DATE: Tuesday, September 30, 1997           TAG: 9709300279

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   71 lines

CHESAPEAKE OFFICIALLY OPENS CONFERENCE CENTER

It is seen by some as the city's economic Xanadu, a place to nurture the community while trying to land big businesses' big money in Chesapeake.

Others see it as a boondoggle, a $2,400-a-day waste of taxpayers' money.

It's a debate that will continue as long as the building stands. But on Monday, this argument halted as Chesapeake celebrated the opening of the new Conference Center.

It was the second opening in less than a month for the center, but the first time the city had a chance to officially toast the new building and what it could mean for Chesapeake after a rocky road toward completion.

In addition to the free food, balloons by the thousands, the fireworks and the hoopla, a highlight of the evening was the announcement by Armada/Hoffler Holding Co. head Daniel A. Hoffler that the building would be dedicated to Mayor William E. Ward.

``We dedicate this jewel to you,'' Hoffler said to a touched Ward during the Conference Center's opening ceremonies. The dedication is memorialized on a silver and black plaque at the center's entrance.

Armada/Hoffler owns the building under a lease-to-buy agreement, thus enabling Hoffler to dedicate the structure to the mayor. The building's name will remain the Chesapeake Conference Center.

Ward earlier said the center will serve as ``a symbol of Chesapeake's quality of life'' and a ``barometer of the community's economic condition and health.''

And, as an electric wall slowly opened, the party began - all funded by private donations. The Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians orchestra provided the tunes. The shrimp was flown in from New Orleans.

The 51,000-square-foot Conference Center in the city's Greenbrier section first opened its doors Sept. 5. It is booked for about 80 events between now and the end of the year.

The center's staff is marketing the building as a midsized conference hall that has easy access to local interstates, the largest ballroom in Virginia and a state-of-the-art venue for events.

Lack of parking has been the facility's main drawback. On Monday, however, there was plenty of space.

The facility was built as a private-public partnership between the city, its Industrial Development Authority and Chesapeake-based Armada/Hoffler.

Questions were raised early on about the deal after Armada/Hoffler officials said they advised the IDA about how to write the bid document for the project, a project for which Armada/Hoffler was the lone bidder.

There were also questions about the bid process and whether IDA officials properly solicited bids. In some cases, e-mail was sent to possible bidders who did not have e-mail access.

Throughout it all, IDA officials and Armada/Hoffler officials said nothing unduly influenced the bidding on the project.

During Monday's ceremonies, Ward repeatedly thanked his staff, council and others for ``going through the fire'' and ``weathering the storm'' in helping to get the center approved and built.

Armada/Hoffler built the Conference Center on land it sold to the city at a cost of about $9 million. The building was completed just before the Labor Day weekend.

The city, through the Industrial Development Authority, will lease the building from Armada/Hoffler for $880,971 annually for 30 years, a cost of $2,413.62 per day.

The city has the option to buy the facility within the first 12 months for $8,995,000. The lease also allows the city to consider buying the facility at the beginning of every calendar year until the lease expires.

If the city allows the lease to expire, it can buy the building for $100. By that time, the city will have paid an estimated $26.4 million to Armada/Hoffler.

The lease agreement is being funded through an increase in the city's hotel and meal taxes, which was approved by the City Council last year. The lodging tax was increased from 5 percent to 6 percent while the meal tax increased from 5 percent to 5.5 percent.

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