THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512220189
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Portsmouth citizens who have been working for a year on Vision 2005 gathered last week for a review of the action so far. The news is good and came just in time to make the holidays brighter.
Bids for High Street Landing, a ferry dock at the foot of High Street, came in $1 million under the original estimate of $4 million. TRT will use federal grants to pay for two-thirds of the costs.
Construction will begin at the waterfront within two months and is expected to be completed by spring 1997.
Work continues to finish Kings Crossing condominiums, the committees heard last week. Space on the first floor will be devoted to retail businesses, including some of the existing Portside vendors who will move to High Street.
Meanwhile, work continues. Buildings on London and on High have been demolished. The city is talking to developers who are interested in the Olde Towne and want to build new houses on the London sites. On High Street, the open space, surrounded by buildings will be used by Portsmouth Community Development for a variety of activities.
New retail shops, including arts and antiques, are expected to open in the spring. Two of the buildings have been sold, two leased and one has a proposal on it.
On Northside, work is proceeding on the acquisition of deteriorated houses along the edge of Park View, where Harrell Street will be extended from Parkview Avenue along the Naval Hospital property to Elm Avenue in 1996. The plan is designed to provide space for new housing and several developers, who are looking at the Olde Towne sites also are looking in Park View to build housing attractive to Navy folks stationed at the hospital.
Construction on the new high school is moving right along and various parties interested in the Effingham to Elm corridor south of High Street are coming to terms.
Club DePorres, an organization based at High and Chestnut streets, had drawn plans and taken bids for new residential/retail buildings on Chestnut.
Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority has asked the federal government for permission to demolish all of the Ida Barbour housing park. Barring complete demolition, PRHA wants to thin out the project, turn walkways into streets to give each occupant a street address.
City officials hope to involve the many churches in the area to help stabilize the Effingham Corridor.
``This is a cornerstone area of the city,'' Ray Gindroz, economic planning consultant, said. ``Now it is an empty desert instead of a vital section of the city.''
A streetscape plan is under way at Midtown, starting with the beautification of High Street from the Airline Boulevard intersection out to Maryview Hospital. The city is working to re-align streets around MidCity and also to convince property owners to refurbish buildings to attract new businesses.
As citizens listened last week, they realized that although not much action is visible at this time, a lot is going on.
Much of the work being done by city agencies requires appraisals, surveys and bidding, so a great of preliminary paperwork must be done before the public sees any action.
It is happening, Vision 2005 coordinator Steve Herbert said.
Gindroz said the initial expenditures by the city should attract private money in short order.
The discussions for two days last week were convincing and a happy reminder that Portsmouth is committed to the future.
Christmastime is a good time to think about Portsmouth.
It is a season of optimism, a time of good will and of generosity of spirit. The heart rules at Christmas.
Portsmouth people who generally love their city can take heart from last week's reports and continue to gather support for the year to come.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH DEVELOPMENT by CNB