VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The reopening of the Historic Cavalier Hotel will be pushed back and renovations have exceeded the expected budget, according to a letter written by developer Bruce Thompson.
“The renovation and restoration of ‘our’ historic landmark has been a daunting and extremely costly undertaking,” Thompson said in a letter to the city manager.
According to Thompson, the hotel is in worse condition than the developers expected.
The developers told Virginia Beach City Council that the reopening was supposed to be in late spring/early summer of 2016. However, the restoration process hasn’t even started because construction crews are running into structural defects that require demolition instead of repair.
“The magnitude of the building issues could not have been ascertained by our team of skilled, experienced professionals and tradesman during the due diligence process,” Thomas said.
The original budget for demolition, rehabilitation and restoration of the property was around $50 million. The budget has now been exceeded by over $23 million dollars before the restoration has even started. The project is being paid for through city and private funds.
The anticipated opening date at this time is April 2017.
“We plan to honor our commitment to the City to develop the hotel and adjacent properties in accord with both our agreements with the City and the communities expectations,” Thomas said. “My partners and I consider it an honor and privilege to be associated with this landmark historic preservation project. We are committed to not only complete this effort but doing so in a manner that will preserve this community asset for the next 100 years.”
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