THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 23, 1995 TAG: 9508230452
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
The City Council is ready to launch its vision for the future. It wants to be known for its waterfront; it wants beautiful new attractions that can be tied in to the city's rivers and lakes, and it wants to build more middle- and upper-income housing.
But that has left some of the city's poorer residents wondering what will happen to them.
On Tuesday, the City Council approved a plan to tear down the River Edge Apartments, a blighted area surrounded by several middle-class communities in the Port Norfolk section of the city. River Edge has a reputation for crime and drugs; the sounds of gunshots can often be heard on weekend nights in that area.
One River Edge resident who didn't want to be named said he was moving out as fast as he could: ``going back to New York where it is safer.'' He and other residents who asked not to be named complained about the crime, saying the city should either ``clean up or tear down'' the apartment complex.
The city plans to rebuild the area into a middle- and upper-middle class community. Using conceptual designs from the city's economic development plan, known as Vision 2005, the city and developers agreed to put a lake in the middle of the proposed neighborhood, and single family homes all around.
The homes will sell for between $105,000 and $150,000, developers said Tuesday. The city will own the lake, but buyers will pay a $400 fee toward its maintenance when they purchase the homes. The builders will pay the city a $412,000 development fee.
City officials hope that the project will increase property values by about $14 million - netting the city an extra $211,000 in real estate taxes once all the homes are sold. For their part, city officials have promised to invest up to $1.75 million in engineering, and updating things like water, sewer and roads.
Residents of the surrounding neighborhoods, including Glenshellah, Lynn Shores, Port Norfolk, Mount Hermon and Merrimac Point, had urged the council to demolish the apartments and to rebuild the area.
A couple of residents living in River Edge said they have seen the plans and they are ``beautiful,'' but they asked what will happen to those folks living in the existing apartments.
James Branch and his wife have been living in River Edge for 18 years. He said his home is solid and he doesn't know why it should be torn down.
``When you're talking about low-income housing, you've got to look at where these people are going to move,'' said Bill Copeland, who lives in River Edge with his teenage daughter.
Copeland originally moved to the apartment complex because it was affordable and within walking distance of his job managing a launderette. He said he will probably move to Norfolk if his unit is demolished.
Copeland isn't opposed to the city demolishing the apartments - he says they are old and can't be heated efficiently - but he believes the city should consider what will happen to those displaced. He said the stock of decent, affordable housing in Portsmouth is shrinking. About 140 of the apartments are occupied.
The developers, Portsmouth Partners/Bush Construction, also own Fairwood Homes, which are low-rent houses near Tower Mall. Company officials have promised to move River Edge residents in good standing to Fairwood Homes. But Vision 2005 also calls for those World War II-era homes to be demolished and for a commerce park and more mid-scale and upscale homes to be built in their places. Bush Construction has said it is willing to sell the development.
Vice Mayor Johnny M. Clemons asked Tuesday whether the residents would be relocated and whether the city would be involved in ensuring they had safe, affordable homes. His answer - it will not.
One woman living in the apartments with her two sons, including a 13-year-old with spina bifida, said, ``I pray to God they won't tear them down.'' She said she didn't want to move to Fairwood Homes where she said the homes ``are like match boxes.''
``There's nowhere for poor people to live now,'' she said. ``They need to build more affordable houses, but all they build now is for people with money. They don't do anything for poor people like me who are struggling to make it. I don't know what I would do. There's nothing wrong with these houses for them to tear them down.''
River Edge residents will get a 60-day notice before demolition begins. Developers have said they hope to begin construction by January. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
PORTSMOUTH LOOKS AHEAD
LAWRENCE JACKSON
Staff photos
James Branch, who, with his wife, has been living in River Edge for
18 years, says said he doesn't know why his home should be torn
down.
Children play on Cambridge Street near the River Edge Apartments,
which are to be torn down to make way for a subdivision of
single-family homes.
LAWRENCE JACKSON
Staff
``When you're talking about low-income housing, you've got to look
at where these people are going to move,'' said Bill Copeland, who
lives in River Edge with his daughter.
by CNB