THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 15, 1995 TAG: 9512140166
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
There's been talk of mounting a boycott against businesses that locate on the lovely green lot at the corner of Battlefield Boulevard and Cedar Road.
Having failed to persuade the owner to sell the property to the city for preservation as a park and memorial to the 1775 Battle of Great Bridge, some preservationists want to take out their disappointment on the establishments that locate there. Businesses need goodwill to succeed and, by denying them that, the preservationists hope to force them to reconsider their plans.
We sympathize with citizens' frustration over the loss of a property that could have been such a valuable and irreplaceable community asset.
But the saddest thing about the situation is that the Great Bridge property might very well have been saved if interest in preserving it had been as enthusiastic before the owner made his deal as it became afterwards.
There are other valuable sites elsewhere in the city that, so far, are not at risk of being destroyed. Out of this episode should come the determination to identify and protect those properties before it's too late for them, too. by CNB