LTD's success and growth propels company to urban chic downtown Norfolk

Downtown Norfolk — LTD Management Co. needed a new corporate headquarters. It had outgrown its suburban office in Chesapeake, and Malay Thakkar and the firm’s five other managing partners wanted a premium address — something that would reflect the success of the hotel development and management company.

During the past 25 years, family-owned LTD has developed 22 properties in Virginia and Maryland under such marquee names as Marriott and Hilton. With 10 more hotels under way, including two in Norfolk, the company continues to grow. In the works now is a possible deal to bring the Westin brand to a hotel that would be part of Norfolk’s new convention center.

After scouting out a few sites, LTD decided to join the growing roster of companies, retailers and residents who are calling downtown Norfolk home. It plans to move into the $170 million Wachovia Center after its opens in 2010 while maintaining the Chesapeake location as a regional office.

The 22-story office center and apartment/retail complex is going up on 4½ acres next to MacArthur Center, one of the region’s popular shopping malls. The Wachovia project will be the first mixed-use development along Norfolk’s light rail line, another new $232 million project. By laying track in the heart of the city, Norfolk is gearing up to shuttle more than 11,000 passengers a day in and out of downtown when the line opens in two years. “Downtown Norfolk is the center of business in the region, and we want to be part of that growth and renewal,” says Thakkar. “The entire downtown has gone through such revitalization in the past 15 years. Moving into the future, we see more growth and a pro-business environment.”

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