DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997             TAG: 9703120434

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR., STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   63 lines

IDA BARBOUR PARK REVITALIZATION GETS COUNCIL'S GO-AHEADPORTSMOUTH RECEIVED A $50 MILLION GRANT TO REPLACE PUBLIC HOUSING WITH PRIVATE HOMES.

The City Council cleared the way Tuesday night to begin the Ida Barbour Park revitalization, unanimously giving the housing authority rights to an abandoned neighborhood school and rezoning an adjacent property to allow a church to expand.

They are the first steps in what is expected to a multi-year process of turning the crime- and poverty-stricken public housing complex into a neighborhood of homeowners capable of supporting themselves.

``This is a journey that will be unfolding in the weeks, months and several years to come,'' said Planning Director Jim Gildea. ``The principles being laid out by the city and PRHA are being done because we want to make that whole section of the city healthy once again.''

The housing authority has received a $50 million grant from the federal government to raze the public housing complex and replace it with private homes.

Ida Barbour's residents will have an opportunity to own one of the homes through lease/purchase arrangements. Those who choose to do so must sign contracts promising to work, educate themselves and participate in their community. Those who don't will be given vouchers for federally subsidized housing elsewhere.

The first phase is expected to be a showcase for the revitalization and will be used to attract prospective home buyers from inside and outside the community.

``The design will be transferable to the rest of the revitalization,'' said Danny Cruce, director of the housing authority. ``The design is borrowing from neighborhoods such as Olde Towne and Glensheallah. It is an asset to the city.''

The demolition of the abandoned Riddick-Weaver School will clear about nine acres between South Street and Interstate 264 for construction of up to 69 single-family homes, according to city officials.

Demolition is scheduled to be completed within 60 to 90 days and the houses will be finished within a year.

Seeking to create urban housing similar to that of Portsmouth's Olde Towne section, the council also approved a rezoning of the school property allowing small residential lots to be created on the land.

The previous zoning, used mostly in suburban areas, would only have permitted six or seven houses to be built on an acre of land, Gildea said. The new zoning can accommodate up to 10 houses and allows for such urban features as lighting in alleys, he said.

Many of Ida Barbour's residents are members of the Mount Calvary Baptist Church - which is expected to play a role in the revitalization through a continuation of its community outreach programs.

The City Council approved a zoning change to Mount Calvary's property from residential to office use to enable the growing church to expand.

The approval of the rezoning is a break from recent tradition in the city. With more than half of Portsmouth's land belonging to churches, the state or the federal government - and thus being tax exempt - the City Council and the Planning Commission have rejected numerous requests by churches that want to build on commercially zoned land.

Gildea said Mount Calvary's situation is different because it already owns the land.

``We wholeheartedly support their expansion and what they are doing in that community,'' he said.

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