Is it a Hilton? or a Westin? ... Or NOT

It started back in 2004. The City of Norfolk Spent $9.3 million to acquire three properties to make way for the Hilton Conference Center downtown. This was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. Expensive sliced bread. When you add the $7.5 million subsidy, the project would cost $16.8 million in taxpayer dollars. Regardless, the city pushed forward and demolished historic buildings, such as the IKON building and the old Decker Law building. Then we forgot about it. The entire project mysteriously evaporated from the public eye until May of 2008 when, SURPRISE, it is now a Westin. Apparently the much anticipated Hilton project fell through and the city, knowing the citizen would revolt and revive such concepts as tar and feathering, hastily worked on replacing it. On May 27, 2008, They announced the Westin Plan, which apparently was the Hilton plan with the name Westin inserted instead. Now, it is nearly September and there has been no work accomplished. No piling or anything. In fact the old BB&T parking lot is even still there.

ABOVE: December 17, 2007 - BELOW: August 27, 2008

As you can see, with the exception of one more building being demolished last December, there has been absolutely no progress. What's going go Norfolk? Where is this building. It was scheduled to open in 2011 and has already apparently started booking for conferences but they haven't even started running pilings. The Wachovia building was running pilings before they even closed the parking lot!
I will try to find out more if I can. If anyone's got any information, please let me know.