THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409070108
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority hopes to spur construction of about 100 single-family homes in the troubled Park Place neighborhood over the next five years.
The homes are among several highlights of a new plan that the redevelopment agency is preparing for Park Place.
Also featured are new parks, senior-citizen apartments and additional space for businesses.
The agency hopes to bring a formal proposal to public hearings later this fall and begin implementing the plan early next year, said R. Patrick Gomez, community development director.
General objectives of the redevelopment plan, Gomez said, are to increase home ownership, reduce housing density by demolishing more blighted multi-family properties, establish a more logical street pattern and improve public parks and infrastructure.
Gomez and David H. Rice, the authority's executive director, discussed some details with the Park Place Police & Property Owners Association last week. The organization is a group of landlords that works with police on neighborhood improvements.
The redevelopment plan would focus on three key areas of Park Place. Here are some highlights of the preliminary proposal:
Area 1 generally is around the Park Place Multi-Service Center and James Monroe Elementary School, both in the 600 block of W. 29th Street. The redevelopment authority would acquire land to:
Widen and landscape Newport Avenue to create a better connection between the multi-service center and commercial W. 35th Street, two blocks to the north.
Develop senior-citizen apartments.
Develop an early childhood education center.
Encourage construction of single-family homes.
Area 2 generally is bounded by Colonial Avenue and Granby, W. 31st and 35th streets. Land would be acquired to:
Realign several streets.
Develop small parks at Colonial Avenue and W. 34th Street, Llewellyn Avenue and W. 33rd Street and Granby Street across from the current entrance to the city's zoo.
Demolish blighted buildings to make way for new single-family homes.
Area 3 is a triangular area bounded by Granby, Church and W. 26th streets. The redevelopment agency would buy land to encourage more business development over the next five to 10 years in conjunction with the widening of Church Street.
The authority does not believe it viable to develop homes in this tract, Gomez said.
The agency, Gomez said, still needs to do more study of commercial W. 35th Street. He also said Park Place needed a better transition between residential areas and the light-industrial zone along the neighborhood's southern boundary. ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
This map from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority shows
the proposed sections for improvements to Park Place. Toward the
left will be landscaped road improvements between the Park Place
Multi-Service Center and W. 35th Street, senior-citizen apartments,
an early childhood education center and single-family homes. At the
center are realigned streets, small parks and single-family homes.
The area at lower right would be redeveloped for commercial use.
by CNB