Suffolk News-Herald

The State Corporation Commission recently incorporated a new organization related to the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center.

Constant’s Wharf Condominium Association Inc. was incorporated on Aug. 22, with City Attorney C. Edward Roettger Jr. listed as registering agent, said an SCC spokeswoman.

Neither Roettger nor City Manager R. Steven Herbert were familiar with the organization initially. Richmond Attorney John Bates, who is representing the city on the hotel project, filed the necessary documents with the SCC, Roettger said.

The condominium association was formed for legal reasons, Roettger added.

Although the Hilton Garden Inn and Conference Center will operate as one unit, the city will retain ownership of the conference center.

The dividing lines between the properties will be invisible to guests using one or both facilities, but the lines between developer Stormont Noble Development Group and the city’s Constant’s Wharf Condominium Association Inc. will be clearly defined on paper, Roettger said.

That’s important, particularly if anyone should attempt to file a lawsuit due to an accident on the property. The boundaries will be used to establish who would assume fiscal responsibility for the accident.