DATE: Wednesday, August 20, 1997            TAG: 9708200420

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN MURPHY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   76 lines

RETIREMENT COMMUNITY PROJECT WILL GET $750,000

The city's economic development authority Tuesday approved its largest ever economic aid package to support the construction of a $100 million upscale, gated retirement community on the campus of Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.

The seven-member authority unanimously decided to give $750,000 to Founders Village Inc., the CBN affiliate building the complex, for off-site infrastructure improvements such as traffic signals, roads, drainage work and curb cuts.

It is the first time city incentive package funds will be spent on a project that is primarily residential and not business in nature.

Authority members praised the project's financial impact on the Beach. The 60-acre complex, which will house 450 residents, is expected to generate more than $700,000 in annual tax revenue for the city, according to authority estimates.

``It was basically a decision based on an investment and the return on the investment criteria. . . . It's a positive project,'' said David A. King Jr., assistant secretary of the authority.

King cautioned that the city will need to create a policy for addressing the needs of other retirement community developers seeking incentives.

Donald L. Maxwell, director of the department of economic development, said city officials have been asked to establish a capital investment threshold for future retirement projects.

Maxwell suggested that only projects of $50 million construction costs or larger should qualify for incentives. Founders Village is expected to spend about $58 million on construction.

In voting to approve the funding, authority members also pointed to the growing need for senior housing in Virginia Beach. A similar upscale retirement community - Westminster Canterbury - has a waiting list of six months to three years for its independent living apartments near Chesapeake Bay.

Westminster Canterbury received no city funds. It was built in 1982, before the city had an incentive program.

In a brief presentation Tuesday morning, C.A. Volder III, president of Founders Village Inc., outlined the complex's benefits to the city.

Much of the construction will be subcontracted to local construction companies, he said. Once complete, Founders Village expects to employ 170 people at an average salary of $21,000.

Volder also quoted a study by the University of South Carolina which concluded that each retiree has as much of an economic impact on the city as 3.7 manufacturing jobs.

Volder bristled at the notion that Founders Village is not a business, arguing that it would provide a service in the same way an insurance company or other enterprises would.

``People say this is not a business. . . . When you buy here you are not buying real estate but complete comfort in your security,'' he said.

The 300-unit facility will be built adjacent to Mount Trashmore II on the CBN campus. It will consist of apartments, duplexes and single-family homes for independent living. Thirty beds will be dedicated to assisted living and 60 beds for skilled nursing and a special dementia unit.

The units are expected to cost between $95,000 and $240,000.

Pat Robertson began pitching the retirement project to viewers of the 700 Club about two weeks ago. Since then, there have been more than 9,000 inquiries, Volder said.

Several authority members Tuesday questioned whether the units would be open to everyone. Volder said that people of all faiths would be welcome.

Under the agreement approved Tuesday, the city will spread its funding over three years beginning in 1998. The city will reimburse Founders Village for infrastructure improvements of up to $250,000 each year.

The $750,000 will come from the authority's economic development investment program, set up in 1990 to promote job creation and economic growth. Since then, sixty-two of the 300 businesses that have been created or expanded in the Beach have received funds, ranging from just over $1,000 to several hundred thousand dollars.

The economic package approved Tuesday is the largest to date. In 1995, Lillian Vernon received $700,000. Bell Atlantic won a $600,000 package in 1992. KEYWORDS: RETIREMENT CENTER CBN

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