THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 9, 1994 TAG: 9412070101
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Want to show your support for Portsmouth?
This weekend is a good time to start.
The opening of the Children's Museum will bring many strangers to the city. The shops in Olde Towne, Midtown and all around town are putting on their best manners to welcome visitors.
Portsmouth folks need to do likewise. We should be visible in great numbers on the streets, showing the visitors that we think Portsmouth is a wonderful and safe place to shop.
Furthermore, those who have been driving off to another city to buy holiday presents might find just the right gifts right here.
Although Portsmouth continues to lose retail businesses, it also continues to get new small shops that offer a great variety of items.
Last year about this time I went all over town looking for places to buy holiday gifts. Much to my amazement, I spotted hundreds of ideas in many parts of the city. Instead of doing three or four items in a Christmas shopping story, I wound up listing all the many, many places scattered all over town because so many people believe there is nothing to buy in Portsmouth.
In fact, there are many stores to shop.
Granted most are specialty shops, but that's where the interesting gifts are found.
Every dollar spent in Portsmouth reaps rewards for the city. Every $250,000 in retail sales tax is equal to one cent on the real estate tax rate.
In 1993, the effective buying income for Portsmouth was $1,182,708,000. Sadly just about half that amount was reported in retail sales in the city.
That translates into a lot of Portsmouth money traveling across city lines to put taxes in somebody else's coffers.
Aside from the sales tax angle, which is the most direct way to benefit yourself, there are many other reasons to support Portsmouth businesses.
First and foremost, we need to encourage people to stay in business here. They not only pay taxes. They make Portsmouth a pleasant place to live and work.
The departure of businesses from MidCity and from Downtown has made it very difficult to live in the northeast quarter of the city.
I remember once having to cross into the Chesapeake sector of Churchland to buy a spool of thread to match a blouse. Nobody in Portsmouth carried a wide variety of colors. It seemed utterly ridiculous to drive all those miles to spend less than a dollar for thread to sew on a button, but there were no options at that time.
When we lost the old-fashioned Woolworth's (before it became a discount store), Kmart and some of the other places that carried a variety of everyday items, living in the older sections of the city from Olde Towne to the Churchland bridges became more difficult.
The recent economic development plan calls for a reconfiguration of MidCity shopping center that would be aimed at capturing one of the national chains making returns to older cities. MidCity would be a perfect place for one of them because of the large number of middle-class people who still live near that area.
However, we aren't going to get any of the larger businesses if we don't support the smaller shops already in existence.
Empty storefronts and deserted parking lots will not entice anybody - new business or new residents.
All of this is leading up to another pitch for shopping in Portsmouth, of course.
We need the tax dollars that come from thriving businesses. We also need successful businesses, not empty buildings, in the city if we are going to attract newcomers.
The folks who have opened new businesses here over the past few years are eager to make it. They work hard to earn our support.
Start this weekend Downtown. Shop, have lunch, go to a concert and check out the new museum Saturday.
Visitors take cues from local folks. If you're walking around Downtown having a good time, they'll do likewise.
And that's the image we must portray. by CNB