The First Step for Norfolk and Bruce Thompson

This is a good sign.

The city of Norfolk and Bruce Thompson have reached an initial agreement to develop and construct the $126 million hotel, conference center and parking garage in downtown Norfolk at the corner of Main and Granby Streets.

Thompson, CEO of Gold Key/PRH Hotels and Resorts, will invest $64 million in the 300-bed hotel, according to an announcement by the city.

The city will finance the 600-space parking garage, costing $19.5 million, and the 50,000 square foot conference center, costing $42.5 million.

“We have a signed Letter of Intent,” said Norfolk spokeswoman Lori Crouch. ““Once the Master Development Agreement is complete, it will go before Council for a vote.”

“Gold Key is developing all three portions of the project: hotel, conference center and parking garage. Once the Master Development Agreement is wrapped up, we’ll have a better idea on ground breaking and timelines.”

The Letter of Intent is between the city of Norfolk and Gold Key Resorts, Crouch said.

Details of the Letter of Intent won’t be released to the public.

“No we're not releasing it as its part of negotiations,” Crouch said.

The Letter of Intent is protected from disclosure to the public by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

Records relating to the negotiation and award of a specific contract where competition or bargaining is involved and where the release of such records would adversely affect the bargaining position or negotiating strategy of the public body.

This is standard procedure in such cases.

Weekly Comments 
 
Two Cities, Two Tales 
 
Thanks for the updates on the Savoy and The Rockefeller. I'd been wondering, and I haven't seen anything in the local press for a while.

Interesting question - comparing Suffolk and Norfolk. Obviously the cities and situations are different so it's not apples to apples, but one would think the production jobs in Suffolk probably offer a much higher rate of pay than the possible service industry jobs in Norfolk.

 
Bribery and Solar

Suffolk is doing the right thing by investing in the local tea plant. Their commitment of a couple million is minuscule when compared to the overall investment of Unilever (over $90 Million if I'm recalling yesterday's Pilot correctly).

"Hello Pot, I'm Kettle!". Were these two article put together to demonstrate hypocrisy, or was this an accident/ignorance? Incentives from the government to obtain a desired outcome is a "bribe" when it come to retaining a business, but when the government provides "financing", and may I say "tax subsidies", to obtain a desired outcome the left sees as desirable but makes absolutely no economic sense (which is why it requires regulations and subsidy "bribes"), this is somehow noble? Give me a break.  

Bipolar on the Bay

The scary part is that there probably aren't any stimulus funds left to bail us out. We really will be paying for this thru tax receipts. What good does it do to vote 90% for the president (as we did in the last election) when there are no benefits? Kick the Republicans out. That's what I say.

Enough with the cynicism folks. Maybe we should give the leadership a chance for once. A successful conference center would add a little life to downtown. Certainly that can't be a bad thing.

The excuse the city keeps giving the paper is that the funds have to be spent on tourist related ventures. Okay, fine. But a hotel and conference center, really? Our downtown is becoming about as interesting as Omaha, Nebraska. Why not use the funds for something unique to the region, like an architecturally significant train station. If people want to visit, then the meeting space will take care of itself. Markets tend to respond to genuine needs.

Potholes and Public Art

I knew the potholes were George Bush's fault!