THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 14, 1994 TAG: 9409140482
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Norfolk State University's president has been negotiating with city officials for more than two years to acquire 25 acres in South Brambleton on which to build an urban institute, hotel and business school.
On Tuesday, President Harrison B. Wilson expected to get a formal endorsement from the City Council for the project. But council members told him to come back next week.
The sticking point was the wording of the resolution, which has gone through numerous revisions.
Wilson said Norfolk State's last version was sent to city officials about a month ago. They, in turn, sent their revision back to NSU late Monday, he said.
Wilson, uncomfortable with some of the city's changes, distributed a new draft during the council's informal session Tuesday. But he was told that council members needed time to discuss it before voting on it.
Wilson, clearly frustrated, told them: ``What we're doing is clarifying the language that was given to us at 6 o'clock last night. . . . We've worked in good faith on this, and we feel a little badly about the procedures that are being followed.''
Councilman Randy Wright said: ``I totally support your effort to cross over Brambleton (Avenue). But I would be more comfortable with a one-week delay to absorb all of this.''
The major difference in the drafts was the city's inclusion of a reference to a proposed ramp off Interstate 264, which would be near the parcel of land. Plans for the ramp are not directly related to NSU's project, and Wilson wanted the reference deleted because ministers in the area around the university oppose the ramp.
``I think any of you will agree with me: You can't go against your people who you're living with,'' Wilson said.
Councilman Mason C. Andrews said after the session: ``Slipping the ramp in (the resolution) was an unnecessary complication.'' But another councilman, G. Conoly Phillips, said during the meeting: ``I think it has to be included. It's a very, very important part of our future.''
Wilson has championed the urban institute as a practical think tank that would help solve nagging inner-city problems from crime to unemployment. But the city's approval is just the first hurdle. Once NSU gets the land, it needs plenty of public and private grants to establish the center.
Wilson told NSU board members Tuesday morning that he had talked to Gov. George F. Allen recently about the project. ``He realized the importance of it,'' Wilson said. ``Of course, the bottom line is money. That's the problem, and he indicated that.'' by CNB