THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130376
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
A new landing and ferry dock could be open this summer at the end of High Street, according to city officials.
The new High Street Landing is set to be the centerpiece for a proposed festival place and a major attraction for Portsmouth - one designed to bring more entrepreneurs and tourists to the downtown business district.
The City Council reviewed bids for the project, as well as funding options, during a work session Tuesday. The council members got good news on two fronts. The facility will cost less than expected, $3.6 million - and Tidewater Regional Transit will be cover nearly $1.9 million of that through grants.
City engineers had predicted the project would cost more than $4 million and the officials estimated that the city would have to pay more than $2 million of that.
The High Street Landing will feature a ferry dock as well as a harbor for private boats and for some sailing ships. The city also hopes to anchor tall ships near the new landing.
The new ferry landing is part of the city's Vision 2005 Economic Development plan designed, in part, to capitalize on the city's ample shoreline. The new landing would be located next to King's Crossing, a waterfront condominium project that had stalled for eight years, but is undergoing final construction.
Economic development officials said they see this project as another boost to the city's downtown and one that would complement projects that have already begun. The ferry landing will also drop visitors off within a block of the Children's Museum of Virginia - the city's most successful attraction. by CNB