Fort Lee hotel could be significant boon for area

If a proposed 15-story hotel is approved and built at Fort Lee, the installation would be home to the largest single lodging facility at an Army base and the biggest in Virginia.

The 1,000-room complex, planned for 26 acres next to the Army Logistics University, would also be the first new lodging construction at any Army installation in the U.S. in years, officials said.

The project, which lately has been the center of discord between Fort Lee and members of local governments and the business community, also could add some economic benefits to the Tri-Cities area, including nearly 300 jobs.

During its construction, hotels off-post could expect to see a dramatic jump in business from Fort Lee, but it would drop significantly when the hotel is scheduled to become operational in 2012.

"By far, this would be the largest project we have taken in years," said William Bradner, a spokesman with the U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, which has headquarters in Alexandria and which would own and operate the hotel.

The project is in the process of a required environmental assessment and needs to be approved by Congress before it can be put up for bids. The plan, however, is to begin construction this year and have the hotel operational in 2012.

The Army is planning the $114 million project to support an expected influx of students at the installation, a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission process. The lodge, however, is not BRAC-related and is separate from the $1.2 billion BRAC construction taking place at Fort Lee.

Once the BRAC transition is complete in 2011, Fort Lee's average daily population will nearly double. The installation will go from having about 4,100 students a day to more than 11,000 in 2011, and at least 2,300 students will need temporary housing on a daily basis, officials estimate.

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If built as proposed, the new lodging facility would be the biggest ever managed by the U.S. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

The command currently operates 70 hotels, of which just 13 have more than 500 rooms.

With 577 on-base lodging units, Fort Lee already has one of the largest on-post daily accommodation services in the Army, Bradner said.

Only three installations have 1,000-plus lodging units: Fort Jackson, S.C., with 1,009; Fort Benning, Ga., with 1,175; and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., with 1,655. The rooms, however, are in multiple facilities rather than in a single building.

"[Fort] Lee will be the second-largest [after Fort Leonard Wood] when the construction finishes," Bradner said. "It will also have the largest single lodging facility."

Currently, the biggest single facility is Fort Leonard Wood's Unaccompanied Enlisted Personnel Housing, which can house about 888 guests.

The proposed hotel at Fort Lee would also be the largest hotel in Virginia. The National Conference Center in Northern Virginia, which has 917 rooms, is currently the largest.

The Fort Lee hotel would be more than two times bigger than the largest hotel in the Richmond metropolitan area. With 410 rooms and five suites, the Richmond Marriott Hotel is the largest, according to the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Army is making an exception to allow the construction of the facility at Fort Lee.

Construction of additional temporary lodging capacity was deferred indefinitely pending the outcome of an initiative that began in 2004 to privatize Army lodging facilities, said Pete Isaacs, special assistant to the commanding general of the Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command.

In August, the Army transferred temporary lodging operations at 10 installations -- Fort Lee was not included -- to the InterContinental Hotels Group as part of the Army's Privatization of Army Lodging program.

The Army is studying how well the program works, officials said. And it may eventually seek congressional approval to privatize all Army lodging.

The Army lodging facilities mostly accommodate military personnel and students traveling on official business. Technically, other visitors can stay in on-post hotels, but members of the military are given priority when booking accommodations, Bradner said.

In the case of Fort Lee, the proposed facility would mostly accommodate trainees at the newly opened Army Logistics University. They are expected to be at Fort Lee for short stays.

The Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command also runs dozens of other programs at installations, including recreational and children's centers, bowling facilities and restaurants. The command builds hotels based on the size of the transient population at the installations and not necessarily on the installation's population, Bradner said.

The hotels are operated through non-appropriated funds and are maintained with profits made from room rentals. Improvements to the facilities are also paid with those profits.

"We are essentially a hotel business. No taxpayer dollars are spent," Bradner said. "Any profits are reinvested in the lodging system."

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The project could bring some significant economic benefits to the area.

The construction component of the project alone, estimated at $104 million, is expected to employ dozens of local workers and would mean the purchase of construction products locally, Army officials say.

Once the hotel is operational, it would employ 275 local residents, contributing about $6.4 million in annual wages locally, the Army estimates.

Additionally, an estimated $2.1 million could be spent in goods and services outside the installation by those staying on base, figures show.

By building its own hotel, the Army also would save on off-post lodging, which usually involves higher rates than the on-base installations, said Fort Lee's Garrison Commander Col. Mike Morrow.

The Army also would save on transportation expenses used when students or personnel stay off-post, Morrow said.

By the time the hotel is operational, the number of hotel rooms used outside Fort Lee would be slightly higher than the current rate. Fort Lee estimates that the number of outside room-requirements will go from 479 in 2008 to 723 in 2012.

During the construction in the next two years, however, local hotels would see a significant jump in business. Potential off-post room requirement is expected to peak at 1,783 in 2011. The number would drop to the 723 once the proposed facility opens.

These projections disturb area businesses and leaders, many of whom had anticipated a significant increase in business from Fort Lee.

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News of the construction of the hotel came as a shock to area residents and leaders in June, and the project has not been received well in the community.

It has become the one dividing issue between the installation and the surrounding communities at a time when both parties have emphasized good relations to deal with the growth.

In August, Fort Lee held a public meeting to receive comments on the project as part of the environmental assessment process. Since then, about 70 business owners have organized into the Greater Tri-Cities Hospitality Coalition and pressured Fort Lee to extend the public period time on the project.

The installation agreed to a 30-day extension, giving area residents until Oct. 7 to comment on the impacts of the project. But the coalition, which requested 120 days, is negotiating with Fort Lee for additional time, said Linas Kojelis, the group's coordinator.

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Jim Webb, both D-Va., and U.S. Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, last week asked the Army in a letter to extend the comment period for 120 days, referring to the concerns raised by the business coalition.

Kojelis said the community needs more time to review the effects the project would have on area businesses, particularly on the local hotel industry, and on recently built hotels that projected major business from Fort Lee.

Fort Lee, meanwhile, has put together several briefings to reach out to the surrounding communities. The installation has assured residents that the plan is to build 1,000 rooms and no more, despite the plan detailing the possibility of expanding to another 700 rooms.

"We ought to give our soldiers the best support in their education," Morrow said in a recent meeting. "We are also absolutely committed to working with the community in partnership. We want to continue the great relationship we have."

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