The Warren Sentinel

Article date: October 21, 2004

  Avtex Development concept approved

EDA also approves $700,000 contract for four soccer fields

By: Roger Bianchini

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority followed up last week’s intensive work session review of Executive Director Paul Carroll’s Conceptual Plan for the Avtex Business Park by a 6-0 vote, with one absence, of that plan at its Friday meeting.

However, the board’s interest was piqued when Carroll mentioned that one of six marketing and development companies he had contacted had a history of purchasing entire sites for redevelopment.

“Wouldn’t  we be better off if we found a company that purchased such properties, have them buy the site and come up with their own plan?”  Bill Barnett asked.  “If we can end up in the same place with us spending less money we’re that much better off.”

“If they’re willing to come in and take our plan and work with it, modify it, fine,” Chairman John LaBarca commented of the potential of bringing a buyer in at an earlier stage of redevelopment.

Carroll said that while he had no problem pursuing such a developmental option, it was his understanding that the firm in question, Cherokee Partners of Atlanta, generally purchased Brownfield, or abandoned manufacturing sites, at a much earlier stage of redevelopment, prior to any remediation occurring.

“I’d like to keep the [marketing] process on two tracks,” Carroll said of keeping the EDA’s options open in case such an early site purchase couldn’t be accomplished.

Carroll said this week seven firms, including Cherokee Partners, which he said had over $2 billion in assets, was being pursued as potential developers or marketers of the approximate 170-acre Avtex Business Park ( a detailed review of Carroll’s Conceptual Plan for the site appeared in last week’s issue).

Also at last week’s EDA meeting the board by another 6-0 vote a $722,906 contract with Ballard Construction to build four soccer fields at the 33-acre Avtex SoccerPlex site.

Full realization of the envisioned seven field soccer complex that would include a regional, professional level stadium partially funded by the United States Soccer Foundation, remains a more distant goal, the board was told by county staff.

“I still have a problem with spending $700,000 on four soccer fields,” EDA Board Member Patty Wines said.  “You drive and see soccer fields anywhere.  It looks like they just cleared a cornfield, grass is grass but I guess we got sucked into this U.S. soccer thing.  It just seems to me we’re spending $700,000 and not even getting everything we thought we were.”

Barnett pointed to the cost of prime developmental land as driving costs up.

“We would liked to have had more bids but their bid fell right in where the estimates we expected were,” County Administrator Doug Stanley said .  He added that original cost estimates of the SoccerPlex were as high as $3 million and Ballard’s initial bid on four fields as initially envisioned had was almost $1.2 million.