Richmond firm to blend Chamberlin Hotel's past with its future

By Dottie Wikan, WVEC.com

While BRAC debates the fate of Fort Monroe, plans are moving ahead for the renovation of the historic Chamberlin Hotel situated on the Army post.

On Wednesday night, Hampton council members will get a presentation on plans to rehabilitate the historic, 280-room hotel, which sits on nearly five acres of prime waterfront real estate overlooking the Hampton Roads harbor.

Commonwealth Architects was hired by OPC, LLC, an investment group of Drucker and Falk, LLC, Real Estate, which wants to turn the property into an independent living facility, with emphasis on military retirees.

"The project won't be affected even if Ft. Monroe closes," Jessica Borsits, a marketing offical with Commonwealth Architects, told WVEC.com on Tuesday.

About 160 units, from one to three bedrooms, would be created from the main building. The parking lot next door would be transformed into a 35-space parking deck, open on all sides with brick cladding on the exterior that would match the hotel's brick color.

Because the Chamberlin is a state and national landmark, the Richmond architectural firm is working with Virginia's Historic Preservation Office to make sure the building's past and its future are preserved.

That's important, says Borsits, because the hotel is special to Bob Mills, one of the company's founders. "He grew up in Hampton (attending Phillips Elementary, Buckoe Jr. High and Kecoughtan High) and has many fond memories of the Chamberlin. In fact, his mother once worked there part-time," she related.

The idea of urban revitalization and reuse isn't new. Commonwealth Architects took Richmond's old Stuart Circle Hospital and turned it into luxury apartments called One Monument Avenue.

"The goal was to take this idea of recycling and rehabilitation across the region. We're now working on projects across Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic," Borsits added.

While Mills and his partners each have been in the architecture business 20 years, their company is just a few years old, having been started in 1999. They wanted to focus on urban revitalization, giving new life to structures through adaptive re-use design.

The group is excited about smoothing out the sometimes bumpy road traveled by previous owners of the Chamberlin.

The first hotel on the site was called the Hygeia, a grand resort built in 1802. It also served as a hospital during the Civil War. But it was eventually torn down.

In its place was the first Hotel Chamberlin, which opened for business in 1896.

It was razed in 1920 following a massive fire and the current building replaced it.

A series of owners renovated the hotel. The most recent effort began in 1998, when Pelican Properties International Corporation bought the property for $5.4 million. At that time, company officials said they'd return the hotel to its original splendor.

But those dreams were not realized. The September 11 terror attacks ended the effort. Fort Monroe, like all military installations, boosted security, which made it all but impossible for guests to get onto the post to get to the Chamberlin.

Pelican Properties International Corporation filed for bankrupty and the Chamberlin sat in limbo until November, 2004, when OPC Hampton LLC, purchased the property. It also signed a 50-year ground lease with the Army, which was executed by the Norfolk District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Cost of the renovation has been estimated at about $49 million and was expected to take nearly 20 months to complete. Residents could begin moving in during the spring of 2007.

Published reports have indicated monthly rent would run between $3,300 and $4,500 for units that would range in size from 800 to 1,300 square feet.