THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407120161
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
The Planning Commission has the support of City Councilman W. Randy Wright for a commercial-area revitalization strategy.
The commission and the city's professional planning staff soon will ask the full City Council for permission to begin the revitalization strategy with pilot programs in three areas.
The pilot districts will be the Southside communities of Berkley and Campostella; East Little Creek Road between Southern Shopping Center and Azalea Garden Road, and a combined area of 35th Street in Park Place, north Colley Avenue and central Granby Street.
Each district has distinct issues. For example, Southside has few viable businesses; East Little Creek Road is dominated by strip shopping centers, and the combined 35th Street-north Colley Avenue-central Granby Street area is made up of aging small businesses with a shifting market.
The planners, along with help from other city agencies, would analyze market potentials and other characteristics of the three districts and then recommend improvement programs. Also, lessons from the pilot areas eventually would be applied citywide.
``This is something that is awfully important to the growth of the city,'' Wright told the planning commission last Friday. ``It's awfully important that we look at the business side our our city: A) not just downtown, and B) not just big business, but in these neighborhood commercial districts that are all over the city and how we could help improve them.''
Wright agreed with that planners were wise to limit the study to three pilot districts before going citywide.
``You really need to stick to your guns on that'' and not expand the study prematurely, he advised.
Wright also said he would support a budget allocation for the project. But he suggested that an inter-departmental task force be created to oversee the effort.
The planners will brief the City Council on the plan on Aug. 16. That will give the council time to discuss the recommendations in depth during its annual retreat later in August. by CNB