THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 10, 1995 TAG: 9501100345
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
In presenting his final version of the city's new economic development plan, design consultant Ray Gindroz said the city already has $2.5 million to build a new harbor at the end of High Street - one of his top priorities.
But city officials said the money, coming through Tidewater Regional Transit, is not guaranteed. The city has been promised one grant through TRT which totals about $450,000 for a new harbor. A second grant, worth nearly $1.9 million in federal funds, is under consideration, said Robert P. Creecy, the city's director of management services.
The money would be used to build the new harbor, which would include docking space for the TRT ferryboats and room for a tall ship. A new Portside and festival place would be built on the adjacent land.
Other elements of the Gindroz plan are also under way, even though the council has not yet approved the plan.
The city is currently negotiating with casino operators to build a new park, a riverboat basin and a new hotel and convention center at the old Coast Guard station adjacent to city hall. Those plans are based on the drawings designed by Gindroz and his company, Urban Design Associates.
The City Council has also adjusted its plans for the new I.C. Norcom High School - relocating the school and stadium on the Harry Hunt Junior High School site so that they fit in with the Gindroz plan.
The city will hold a public hearing on this version of the plan on Jan. 24. It is scheduled to hold a second public hearing including any amendments to the plan on Feb. 7.
``There are two things people need to remember,'' said Matthew James, economic development director. ``The first is that this is all conceptual. Nothing in this plan is set in stone. . . The second thing is that this is not the `Gindroz plan', this is the Portsmouth Economic Development plan. This is our plan, and it will only work when people begin looking at it as their plan and asking what they can do to make it happen.''
The plan calls for major improvements to four areas of the city, the east waterfront; the Effingham, Elm and Parkview area; the I.C. Norcom site; and Mid-town, including the MidCity Shopping Center. by CNB