|
Hotel/conference
center expansions in Virginia
Virginia Business
January
2005
Lakefront
development offers new business setting in Bedford County
Situated
in the Blue Ridge Mountains along Smith Mountain Lake,
Mariners Landing Golf and Lake Community is a new development
offering a setting for business gatherings in Southwest
Virginia. The resort community includes an 18-hole championship
golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones, three outdoor
pools, an indoor spa and tennis courts. The amenities
complement a $13 million meeting center, The Pointe
at Mariners Landing, which opened in July. The Pointe
offers 3,000 square feet of meeting space in three rooms
and the ability to accommodate 120 guests banquet style
or 150 guests theatre style.
Pointe’s
managers say the new facility will generate as much
as $2 million in new revenues for the region in 2005.
New
phase for Town Center of Virginia Beach will include
hotel
Armada
Hoffler, owner and developer of The Town Center of Virginia
Beach, recently announced plans for Phase III, including
a 30-story tower that will house a Westin Hotel on the
first 12 floors and upscale condominiums on the remaining
18 floors. Office space, first-level retail and a six-story
public parking garage will surround the tower. Future
development at the Town Center will consist of low-level,
mixed-use components along with the city’s Performing
Arts Theatre.
The
developers expect to break ground in late spring and
finish Phase III in spring 2007. Private investment
is estimated at $130 million.
“We are very excited to move forward with Phase
III of this project. Blending a luxury hotel chain such
as the Westin and high-rise, for-sale homes adds a whole
new dimension to The Town Center and a unique product
to Hampton Roads,” says Lou Haddad, CEO and president
of Armada Hoffler.
New Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront to open
The
tallest hotel on the ocean in Virginia Beach —
the 20-story Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront —
will open in March. Managed by Professional Hospitality
Resources Inc., the facility will offer 295 guest rooms
in a broad range of sizes and configurations. Every
room will offer amenities including LCD flat-screen
TVs and plush pillow top mattresses. The majority will
have views from private balconies.
In
addition, the new hotel will offer more than 12,000
square feet of meeting space and will accommodate up
to 1,000 guests in the main ballroom. A corporate business
center will be available on site. The project, which
includes a parking garage and an elevated walkway to
the oceanfront, has a projected cost of $75 million.
Kingsmill Resort completes renovations
After extensive renovations, 420 guest rooms and suites
opened this year at Kingsmill Resort & Spa. Each
suite has been completely remodeled including new carpeting,
countertops, custom cabinetry and kitchen appliances.
The guest rooms have been remodeled to include modern
technology and stylish furnishings. Other amenities
include a wood-burning fireplace in each living room.
“Our goal is to present an unparalleled resort
accommodation experience,” says Joseph A. Durante
III, executive vice president and managing director
of Kingsmill. “Attention to detail was key in
the planning process.”
Kingsmill is Virginia’s largest golf resort with
63 holes of championship golf located on 2,900 acres
of land along the James River.
Virginia
Beach Resort Hotel completes renovations
The
Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center
recently completed extensive renovations and upgrades
of its meeting and banquet areas. The improvements include
the addition of a new “Sunset Ballroom,”
bringing total conference space to 16,000 square feet.
Overall meeting and banquet capacity has been increased
to accommodate groups from 10 to 650 people.
In addition to the meeting space, 295 suites were remodeled
and will be available in 2005. The resort also has a
new banquet menu under the direction of Executive Chef
John Maclure who is overseeing the new TradeWinds Restaurant,
offering views of the Chesapeake Bay and Chesapeake
Bay Bridge Tunnel.
Cox,
Kliewer & Co. of Virginia Beach was the architect
for the project and RGI General Contractors of Norfolk
was the contractor.
Return to Virginia
Business - January 2005 |
