I actually went to the meeting. His foundation is the funding source for the nearly $2 million spent to date. I have no idea no idea what his motivation is. I guess you dont either. But to assume he is doing it for money simply because he is a developer is an extremely shallow comment. I have no problem with people being involved in their community

Mark, Under your scenario, there would be $600 million in available capital, not the required $300 million. $300 million would be equity (and his return on that investment would be $10%), and the developer would borrow $300 million and pay 6% ($18 million) in debt service. You are inadvertently doubling the required capital. Typically, the equity (that

Saintbridge, Don't tell me to chill out. Don't speak for others. Stop trying to make this personal. If you can't substantiate your argument withour reverting to statements about how others feel, you should stop posting. This is about an important issue. Get your facts straight, and state them. How in the world do you know that VanderMaten

Mark, You want a 10% return on investment (your numbers...not mine) equal to $30 million ($300million x 10%). You ALSO want to service the a debt of $300 million (assume borrowed funds) at 6%, or $18 million. WRONG. A return on investment IS the interest of $18 million. Woops. You're off by $30 million in your analysis. Low and behold....the numbers

You don't get it. We have many, many state and federal parks. GO USE THEM. For those of us who don't mind spending our hard earned bucks on something nicer, it would ge great to have that alternative. Why must you oppose everything that you can't afford or choose not to buy? Who cares if some of the stuff is over the top? DON'T GO THERE

Let's let the state do everything for us. Great idea. Maybe they can do it better and cheaper. What a joke. They did a great job the first time around funding and building Explore. I applaud Mr. VanderMaten for having vision and spending HIS OWN MONEY to investigate the viability of providing a beautiful asset for the people of the Roanoke Valley