THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 14, 1994 TAG: 9409140498
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
City Hall no longer is tiptoeing around the issue of public housing in the midst of downtown's multimillion-dollar revival.
On Tuesday, City Council members and planning commissioners confronted the question, saying it's time to plan the future of the Tidewater Gardens, Young Terrace and Calvert Square neighborhoods.
The three neighborhoods have 1,677 apartments, housing about 4,000 of Norfolk's poorest residents.
The Rev. Anthony Paige, a planning commissioner who raised the issue, said a key part of revitalizing downtown is to ``face the reality that a major portion of the real downtown Norfolk is public hous ing.''
Concern about the future of downtown public housing was prompted by developments such as the planned $270 million MacArthur Center shopping mall and the opening of Nauticus.
Until now, the issue usually was discussed only cautiously, usually among small groups of downtown business leaders.
``That's because of the sensitivity that surrounds public housing, which we never seem to want to get into,'' Councilman W. Randy Wright said. ``But all the points were well-made today. We're at the point in time where maybe that whole thing needs to be revisited. . .
``There will not be another better time down the road.''
Wright applauded Paige for raising the issue and fellow Councilman Herbert Collins for making similar comments.
Collins, who owns a small grocery store near the Bowling Green public housing neighborhood, agreed that Norfolk must link the community improvements with downtown revitalization.
``We're going to have to do either one of two things about our projects downtown,'' he said. ``They're going to have to grow with the city or be eliminated.''
Wright said it was politically easier for black leaders like Paige and Collins to ``air the issue without the issue being tainted from a racial perspective. I think it shows an awful lot of leadership ability on the part of those two guys.''
Public housing and downtown development leaders also said they appreciated the issue being raised in an official forum.
``If the city is now paying attention to what lives are like in those communities, that's a good start,'' said Charles Peek, president of the Norfolk Residents Organization, which represents public housing.
But Peek cautioned that future discussions of downtown public housing must include the residents.
Mayor Paul D. Fraim said the council would seek reports from the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the School Board.
``It's probably something we need to spend more time with, in light of the coming of the MacArthur Center,'' Fraim said. ``It's been a great suggestion.''
David H. Rice, executive director of redevelopment and housing, said his agency wants to begin a master plan for the downtown area from St. Paul's Boulevard east to Norfolk State University. The tract includes Tidewater Gardens, Young Terrace and Calvert Square.
It is highly unlikely that Norfolk would tear down public housing, even if it wanted to. In the 1980s, Congress passed a law barring such demolition unless apartments were replaced on a 1-to-1 ratio.
A more promising strategy, officials said, would be renovation.
Led by Paige, several planning commissioners and city councilmen said they would like downtown public housing to be modeled after Diggs Town in Campostella.
There, the housing authority is spending about $17 million in federal funds to make the 422-unit complex look more like a suburban townhouse neighborhood. Diggs Town also has experimental education and social service programs.
Paige said similar efforts in downtown public housing would help address two major issues: attracting upscale shoppers and tourists to downtown, and elevating many of Norfolk's poorest families.
The question of renovations now may become one of speed.
Changes in federal programs make it unlikely that Norfolk could transform the housing before MacArthur Center's scheduled opening in October 1996. Rice said renovations would have to be phased, perhaps over many years.
But Norfolk officials believe they can help public housing residents get good jobs at MacArthur Center. The city already is creating job training programs. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE NEIGHBORHOODS
Young Terrace:
746 units, 1,782 people
Tidewater Gardens:
618 units, 1,553 people
Calvert Square:
313 units, 667 people
Map
JOHN EARLE/Staff
by CNB