Aug. 2, 2003 - SUFFOLK, Va.-- An Atlanta company working with the city to build a $22 million hotel and conference center at Constant's Wharf says it has found the money it needs to end delays that have plagued the project.

Stormont Hospitality Group LLC and its new private partners haven't signed a contract yet for the project, viewed by many as a cornerstone of the city's efforts to bring life to the downtown.

One official said the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center might open Jan. 1, 2005, six months off the more recent target date.

"This project has been stalled since May because of the difficulty Stormont has had in getting the financing," City Manager Steve Herbert said. "I think we have a situation that's much improved over a few weeks ago."

Stormont Hospitality, based in Atlanta, will join with Noble Investment Group Ltd., also of Atlanta, to provide $9 million in private financing for the deal.

Stormont had been dealing with Procaccianti Group LLC of Cranston, R.I., but the Rhode Island company had sought to restructure its investment, delaying financing and drawing the displeasure of city officials.

Now Procaccianti is out.

Richard M. Stormont, chairman and CEO of Stormont, on Friday said his company hopes to have paperwork out of the way within two months and begin construction soon after.

Mitesh B. Shah, president and CEO of Noble, said his company has been speaking with Stormont and the city for nearly a month about the hotel project.

Talks apparently began around the time members of the Suffolk Industrial Development Authority in a closed-door meeting told a Stormont official to get the deal moving.

After visiting the city, Shah said "we really came away enamored with what is happening in Suffolk. -- We really got jazzed up by the enthusiasm of everyone we talked to in Suffolk."

A Procaccianti official, reached in Rhode Island, would not come to the phone.

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