THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 10, 1995 TAG: 9507080325
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Talk of the Town
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
If high technology is a key to creating jobs, then the region must attract high-tech firms.
At least that's logic behind the talk in Norfolk to use public finances to help launch a high-tech center near Eastern Virginia Medical School.
``Norfolk is considering developing a facility that would jump start a biomedical research facility,'' said Norfolk economic director Robert Smithwick.
It's not the first time the idea has surfaced. ``We go back to a point in time six years ago when we began the process of developing a biomedical research park,'' Smithwick said. Plans folded when financing fell through for the prospective tenant.
``What we have not had is anybody willing to build speculative space,'' Smithwick said. ``We're caught up in the changing times. We could have had this five years ago if we'd had somebody willing to build the space.''
Virginia's cotton acres will more than double this year. ``I figure if you're going to jump in, you might as well jump in over your head,'' said Southampton farmer Nelson Cobb, who planted 750 acres of cotton.``I think cotton is here to stay,'' said Windsor-area grower Cecil R. Byrum. ``When we thought about trying to stay in farming, there was no way to do it with corn.
Speaking of high-tech, the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology in Herndon has looked for a liaison to work with the Peninsula Advanced Technology Center in Hampton. The liason would help companies put into commercial production the technology invented in the area, home to the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton and the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility in Newport News.
``CIT will use the technology at NASA Langley, CEBAF and the universities to create jobs and help companies become more effective,'' said CIT licensing director Louis P. Berneman. ``Ten years from now, you're going to see a different Peninsula.''
Speaking of retailing, we're already seeing a different Peninsula. Books merchant Barnes & Noble and department store Hecht's have eyed the Peninsula. Hills Department Stores opened in Newport News and on the southside in Chesapeake. And Caldor Corp. and Target Stores plan to open stores throughout Hampton Roads next year.
``This is going to be a battleground for the upscale discount department stores,'' said Teresa Andreoli, associate editor of the New York-based trade magazine Discount Store News. ``I think there is going to be a lot of competitive pricing. And they are all going to try to focus on innovative merchandising.''
``Despite the possibility of base closings, the Peninsula market is a growing market,'' said Ken Gassman, an analyst at brokerage Davenport & Co. of Virginia in Richmond. ``These supercenters target the mass-market consumer - the middle-income consumer typically on a relatively fixed wage. That is the largest market segment in the Peninsula market.'' by CNB