DATE: Wednesday, September 24, 1997         TAG: 9709240412

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE ABRAMS 

DATELINE: STAFF WRITER VIRGINIA BEACH       LENGTH:   61 lines

CONTRACTOR LOYALTY A BRIGHT SPOT IN PEMBROKE OFFICE PARK WOES

Several contractors continue to do work at Pembroke Office Park, even though the park's owners have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

``I'm confident in the park,'' said Jerry Andreski, owner of Chesapeake-based Tri-Star Electric Inc. ``My partner and I are confident that we're going to get paid for the work we do.''

Tri-Star has done lighting and other electrical work throughout the 12.4-acre complex for more than a decade.

The park, near the intersection of Virginia Beach and Independence boulevards, comprises seven prominent buildings in the city's Central Business District. The Alabama partnership that owns the park owes millions to creditors and filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Randy Anderson, a self-employed painter, said the financial trouble has hurt his company to the point where he had to release two workers. He said he is owed more than $10,000.

Nonetheless, he stands behind the park.

``It's a hardship,'' he said. ``But we're not going to throw away a long-term relationship.''

The same can be said of Kaddy Ward, president of W.C. Carpenter L.C., a Beach floor-covering contractor.

``They owe us some money,'' Ward said, but added, ``We always have had a wonderful relationship with them.''

Virginia Beach Associates Ltd., a Montgomery, Ala., partnership, bought Pembroke Office Park in 1984 for $18.3 million. The city assessed the property and buildings this year at nearly $12.3 million.

The partnership filed for protection from creditors last month in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Montgomery.

Monday, the group's attorney met with attorneys for the creditor owed the most money - Allied Capital of Washington, D.C. Allied is owed $14.7 million in principal on a first mortgage, plus a disputed debt of roughly $3.8 million.

Virginia Beach Associates owes a total of $22.3 million to creditors, said Sherri T. Freeman, the partnership's attorney in Alabama.

Chapter 11 will allow the partnership to restructure its debts under court protection from creditors. Debtors in Chapter 11 usually are allowed to continue operating the business.

Freeman said she expects to have the restructuring plan filed by early December.

``Everything is going smoothly,'' she said.

William W. Jordan, a partner and executive in the ownership group, said the park remains viable and pointed to its 97 percent occupancy rate as proof.

The property is not for sale, he said.

The park covers more than 320,000 square feet - including about 270,000 square feet of office space. The roster of tenants includes a bank, a travel agency and government offices.

The city of Virginia Beach leases about 40,000 square feet, most of it for the Community Services Board.

The board is embroiled in a controversy surrounding its plans to leave the park and other locations in order to consolidate on a new Bonney Road campus. One reason cited by the board and staff for the move: escalating rent.

But the board pays $8.85 per square foot in Pembroke, according to city records - well below recently listed space in the park at $13.50 per square foot.

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