DATE: Monday, August 18, 1997               TAG: 9708160010

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B12  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

FOUNDERS VILLAGE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

In a city looking to lure more retirees while broadening its tax base, Pat Robertson's proposed Founders Village looks like a perfect fit.

Therefore, shouldn't Virginia Beach invest $750,000 in infrastructure to ensure that the project goes forward, as the city might for a manufacturing plant? If the project matches city goals, as this one does, if the failure to invest would risk its going elsewhere and if the prospect of payback is reasonably certain, why not?

Founders Village appears to meet those criteria, but questions remain. Four years ago City Council nixed plans for a proposed retirement community associated with Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network because it was to be tax-exempt. City officials estimated that the exemption would cost the city $800,000 a year in lost taxes.

When Robertson announced plans for the $100 million Founders Village earlier this month, he unveiled a proposal without the tax-exempt status.

As envisioned, Founders Village will feature apartments, duplexes and single-family homes and many amenities. The price tag will be hefty: Units are expected to cost between $90,000 and $240,000. In addition, residents will have to pay $1,400 to $2,500 in monthly maintenance fees.

Though Pat Robertson has often generated controversy, his enterprises generally have been well-managed. There's no reason to suppose Founders Village will be different. City officials say they expect the retirement community to pay back the city's investment in just over a year and thereafter to generate $500,000 a year in taxes and provide 170 jobs.

What's not to like? Well, several things. While Founders Village will be open to seniors of all races and creeds, it would be reasonable to assume that it will draw heavily from supporters of CBN and like-minded folk. That raises the question of city funds supporting a quasi-sectarian enterprise.

This is the first use of development funds intended to lure businesses in order to attract a residential community. If Pat Robertson's Village qualifies, why not other developers seeking to build housing? Are there objective criteria that explain which such projects the city will help?

The need is there. City Council's Senior Housing Committee recommended encouraging developers to build retirement complexes aimed at a variety of income levels.

Founders Village's up-scale nature will do little to address the needs of low-and moderate-income retirees, but several other developers have begun projects targeting those of more modest means. Do they deserve similar support from the city? Why not?

Finally, development money is supposed to be used to attract employers offering high-paying jobs - 80 percent of them averaging at least $35,000. But Village jobs will only average $21,000. That's not a step in the right direction.

Founders Village, together with less-expensive retirement communities, can help make the resort city an enticing place to retire. But the case for using tax dollars for such a development has not been made.

Instead, the city has unveiled a done deal that bends existing guidelines. Before going forward, more public debate is needed. If Founders Village is an exception to the rules, the city should explain why the exception has been made. If it is a rewriting of the rules, taxpayers deserve an explanation of what projects will now qualify for city assistance.

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