THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 24, 1994 TAG: 9410210743
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: By LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
A young Missouri couple plans to spend their first night of wedded bliss on New Year's Eve, snuggling in a king-sized bed overlooking the Pagan River.
All the while, a beacon will flash overhead, showing the way for boats on the river.
The small inn, part of an authenic reproduction of a Chesapeake Bay lighthouse, is the culmination of years of planning by Portsmouth native Ron Pack, the quintessential entrepreneur.
Located in western Hampton Roads, the new lighthouse and inn, called Smithfield Light, proceed big plans proposed in Smithfield to draw tourists up this small tributary of the James River.
Dredges are scouring five miles of the Pagan off Smithfield to a depth of seven feet, a federal navigation project slated for late November completion at a cost of $425,000.
Deeper water would open passage for bigger boats to the town, where riverside shops and a restaurant have been proposed in the Wharf Hill section by Joseph W. Luter III, chairman of Smithfield Foods Inc.
Luter, whose meatpacking company is Tidewater's second-largest homegrown business with about 3,500 local employees and more than $1.1 billion in annual revenue, also wants to move his own headquarters to Wharf Hill.
If the new shops and offices are built, it could boost this old town's reputation as a tourist destination, and take it far beyond the original idea conceived by Pack years ago.
Moving to Smithfield from Portsmouth, Pack merely wanted to attract boaters, so he opened a marina on the Pagan.
``The most precipitous moment, in terms of what Smithfield should have, was when my wife and I took a cruise with friends in 1983,'' Pack said.
``We went to every small town on the Chesapeake Bay. The bottom line was, I realized Smithfield was a nicer community,'' he said. ``It had a lot more to offer. What we didn't have was a marina.''
After building the marina, he decided an upscale restaurant would fit nicely, and opened Smithfield Station in 1986 with 15 motel rooms and 27 pleasure boat slips.
Meanwhile, Isle of Wight County was recognizing the tourist potential in Smithfield's meandering river, lush marshes, historic homes and 1750s courthouse.
Located within a short drive of the tourists massed at Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and Bacon's Castle, Smithfield figured it had its own attraction nearby in Historic St. Luke's Church. Constructed in 1632, it's regarded as the oldest church built in America.
The county formally established a Tourism Bureau in 1990, and by summer '94 estimated the number of tourists tooling through Isle of Wight had doubled.
Pack was on the move, too.
In the late '80s, his thoughts unfolded like this: A boardwalk would be great, with a raw bar and picnic tables, and hey, how about a lighthouse? Now, that would be something.
And on New Year's Eve, the young couple from Kirkfield, Mo., both medical students, will spend the night in Virginia's only authentic, functioning reproduction of a Chesapeake Bay lighthouse.
``We've applied to the Coast Guard, and we'll be an official navigational guide,'' said Judy Hare, who handles public relations for Pack.
``This will be the only lighthouse in Virginia you'll be able to spend the night in,'' Hare said. ``All of the others are gone, not in use, or a tourist attraction.''
The lighthouse looks authentic thanks to Pack's research.
After several visits to lighthouses, Pack showed an architect appealing details in three Maryland lighthouses: Cove Point Light in Solomons, Thomas Point Lighthouse near Annapolis, and the lighthouse at St. Michael's.
``We actually went to the lighthouses, measured, took pictures,'' Pack said. ``I remember we were at St. Michael's one time and a docent walked up and asked what we were doing. I said, `We're building a lighthouse.' ''
Growing up in the Simonsdale section of Portsmouth, Pack sold tomatoes from the family garden and cut grass. As a teenager, he worked at a Westhaven pharmacy , delivering prescriptions and working behind the soda fountain.
After obtaining a degree in pharmacy and a master's in business administration, Pack bought a discount drugstore in Kilmarnock, later selling it to competitors.
Then he and several partners bought 16 nursing homes. He supplied pharmaceuticals to other nursing homes, and built a headquarters for his business on South Church Street. When he sold the business, he turned the building into a 10-room country inn.
That's where he got experience operating a motel.
When Pack bought an old seafood restaurant on Smithfield's waterfront in the mid-80s and decided to build a new restaurant, he included rooms and boat slips.
The $1.5 million restaurant, motel and marina opened in November 1986. About a year later, Pack expanded the marina to 35 slips and started plans for the boardwalk and lighthouse.
When Pack finally got ready to build the lighthouse, a land dispute over boundary lines beneath the Pagan River near the Cypress Creek Bridge delayed the project.
The dispute was settled last year and construction started last December. The inn is scheduled to open next month.
While the lighthouse outside looks like the ship-guiding beacons of the past with its six sides and flashing light, inside it's steeped in luxury.
The second-floor room features a fireplace, wet bar, yacht-style galley, king-sized berth, executive desk, double whirlpool bath, steam sauna, bathrobes, and circular stairway to an observation deck in the copper-covered cupola. Downstairs, a spacious suite is geared toward large families, corporate retreats or conferences.
The marina also has been expanded to 61 slips at floating docks. The 300-foot boardwalk, 20-feet wide with two gazebos and bathrooms with showers, opened Memorial Day weekend. The move doubled marina business this summer, Pack said.
``The showers alone cost me $20,000,'' he said. ``But I think it brought us more over-night-stay people. We had every one of the slips filled at times, and I think it was because of that. People could come in, take a shower, use the restrooms in the middle of the night.''
This winter, he's renovating the original motel rooms. He calls it his winter project.
``If I have any dream now, it would be to build a true resort,'' he said. ``One with limos and yachts and a four-star rating. I'm not sure the market in Hampton Roads is ready for that yet, but I'm still thinking about it.'' ILLUSTRATION: On the cover: [Color] Photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
[Color Photo of Smithfield Light]
JOHN H. SHEALLY II/Staff
Ron Pack
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB