
DATE: Sunday, September 21, 1997            TAG: 9709210090

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:  225 lines

BEACH'S ECONOMIC RENAISSANCE MAN DEVELOPMENT CHIEF, STAFF HAVE LANDED DOZENS OF FIRMS AND THOUSANDS OF JOBS.

Two years ago, Don Maxwell asked Avis for a favor.

Negotiations were being wrapped up to bring the rental car giant's processing center and hundreds of jobs to the Beach. It was then that the city's new economic development director thought to himself: What does this international company have a lot of?

His staff chuckled when he first mentioned asking for cars. The development game hadn't been played this way before.

But Maxwell figured the city and state were offering incentives to lure Avis here, so he suggested that the company provide a half-dozen automobiles for municipal use. The vehicles would be free and replaced every two years for a decade.

``The first time the proposal was stated,'' recalled Robert Ruhl, the business development manager under Maxwell, ``Avis said, `No one has asked us to do this before.' Up to that point, we would never ask the company to give us something.''

It's precisely, however, the sort of risk Maxwell willingly has taken as the Beach's economic development director. Along the way, he has sealed some sweet deals and elevated Beach development.

His office takes credit for attracting nearly four dozen new firms, encouraging more than 50 business expansions, and creating thousands of jobs during his tenure.

Between 1995, when Maxwell left the same post in Hampton, and June of this year, companies invested about $180 million in the Beach. That's more than the total from the previous six years.

If recent success is any indication of what is to come, the Beach could be in for an unprecedented economic renaissance.

The Avis gamble illustrates how Maxwell engineers a deal that's good for the city and the company he's recruiting.

In his decision to quietly turn beggar into chooser, he saved taxpayers roughly $500,000 in auto expenses. The processing center meant more than 600 jobs, many of them local hires, and a multimillion-dollar capital investment by Avis.

In exchange, Maxwell promised and delivered the company infrastructure improvements, a big land discount and an easy trip through the bureaucratic hoops of relocation.

The new neighbor moved into its three-story processing center six months after shaking hands on the project. ``It has to be a win-win for both,'' Maxwell said. ``You try to look after the citizens' interests. . . . It's just good business. To me, it's just simple, good business.''

The Avis people were so satisfied, they told a Harvard University team researching corporate relocation that Maxwell's staff and personal approach were major factors in their decision to pick the Beach over Norfolk and Tampa, Fla.

``I just think he really understands economic development,'' said Martha O'Mara, an assistant professor in Harvard's Department of Urban Planning and Design. She and Maxwell have worked together since 1990, when she taught a real estate development class in Hampton.

``I like to use Don as an example of someone who is really having an impact on his community,'' she said. ``. . . He's a man on a mission.''

From his corner office in the Pembroke area's One Columbus Center, Maxwell says he's just warming up.

His arrival at the Beach in May 1995 came at an important time. Legal wrangling over Lake Gaston water showed signs of ending, and Oceana Naval Air Station appeared secure.

Many business leaders believed Virginia Beach was on the verge of crashing through those barriers into a period of economic expansion.

One in which Big Six accounting firms hold annual conventions here. Major conference hotels open. Entertainment companies establish venues for tourists and locals. New restaurants cater to an increasingly cosmopolitan crowd.

In this future, Maxwell said, developers build Class-A office space surpassing the area's best properties.

``I think some of the best days are ahead yet,'' he said. ``I think we haven't peaked yet.''

His department boasts a workload of 90 ongoing daily projects approaching $500 million in potential capital investments. The projects aren't pipe dreams.

``If we're going to keep taxes low, we need to have these projects,'' said City Manager James K. Spore, Maxwell's supervisor. ``The cities that are going to be successful in the next century will have a quality of life that will attract people to the area.''

Maxwell's fate rests with Spore, though that's not an issue now. In fact, Maxwell has turned down other jobs in recent years - including one in Cleveland, his favorite pro sports city. ``I'm hoping that he's here a long time,'' Spore said.

As if to demonstrate his commitment, Maxwell and his wife, Ginny, moved this month to the Beach from Hampton, where they lived for 22 years.

They settled into a 3,600-square-foot contemporary home in upscale Croatan Beach. Maxwell said he got a great deal in the ``high $300,000s.''

It offers an unobstructed ocean view, features 56 built-in speakers and hookups for 12 televisions. Windows are controlled by motors, and the dining room has a tiered lighting system akin to the bridge of ``Star Trek's'' Enterprise.

``We may not have to move again,'' Maxwell said.

Money hasn't been an issue. At $93,005 a year, he earns the top salary for a public developer in Hampton Roads.

Private developers, government leaders and owners of small businesses peg Maxwell as someone who gets things done.

But they recognize that he accepted the Beach post at the right time. He works well with others, they say, but he has powerful allies in a strong economy and favorable interest rates.

``He is first-class. He is a team builder, a consensus builder,'' said Gerald S. Divaris, president of a large Beach-based commercial real estate firm.

Divaris particularly likes that Maxwell has tackled less-traditional economic development opportunities - a stadium, a parking garage, a championship golf course, new retail centers.

Michael Katsias, a longtime commercial real estate broker, calls Maxwell ``a grabber,'' in that he latches on to development opportunities.

``I don't know whether you can really credit him for going out and finding those people and bringing them to town,'' Katsias said.

Once a prospect is identified, however, Maxwell doggedly pursues. ``This guy could probably be described as very smart, very hard-working, very productive,'' Katsias said.

Maxwell admits he's not responsible for finding all of the prospects.

The Pennsylvania native considers himself a solid dealmaker - he even has a special deal-closing necktie - who has a knack for good timing and an ability to work in a team setting.

The ``team'' has 15 players and a 1997-98 budget of $1.3 million.

Katsias said Maxwell must build upon past successes by continuing to tackle one of the Beach's biggest challenges: filling the once-dormant Corporate Landing office park.

In 1988, the Virginia Beach Development Authority launched Corporate Landing off General Booth Boulevard and Dam Neck Road. In its first five years, the 337-acre park managed to land just one tenant, the headquarters for Al-Anon, a support organization for friends and families of alcoholics.

Since then, the city has attracted a few more firms to the park, even though it lacks the highway access many companies need.

Maxwell said he could fill the park with telemarketing firms paying workers $6 an hour. But the city's goal is to bring in a majority of jobs that pay $35,000 or more a year.

To land those positions, Maxwell targets major companies in Northeastern states. He takes major recruiting trips at least twice a year and follows up on individual tips from the regional Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance.

Mostly, Maxwell says, he sells the city's quality of life.

One criticism of the city has been its traditionally slow response to small-business operators who raise concerns.

For example, developers and business owners along the Cleveland Street-Witchduck Road corridor have complained for years about poorly designed intersections and heavy traffic.

``It gets worse and worse,'' said Joan Silliphant, manager of dispatching for the family-owned Metro Towing. ``I don't know where they're going to put turning lanes.''

Her son owns the towing service and an auto shop near the clogged Cleveland and Witchduck intersection.

Michael Barrett, chief executive officer of Runnymede Corp., a commercial real estate development and management firm, said businesses have left Virginia Beach because of nagging problems like the traffic along Cleveland Street. The area has been an incubator for fledgling businesses.

Maxwell appears to be on the right track, he said. Traffic flow improvements are expected in the near future. ``I've been trying to get that intersection fixed for 15 years,'' Barrett said. ``For the first time, I feel like I have a sympathetic ear.''

Maxwell will turn 50 next month. He attributes his success partly to good health and a positive outlook.

He's not sure people want economic developers to look too far ahead, for fear they'll miss current opportunities. Nonetheless, he enjoys painting his picture of the future.

He sees the city's television and cinema industry - backed by the recent New Dominion Pictures expansion - developing rapidly. He sees a key project such as a hotel-restaurant-park where Laskin Road ends at the Oceanfront coming to fruition, then spreading to surrounding neighborhoods. He sees a company such as Avis making even bigger commitments to the community.

Joseph Fineo, vice president of the Avis processing center, said Maxwell has done his part.

``It's not like he forgot about us once we were here,'' Fineo said. ``He calls regularly to see how we're doing. It's nice to know you have somebody to call on.''

Avis holds options to expand on other property and has found the Beach to be a welcoming place.

Maxwell knows that. He's quick to say he would like to tap into that enthusiasm by bringing in a regional Avis headquarters - or more.

``There's two different approaches to this,'' he said. ``One is to sit and wait. We're not doing that. We're out trying to find things.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

Color photo

Don Maxwell

HOW DON MAXWELL SAVED $500,000 FOR VIRGINIA BEACH

When Avis brought its processing center to the Beach - with its

more than 600 jobs - Don Maxwell, as the city's economic development

director, got the company to agree to also provide the city with a

half-dozen cars. The vehicles would be free and replaced every two

years for a decade.

Maxwell figured the city and state were offering incentives to

lure Avis to Virginia Beach. Maxwell's negotiating saved taxpayers

about $500,000 in auto expenses.

WHO IS DON MAXWELL?