THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 30, 1994 TAG: 9409290174
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
City officials have been talking to residents about Portsmouth's image, their desires for change and their ideas to improve the city. The Economic Development office is using the discussions to help develop a vision for the city that also will be used as an economic development plan.
Assistant Economic Development Director Steve Herbert talked about the community support, the plans and the city's future.
Q. With all the ideas for improving the community there seems to be a real excitement emerging for Portsmouth's future. Where is all this coming from?
A. The City Council said it was time for a new plan, and as soon as we got that started we've been overwhelmed with people who have come in here and said, ``All right, I want to talk about this.'' And as you know (design expert Ray) Gindroz has met a lot of people. He's been run over by people who have come and sat down and told him what they thought Downtown should look like, what MidCity should be like, what Park View would be like, what the neighborhoods should be like, what the city should be like in the region. It's a tremendous input that's come from formalized groups like the OTPA (Olde Towne Portsmouth Association), various civic leagues and from business people that have just come in here, to merchants throughout the city that have stopped by, to celebrities that have come in raving on what they think should be in here. We've listened to all of them. And we're going to listen to a lot more as we go through this process.
Q. Do you think this energy is attributable in part to the city and its citizens efforts to get a race track here?
A. I think they're related. I think people saw with the race track that Portsmouth could be competitive with anybody in the state. That is the message. Whether we win or lose (the race track), we have come from nowhere in the competition to the front of the pack. And the pride in the city that came out of that process certainly had something to do with the reception and the enthusiasm that's now going into this planning process for this economic development plan.
Q. Will people continue to be excited about the city's future if Portsmouth doesn't win the race track?
A. Well, people will be disappointed, sure. A lot of people worked very hard to win. And we plan to win. But if we don't win there will be a lot of other exciting initiatives going on that will mean good things for the city down the road. I think it's important to note that the contract we have right now with Ray Gindroz is focused on MidCity, Downtown and the waterfront.
Q. How's the city going to finance its vision?
A. The reality of what we've seen so far is that they are very doable financially. Neither Gindroz nor the citizens are proposing building $35 million national maritime centers or $50 million aquariums. We have proposed building on the scale of the city. Creating harbors and inlets. Building first-class residential and some office space into it. The plan calls for a public/private partnership - developers who come in and join with the city. There's not a single piece of it so far that is really beyond the scope of the city and private development's ability to do.
Q. What do you think about the idea of turning High Street into a canal with gondolas?
A. I think that Gindroz and the study committee are correct so far in that you absolutely need to bring water into the city. I think the plan for the new harbor at the end of High Street and a new Portside at the end of High Street appears to be drawing great support right now. Everybody that sees it likes it. You have practical limitations on how far you can take the water in terms of cutting up street patterns and disrupting traffic. But the idea of the harbor at the end of High Street was to return the focus of commercial and retail activity to High Street and bring the ferry landing back there and make it once again the heart of the downtown area.
Q. Is this city at a crossroads right now? Is this the time for the city to move forward or give up on a brighter future?
A. I don't think it's do or die. I think its an opportune time to get on with it. The resources have been allocated by the City Council. And everybody that we've asked to participate has given 110 percent. There's tremendous participation by citizen groups in the effort.
Q. How are you all going to get this plan off of paper and into the cityscape?
A. The person that can answer that is going to get a raise. It's very important to do that. The priorities, what we're going to do this year versus what we're going to do over five years, we're going to have to agree on that pretty soon. Once we get through that process - which we hope to begin in October - then you just do it. You start with the first one and you work your way to the last one. It is doable. The point we're trying to make is it is important to start with something. You need to see the plan start to become reality. We're going to pick a project, and what we've been looking for is a project that would complement the important things that are going on Downtown now. For example, something that would be of benefit to the Children's Museum. Something that would be of benefit to TCC. Likewise in MidCity, something that would have a visible sign of retail returning to the area. We're looking for those sort of pilot projects to get this plan going.
Q. If that doesn't happen right away, is there a chance that this plan will end up sitting on the shelf?
A. This plan will sit on the shelf if a) it's not a good plan or b) citizens don't get behind it and push it. The City Council can approve projects, but we need to have a true interest in the thing. That's why we have tried to involve as many people as we can. We know we have a lot of interest in what we've shown people on the waterfront and Downtown. We know we have a lot of interest in what we're talking about in MidCity. Now what we intend to do is make sure the plan, whatever form it comes out in, is put in front of as many people as we can. It's always out there. We're going to use it in economic development. That's why it's called an economic development plan. We're going to take it out on the road with us. When we talk to people in places like New Jersey and New York, we're going to say, this is Portsmouth's plan. This is where we're going to be in the 21st Century and here's where you can fit into this plan. MEMO: [For a related story, see page 10 of The Currents for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Assistant Economic Development Director Steve Herbert.
by CNB