Hampton University to break ground on cancer center

Construction is set to begin in August on the $200 million facility.
Once built, it will be one of only six centers in the U.S. that uses protons to target cancerous tumors. COURTESY PHOTOS

By NANCY YOUNG, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 21, 2007

HAMPTON

The financing for it isn't complete, but Hampton University has lined up enough support for a planned $200 million cancer center to break ground, according to the school's president.

The center will be open by 2011, President William Harvey vowed in an interview this week, despite the school's failure so far to win the $20 million in state and federal funding he has sought for the project.

Harvey said major banks are advising the university and that bonds will be issued to complete the financing.

In the meantime, Hampton has been lining up support from local health providers and complet ing a contract with Armada Hoffler to build the facility. The private, historically black school plans a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, with construction set to start in August.

The facility will provide a radiation-type treatment that offers the promise of more effectively destroying diseased tissue with fewer side effects.

"We're bringing this to Virginia because there's such a tremendous need," said Harvey, noting that one of its special ties will be treating prostate cancer, which disproportionately kills black men.

There are five such centers in the country: California, Texas, Indiana, Florida and Massachusetts. Another is under construction at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Ultimately, Hampton University projects that it will treat 125 patients a day at the facility.

"There are some patients for whom protons are the only answer," said Dr. Christopher Sinesi, president of Oncology Associates of Virginia, who has agreed to be the center's medical director. He said he has had patients travel thousands of miles for such treatment. "It's such a momentous thing for Hampton Roads to have this."

Hampton University president William R. Harvey said the center will be open by 2011.

The therapy differs from conventional radiation because of the way that protons interact with body tissues, said Cynthia Keppel, a Hampton physics professor and cancer researcher who is the scientific and technical director of the center. Protons are subatomic particles that essentially travel harmlessly until they reach a peak and release their energy. Using a highly specialized and expensive machine called a cyclotron, scientists can control when and where the protons will release their energy - in this case, against a cancerous tumor.

Keppel said the treatment can be especially valuable in lung and pediatric cancer cases.

"There's nothing experimental about it. It's very well known," said Sinesi, a radiation oncologist. "The problem with it has been the cost and complexity of starting up these centers."

Harvey, since becoming Hampton's president in 1978, has been a relentless fundraiser. During his tenure, the school's endowment has grown from about $29 million to more than $200 million.

Harvey said he learned about the cancer therapy about three years ago and thought, "Let me try to find out a little bit about this proton business."

From there, things moved quickly. By the end of 2005, the university had secured state approval to build the facility. The city of Hampton donated about six acres of land for the project. Armada Hoffler, perhaps best-known for Virginia Beach's Town Center, expressed interest in building it.

IBA, a Belgian company, was chosen to supply the machinery, though a company spokesman said in an e-mail this week that the financing on that is still being worked out.

JPMorgan Chase and BB&T will handle the financing, which will be largely through tax-exempt bonds, Harvey said. Sentara Healthcare, the region's largest health provider, has committed $2 million toward the project, said Ken Krakaur, president of the Peninsula region for Sentara.

Harvey said he would like to see both the state and federal governments contribute as well, characterizing the $500,000 the General Assembly gave this year as "a start."

"I just can't understand why people wouldn't be falling over backward to support this," said Harvey, who maintained that the project will be built regardless of whether it receives more government support.

The project is "in the mix" of what Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is considering for inclusion in his budget next year, but there's a lot of competition, said Kevin Hall, the governor's spokesman.

"We're watching to see what kinds of private partners the folks at Hampton University can bring to the table," Hall said.

Leonard Arzt, executive director of The National Association for Proton Therapy, said Harvey's push for Hampton to join the rare company of institutions with such centers is "a bold and dramatic move."

He said the financing hurdles are significant for such facilities, partly because of increasing competition. In addition to the facilities at Hampton and Penn, three others are in the pipeline, Arzt said.

Lou Haddad, chief executive officer of Armada Hoffler, estimated that the building portion of the project will cost about $50 million. He said his company has no doubts the center will be built. Armada Hoffler has done 30 other projects at Hampton in the past two decades, he noted.

Jimmy Eason, the city of Hampton's economic development director, said Harvey's drive to get the project done has been key.

"He is committed, more so than I've ever seen him on anything," said Eason, a former mayor of Hampton. "Once he puts his mind to something, the odds of it not happening are very, very, very slim."

Nancy Young, (757) 446-2947, nancy.young@pilotonline.com

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