THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507010199
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANE HARPER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The unsightly grounds around the Huntersville Multi-Purpose Center will get a face lift soon when the city begins construction of a new park at the Goff Street center.
Initial plans call for a new tot playground and parking lot, improved lighting and an iron fence to replace the brick wall now surrounding the pool, Norfolk Department of Parks and Recreation Director Stanley Stein said.
More trees will be planted, and grounds will be leveled and covered with a new layer of soil to make for a better play surface, Stein said. In an aesthetic touch, the new fence will be divided at intervals by brick pillars and bushy landscaping.
Parks officials also hope to add a second phase later that would include a multipurpose playing field, a combined tennis and basketball court area, picnic pavilions and outdoor restrooms, Stein said.
The land - sandwiched between Goff Street, Goochland Street and Tidewater Drive - once was considered a possible school site and was left vacant for years, he said. When it became clear that a school would not be built there, Stein said he asked city officials to build a park there.
When department officials first decided to improve the grounds, they only planned to construct the playground, a badly needed parking lot and new fencing at a cost of about $350,000, he said.
But after meeting with residents in the area, they determined that much more needed to be done to meet the community's needs. But city officials first must agree to fund the approximately $650,000 more required before the second phase can be built, he said.
``What was initially a modest project has become a little bigger - but necessarily bigger, we think,'' Stein said. ``Right now we're only going to be able to do the first phase, but we feel pretty good that we're going to be able to do most if not all of it.''
Many of the ideas for the park came from residents who were very active in the process, Stein said.
``The people there have been extremely enthusiastic,'' he said. ``We've met with several civic leagues there, and they've all had input.''
One of those residents was Bea Jennings, executive director of the Old Huntersville Development Corporation and Old Huntersville Civic League. Jennings said she and other residents were pleased with the attention their suggestions and concerns were given.
``It has truly been to me what a partnership should be between a city and a community,'' Jennings said. ``It's (the park) something we've pursued for many years, and it's exciting to finally see it come to fruition.''
Stein said no construction date has been set, but he expects the project will get under way this summer. Stein said that once the design has been submitted and approved, the city will begin accepting bids, award a contract, then start building.
Pat Gomez, director of community development for the Norfolk Redevelopment Housing Authority, the contractor on the project, said most of the work should be complete within several weeks. But the landscaping work probably won't be finished for several months after that because it needs to be done during the cooler fall months, he said.
``This project is a priority of ours, and we will get it under way and finished as soon as possible,'' Gomez said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
A sketch of the new park - between Goff Street, Goochland Street and
Tidewater Drive - in Huntersville.
by CNB