Fort Lee extends comment period on proposed hotel

Amid pressure from area businesses and local governments, Fort Lee has agreed to a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a proposal to build a 1,000-room hotel on the base.

The period, which was to end Monday, will now extend until Oct. 7.

Col. Mike Morrow, Fort Lee's garrison commander, also has invited government officials from surrounding localities and members of the Greater Tri-Cities Hospitality Coalition to a private meeting this evening to address their concerns about the project. Those localities are the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell, along with the counties of Dinwiddie, Prince George and Chesterfield.

Over the past week, local governments have adopted resolutions or sent letters asking for more time to review the project: a 15-story, 1,000-room lodging facility near the Army Logistics University with the capacity for an additional 700 rooms.

Some leaders in the hotel industry say construction of the base hotel, which would be the largest in the area, would hurt their local industry.

The Greater Tri-Cities Hospitality Coalition, an ad hoc committee of businesses, sent a letter last week asking congressional representatives to intervene and asking federal authorities to extend the public comment period. Coalition members also have been speaking at local government meetings, urging them to support the extension.

Last week, Petersburg's City Council adopted a resolution asking for an additional 120 days. On Tuesday, the Prince George County Board of Supervisors announced it had sent a letter to Morrow also seeking a 120-day extension.

County Administrator John G. Kines Jr. said in the letter that the county wasn't given sufficient time to consider the impact of a project of this magnitude.

Also this week, Colonial Heights adopted a resolution asking for "a longer period of time" for the Tri-Cities hospitality coalition and the localities, businesses and chambers of commerce to consider the impact of any new housing facility at Fort Lee.

The Dinwiddie Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss the project during its monthly meeting Tuesday, county officials said.

The lodging plan, which has been approved by the Army, needs approval from the Department of Defense and Congress before it is put up for bidding. The project, estimated to cost about $118 million, would help address the installation's housing needs, Morrow said.

Fort Lee currently has 577 rooms on base, which is much less than the demand for temporary housing. About 480 rooms are rented at off-post hotels on average, according to Fort Lee officials.

With the base's 2005 population expected to double by 2011 as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission process, the need for hotel rooms is expected to grow significantly, Morrow said. He said local hotels would continue to benefit from the ongoing growth, even after the construction of the lodging facility.

Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .