THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 26, 1996 TAG: 9602260038
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, Staff Writer
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
It's been a dream for more than a decade - a marina, on the northern bank of Scotts Creek, filled with sailboats, yachts and speed boats.
It is a dream that residents of Parkview, West Parkview and Shea Terrace have kept alive, lobbying the City Council, pitching their ideas to the city's economic development department, courting developers to make the marina a reality.
The northside neighborhoods - as the three are called - found developers willing to build a marina development - one they hope would bring prestige to their neighborhoods as well as tourists to the city. The project has been in the design stages for nearly a year.
Now the council and the Industrial Development Authority are set to meet Tuesday to discuss the marina proposal and whether the city should support a public-private partnership.
The developers and authority members have been ironing out the final details of real estate negotiations. A formal vote bythe council has yet to be scheduled.
The developers, Myrl Hairfield and Bill McKnew, have an impressive list of accomplishments. Hairfield was involved in developing Kingsmill in Williamsburg and the 7,300-acre Stone Bridge development on the York River. McKnew's background is in financing developments. He has worked with Perpetual Bank and B.F. Saul in northern Virginia.
``We're working on putting together the total deal,'' Hairfield said last week. ``Our plan is to proceed cautiously so we can make sure it's good for the city and for us at the same time.''
The marina project is ``a calculated risk that we're taking,'' Hairfield said. ``If this marina goes well in the first phase, it will be onward and upward from there.''
If the city approves the project, the industrial authority would sell 22 acres at Harper Avenue along the creek's north shore to the developers. The price and terms are still being negotiated.
Commissioner William L. Kline said the authority is ``still talking about it and trying to work out a method by which they can sell the property . . . I hope it all works out.''
The project is suited to the city's Vision 2005 economic development plan, even though the marina concept was formed long before the plan.
``We tried to adapt the vision to a real venture,'' Hairfield said.
Matthew James, the city's economic development director, said a marina fits well with the city's plans.
``I think, appropriately structured and designed, it offers a wonderful opportunity . . . '' said James. ``It has the potential to expand recreational opportunities and could have a tremendous impact - increasing home values - in the surrounding neighborhood.''
James said building a marina on Scotts Creek means more than simply constructing a place to moor boats. Scotts Creek, which is mostly unnavigable for larger vessels, would need to be dredged.
Although the city has set aside nearly $900,000 to dredge Scotts Creek, the federal dredging permit requires an approved marina project before dredging can begin.
Hairfield said that pending council approval, his group is ready to begin construction.
Hairfield and his partners want to build the marina in several phases starting with construction of 103 boat slips and a storage area. Eventually, he said, the marina would have slips for 300 boats, space for retail sales of boats and motors, dry-docking and storage and a first-class restaurant.
Hairfield said residents in the surrounding neighborhoods have been extremely supportive.
``The idea is to start something that can uplift the whole community,'' he said. ``They (northside residents) are an active community, and they know what they want. That's a plus for everything Portsmouth is trying to do.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color graphic
Area Shown: Marina would be built along the north shore of Scotts
Creek
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH MARINA PORTSMOUTH INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY by CNB