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Norfolk Hilton Project

rusthebuss

By rusthebuss
in Norfolk

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

Posted
Posted
I may have just not seen it, but i drove past the lot tonight at there wasn't a single thing pointing towards utility work or construction anymore on the site, i may just be blind but it might be another reason to be skeptical. And how bout that deadline?
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vtfan18 Whistle-Stop

vtfan18

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Its frustrating that Norfolk can't get this deal done given the amount of time and even if it does happen, it'll be the citizens of Norfolk who will pay the prize will a poorly designed hotel and conference center which will do nothing to raise the status of the city. It'll be "just another" development to check off the list but won't really be anything work talking about architectually.

I just read this article about a Chesapeake developer building one of the new "aloft" hotels by Starwood Resorts. I've heard about this new hotel from Starwood and it looks awesome on their website. Its something Norfolk could use downtown. I'm thinking of that spot on Granby and Freemason. Its a shame Norfolk can't get this new hotel downtown because it'd be the perfect fit! Its frustrating!

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?...&ran=142064

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  • 2 weeks later...
hoobo Burg

hoobo

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Can Norfolk fire Bob Johnson, or is the City (or Hilton) contractually obligated to working with him exclusively? Getting rid of him may hurt from a PR standpoint. However, a point has to be reached when business and public debt concerns outweigh the fallout from dumping a minority-owned company. (That does prevent Norfolk from working with another minority-owned company that is reputable.) Bob Johnson is a renowned penny pincher. The best example right now is his Bobcats NBA franchise.

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erdogs Burg

erdogs

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This Johnson guy is playing Norfolk. They should have dumped him a long time ago. Seems like he wants the city to foot the bill. If they eat this project they have no one to blame but them selves. I say tell him to go elseware. Someone will be willing to build on that land without all this crap he is pulling. We will end up with another piece of $h!t from this idiot. :angry:

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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So the city is offering to pay $65 million dollars therefore shouldering the majority of the cost!?! :shok: We can't afford this crap and Johnson is not broke the last time I checked. Kill the deal already. I might lay down in front of the bulldozer out of general principle. <_<

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hoobo Burg

hoobo

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My suspicion has come true. As I said yesterday, Bob Johnson is a penny pincher. He'll squeeze everyone for what they're worth. That's how he made his fortune. With this project, I'm more concerned about the cost cutting rather than the 60/40 public/private split. The City is covering the cost of land acquisition, parking garage, and convention center which is why its portion is $65 million. But $45 million for a hotel/condo building seems pretty low. For comparison, the VB Hilton cost $50 million (for just the hotel) and was under construction 3 years ago before the huge run-up in construction costs. I fear that the quality of work and materials will soon turn this proposed Hilton into a Motel 6.

Also, I like the low blow that everyone's favorite activist grandmother (Barb J) throws at the VB Hilton on pilotonline comments. 5 years later and she's still fighting the City over the non-binding referendum. From what I hear and have seen, the VB Hilton is doing very well.

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vdogg Megalopolis

vdogg

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I knew there was nothing good in here. <_< I, personally, have totally lost interest in this project. If it happens it happens, but i'm not holding my breath.

The fact that the city has to cough up $65 mill also upsets me. I would rather them keep that money in reserve in case the state fails to come up with its portion for light rail (highly plausible).

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