THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 29, 1994 TAG: 9412230296
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Long : 136 lines
These are excerpts from a speech given by Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim at a recent meeting of the Downtown Norfolk Council:
We have come a remarkably long way these past eight years.
The expansion of Waterside occurred, and the convention center became a reality. We have given birth to Harbor Park and Nauticus and the Harrison Opera House. We have refurbished the Wells Theatre and renewed The Chrysler Museum. We have broken ground for a Downtown Campus of Tidewater Community College and are speculating about plans to build a new center - MacArthur Center. One project built upon another, each adding to the vitality of the other.
The city's financial position continues to be sound, but we still have only small margins to work with.
Revenues are up with the last quarter sales taxes coming in 7.2 percent ahead of the same period last year.
Admission and meals taxes are up even discounting for the increases last January to finance the tourism initiative.
There has also been a surge in building permit activity, with September coming in well above August, due largely to a $10 million investment by Ford Motor Co. in its truck plant.
We have kicked off a regional tourism initiative.
We have recommitted ourselves to a downtown that is safe for workers and visitors.
In 1994, downtown crime went down 11 percent from last year.
Crime on Granby Street is down 20 percent for the same period.
As we review the year, I welcome this opportunity to say a few words about Nauticus - about its short history and about its goal.
As Nauticus moved from the design to construction phase, numerous changes to the layout, exhibits and attractions were approved to add quality and value to the project with the expectation that revenues would offset the expense. These improvements also added to the construction period, delaying the opening of Nauticus by seven months. Pre-opening expenses, marketing efforts, as well as administrative expenses were occurring during this period.
When Nauticus opened on June 1, 1994, the city had a facility of which it could be rightfully proud, and without question it accomplished its primary goal of being a people generator. It was busy downtown all summer - morning, noon and night.
A probable result of this is that Waterside Marriott and Omni have both experienced an 8 percent increase in occupancy over last summer; citywide hotel occupancy was up 3.7 percent. The Waterside Festival Marketplace experienced sales increases of 15 to 28 percent.
Nauticus alone will generate $575,000 in tax revenue for the city in its first eight months, 180 days of operation.
Nauticus was challenged to be an overachiever in its financial performance. It was challenged to meet its full capital repayment - principal and interest - even during construction, and to pay on a current basis for the additional changes and pre-opening expenses rather than on a repayment schedule which allowed capitalization of these items.
To its credit, Nauticus paid full debt service from foundation funds during its two years of construction. And it has generated operating revenues to more than offset its operating expenses since opening.
And if allowed to take credit for the tax revenues it generated directly, it will continue to meets its current and adjusted debt payments to the city.
Our original goal was to have Nauticus pay for itself while at the same time stimulating revenue generation from other nearby attractions and amenities, and that goal is being achieved.
Downtown Norfolk 2000 Update Let me change gears for a moment and talk a little bit about the big picture, downtown.
In 1989 we issued a glossy color brochure celebrating our success in downtown development and anticipated development for the next 10 years.
Since then, despite the national recession and the slowdown in private development, major projects have been completed in downtown by the private sector, the public sector and partnerships between the two.
Many of them were foreseen. Others, like Harbor Park, while not in the plan, were stimulated by the plan's vision.
With the TCC campus and MacArthur Center in the pipeline, the time is right for the downtown community to update its vision for the next phase of development beyond what is set to come on line.
We will be looking to form working groups on the major topics as a way to obtain needed input from business and community leaders.
It is expected the working groups will focus on the different portions of Granby Street north and south of Brambleton Avenue.
It will also focus on undeveloped segments of the waterfront and on the transportation network to serve downtown.
While it may sound ambitious, we want to be in a position to issue the updated plan by next summer.
And here it might be appropriate to make a few comments about regionalism.
No matter how great our vision for downtown and the city of Norfolk is, it will not be enough to improve the quality of life of our citizens unless the 15 separate jurisdictions of greater Norfolk begin to plan and act as one region and not as so many competing interests.
The communities that are competitive today and will be competitive into the future are regions - not just cities, counties or towns.
This is a particular challenge for us because in Virginia there is much disparity and structural division among localities.
There is something wrong with a system where a city like Norfolk, which has made so many progressive steps to the benefit of the region, which produces 240,000 jobs in a city of only 250,000 people, yet remains a city where the median family income is only 77 percent of the average of the region - where Virginia Beach is 112 percent and Chesapeake is 138 percent.
Core city ills, such as crime, poverty and unemployment must be addressed regionally.
We need public policy that keeps the playing fields more level. There is a growing body of empirical data that says that the regions that have prospered are regions in which their central cities have grown in population, income and jobs.
Indeed, despite the growth of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, wages for the entire Hampton Roads region have remained exactly the same for 20 years.
The truth is there is no mechanism in Virginia to encourage cooperative incentives between localities. In fact, there is a state legacy of structural impediments to economic development.
We have strong natural assets in this region, a well-trained work force and outstanding educational institutions.
However, I ask you to consider the following: the defense budget has declined almost 25 percent since 1987 and is still going down with the loss of thousands of relatively high paying shipbuilding and other defense-related jobs. We are moving from a 600-ship Navy to 340.
Each year 20,000 children in this region reach age 19, but the net annual job growth over the rest of the decade will be only 9,000 jobs per year.
Per capita, income in Hampton Roads is only 90 percent of the national average and continues to drop.
In light of this, some would conclude that the region is at risk.
If we are to compete for more and higher paying jobs in the global economy and thereby secure our future and improve the quality of life for all of our citizens, then, now and in the coming year we must begin to act in regional ways.
As the financial, educational, business and cultural hub of the region, Norfolk must and is taking a leadership role in regionalism.
Norfolk government and Norfolk business is crafting a message of hope and success that will help our region prosper in the future and improve the quality of life for our citizens. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim
by CNB