volder. ``I don't want to say it's not religious. There's going to be no discrimination as to faith. There will be people who like that it's adjacent to CBN, who want to be here. A majority of residents will be CBN supporters.''

Hampton Roads workers will do a majority of the estimated $60 million in construction on the project, according to Haskell estimates. Many materials are to be purchased locally.

The design comes out of the latest thinking in retirement living, said Michael D. Kelly, president of Haskell Community Developers.

Residents can expect the community to feature comfortable Georgian designs and inviting color schemes that blend in well with existing CBN property.

The community will have a residential feel without sacrificing convenience.

Inside, doors will be wide enough to accommodate convalescent equipment. Floor plans will allow residents to get around easily.

The health center won't be designed with long, institutional hallways, framed by room after room after room, Kelly said. It will have a homey feel.

``These communities are hard to do,'' he said. ``We don't do a lot of these. We just try to do a few of them well.''

Once construction concludes, Haskell will focus on hiring and setting policies in four main areas: housing, hospitality, health care and finances.

Distribution centers, office buildings, shopping centers, hotels and government facilities all bear Haskell fingerprints. So do three major retirement communities.

Two of them - Fleet Landing in Florida and Falcons Landing in northern Virginia - were recognized as among the nation's best in a book published three years ago that rated retirement complexes.

The Florida development has a nautical theme. The Sterling, Va., campus, home to retired government officials and military officers, embraces a more formal atmosphere.

As is so often the case in the development industry, Haskell has received more than praise for its work. It has been sued, mostly over payment issues.

Among complaints that have drawn the most attention: lawsuits in previous years by Disney as well as by Jacksonville builders involved in construction of that city's new football stadium.

The Disney case in 1992 and the stadium issue more recently ended in out-of-court settlements, company officials said. In the stadium cases, some of the subcontractors that sued Haskell have remained business partners.

During the bidding process in Virginia Beach, Founders Village officials looked into the competitors' backgrounds.

``We found that (Haskell) had minimal lawsuits throughout their years, based on the size of business they do,'' Volder said.

Industry auditors don't consider Haskell's legal action particularly noteworthy.

Haskell is sensitive to the religion issue.

Involvement with CBN won't be discouraged among residents. It just won't be written into the community's policies.

``Individuals will be able to choose for themselves what level of involvement they'll have with CBN,'' Kelly said. ``It will be a spiritual community. Christians, Jews, Muslims - it doesn't really matter to the community.''

Volder said it is realistic to expect an affiliate of Robertson's media, religious and political organizations to successfully run a community based largely upon health care.

He said Robertson has long wanted to build and run a retirement community in much the same way he has built his other projects.

Just as television professionals run CBN and hotel people run Founders Inn and Conference Center, he said, professionals will run the village.

And the ministry's workers won't conduct door-to-door recruitment.

``It's open,'' Volder said. ``Like Founders Inn, it will be open to the public and open in employment. We're positive Founders Village will be among the tops in the country.'' ILLUSTRATION: VP MAP

INSIDE FOUNDERS VILLAGE

What: Founders Village is a planned upscale retirement community

affiliated with The Christian Broadcasting Network. It's slated to

be built off Centerville Turnpike in Virginia Beach and will feature

apartments, duplexes and single-family homes. Thirty beds will be

dedicated to assisted living, and 60 beds will be dedicated to

skilled nursing. There also will be a special dementia unit.

Cost: It has been billed as a $100 million development that will

add at least $500,000 to the Beach's annual tax rolls. Units are

expected to cost between $90,000 and $240,000.

What people will get: Residents will receive 30 meals per month,

security, utilities, cable TV, maintenance and groundskeeping,