Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 4, 1994 TAG: 9404040076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It's been that way for the last quarter-century. Faltering attempts at urban renewal began in the late 1960s and left the once-bustling black neighborhood practically a ghost town.
So what do the seven candidates running for City Council think of the latest round of issues in the city's oldest neighborhood?
Generally, they're undecided, and not one of them is taking all the stands advocated by the most vocal organization of residents, the Historic Gainsboro Preservation District.
The few people still living in Gainsboro suspect it long has been seen as a commercial land grab for a turf-hungry downtown, just over the railroad tracks.
Only one of Historic Gainsboro's positions is supported by a majority of candidates. Five of the seven want the neighborhood to be given historic designation, something Gainsboro has sought for three years. With that status could come protection from development and the security of knowing that home improvements won't be for naught.
Republican candidate Barbara Duerk, a homemaker and neighborhood activist, had no clear answer on any of four Gainsboro issues she and other candidates were asked about: support for historic designation, possible demolition of the old Norfolk and Western office buildings, construction of a ballpark in southern Gainsboro and one of two new roads that will cut through the neighborhood.
"I'm not quite sure what the boundaries of Gainsboro are," Duerk said. The next day she called to say she was seeking that kind of background.
She said that "the African-American history in Roanoke needs to be preserved" and that she would "like to see Gainsboro built back up so that black professionals would come back."
The Gainsboro group opposes a widened Second Street/Gainsboro Road to span the railroad tracks and connect downtown with U.S. 460.
It's unfair, the preservationists say, to carve two four-lane roads through the small community for the sake of downtown traffic. The other road is a widened Wells Avenue, set to go into construction this summer by the Hotel Roanoke.
Four of the seven candidates favored Second Street, and none opposed it outright. It is expected to be built a little later.
Candidates were least clear on the future of the two old railroad office buildings, just across Jefferson Street from the hotel. There has been talk of demolishing them to build a convention center or of restoring parts or all of the buildings.
Asked whether they should be torn down, Democratic incumbent William White, an accountant, said, "I have no idea."
Democrat Linda Wyatt, a teacher, said she had not heard about tearing down the buildings. As for how they might be used, she said, "I hadn't given that a lot of thought."
Historic Gainsboro President Evelyn Bethel wants them saved.
"Everybody wants to save something and let somebody else pay for it," said Republican John Voit, a businessman who owns property on the City Market. He said he's generally in favor of preserving old buildings, but he questions the cost of keeping those.
Wyatt was undecided on the Second Street construction. "My understanding is if that road goes through, it's going to have a devastating effect on the community," she said.
So does she oppose the road? She didn't know. "I have not looked at the plans personally and before I'd say yea or nay, I'd have to look at it to weigh both sides."
Duerk, a member of the city Planning Commission, said she would have looked at alternative routes if she had been on the commission when Second Street was approved.
So what does she think of it now?
"Uh, what do I think? I empathize with the citizens of Gainsboro," she said. "If we are going to have Second Street, then we need to make it advantageous to the community." She would not say whether she favors it or not.
Neither would Democrat John Edwards, a lawyer. "Depends on how it's done," he said. "I think it has to be designed very carefully. It needs to fit into the concept of Gainsboro renewal."
White, the only black candidate up for election, favors the road. "Hopefully, the impact will be more positive than negative."
Voit, White, Republican John Parrott (a construction engineer) and Democrat Nelson Harris (a minister) all favor the road.
"It's at the point now where I don't think we can do anything about it," Parrott said.
"Whatever it takes to make that Hotel Roanoke a success will benefit that area," said Voit.
Harris said Second Street was not an easy road to support. He hopes the city will be "sensitive" to people living near it. Still, he backs it.
"I kind of give a hesitant `Yes,' " he said. "With our Hotel Roanoke project going up and the [Hunter] viaduct no longer operable, we need to alleviate the traffic flow in and out of downtown."
Of all the Gainsboro issues, none brought more comment from this mostly male pool of candidates than Councilman Delvis "Mac" McCadden's campaign to build a stadium in Gainsboro near the Hotel Roanoke.
"I couldn't visualize, looking out the Jefferson Club window, where it would be," Duerk said. The club's on the top floor of a downtown office building. She said she stood there one day and tried to see where McCadden wants the ballpark to go, between the hotel and Henry Street.
Harris is against it. "It's incompatible with the Hotel Roanoke project," he said. "No. 2, I think it's only going to swell the parking problem in that area. No. 3, the Gainsboro community is not for it. No. 4, we haven't explored other ideas for a ballpark," such as fixing up Victory Stadium in South Roanoke.
Edwards said he doesn't believe there's enough room for a new stadium near the hotel even if somebody flattened every building in two square blocks, which he wouldn't want to see.
White's against a ballpark in that area. "I don't think that's a good idea, with all the things that's happened over the years to Gainsboro."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB