Apr. 4, 2003 - VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Now that the 31st Street hotel project is finally a go, the new development should swell a building tide of hotel and other improvements along the resort strip. 

Last week, developers Bruce L. Thompson and Edmund C. Ruffin unveiled plans for a $42 million luxury conference hotel that will operate under the Hilton brand and tower over its competitors at 22 stories. It is scheduled to open in 2005. 

City officials expect the project to boost the resort strip, lending an air of sophistication to the sometimes honky-tonk Atlantic Avenue and spurring redevelopment of the Laskin Road/31st Street gateway. The city will spend $20 million in related improvements, including an 800-space parking garage, "streetscaping" and an adjacent park. 

The project also is intended to complement the city's planned $193.5 million convention center. 

"What we're trying to do is take the Beach up to another level as far as quality offerings," said Donald Maxwell, the city's economic development director. 

"It raises the bar, no question about it," said Jimmy Capps, owner of the 56-room Breakers Hotel at 16th Street. 

The Oceanfront's hotel inventory was already on an upswing. Just last year, two new resort hotels opened: the Boardwalk Resort Hotel and Villas at 16th Street, and the Courtyard by Marriott Oceanfront North at 37th Street. 

"We've seen some real upgrades and product improvement in the last several years already," said Linwood O. Branch III, an owner of the Days Inn at 10th Street and a former city councilman. "It was spurred by the public investment in Atlantic Avenue, the boardwalk and beach replenishment. ... 

"The new convention center and the 31st Street hotel are going to accelerate that renaissance exponentially," Branch said. "You're going to see every property striving to be on the cutting edge in terms of amenities in order to maintain market share." 

As it is, older hotels at the beach are always looking at what's new and adding amenities to keep up. It's a constant evolution. 

"We try to keep up with everybody," said Joe DaBiero, general manager of the Colonial Inn at 28th Street, which upgrades a third of its rooms every year and recently added 25-inch televisions, a new lobby and restaurant and doubled its conference space. 

The 31st Street hotel is "going to make the independents work that much harder, and it's going to take the flags up to another level," DaBiero said. 

Maintaining a hotel has always been an annual rite. 

"You have to spend a lot of time and money every winter maintaining your inventory," said John Uhrin, director of operations for Burlage Management, which manages five Oceanfront hotels, including the Schooner Inn at 3rd Street, which is in the middle of a $2 million upgrade. "They really take a beating." 

Uhrin said the beach is already headed toward a higher level and the hotels have to keep pace. 

"The city's done a really good job in terms of attracting a more affluent visitor," Uhrin said. "They're willing to pay more, but they expect a lot more." 

The new 300-room hotel's high visibility and quality will ripple through every strata of the resort's hotel market, from the top-shelf to the older, budget properties, said Bill Callnin, a consultant with Cayuga Hospitality Advisors in Virginia Beach. 

"It's going to force others to upgrade," Callnin said. "The previous leaders are going to have to scramble to keep their market share." 

Several likely direct competitors declined to comment on how they would respond competitively to the 31st Street Hilton, including David Pender, manager of the Ramada Plaza Hotel at 57th Street, and Tim Stiffler, chief executive officer of Tidewater Hotels & Resorts Inc., which owns six Oceanfront hotels, including the new Courtyard by Marriott. 

The biggest changes as a result of the 31st Street hotel project could come along Laskin Road, which turns into 31st Street. 

Maxwell said the city expects to see significant private redevelopment along Laskin Road near the Oceanfront. 

"It's going to be a catalyst to redevelop 31st Street for year-round shopping with ample parking and nice shops," Capps said. "I really think the opportunity and the potential are there." 

The stretch of Laskin Road between Baltic and Atlantic avenues is lined by older strip shopping centers with minimal parking. 

"It could be easily redeveloped," Capps said. 

Gordon Huey of Sea Realty Corp., which controls a lot of property in the area, could not be reached for comment. Several sources said the company has plans that could be acted upon as early as next year. 

The Oceanfront's redevelopment has been helped by a couple of strong years, Branch said. The region's hotels outpaced hotels in every other part of the country in terms of occupancy and revenue growth last year, according to Smith Travel Research. 

"Properties that are making money can afford to reinvest in their property," Branch said. "It's the antithesis of a vicious cycle. It's a very good cycle." 

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(c) 2003, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. HLT, CD, MAR,