                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996                  TAG: 9603080544
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                         LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

BANKRUPTCY OF KEY STORE PUTS DENT IN CHURCHLAND SHOPPING MALL

A controversial shopping center project for Churchland is back on the drawing board after one of its anchor stores recently went bankrupt.

The proposed $8.7 million shopping center, which featured Hannaford Brothers Supermarket, was halted after Caldor Corp., a discount chain that had also planned to open a store in the mall, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.

The city and CBL and Associates are renegotiating a proposal to build a smaller shopping center at the former Churchland High School site. The new plans also mean a new round of public hearings.

The City Council had narrowly approved rezoning the land in a development agreement last year. Because the size and scope of the project is changing, the zoning reverts from commercial to residential and office.

When developers submit new site plans, the council and planning commission will again have to hold public hearings on rezoning the land to commercial use for a shopping center.

City Manager Ronald W. Massie said that process will take at least 90 days. But he added that Hannaford Brothers is still interested in the proposal.

``Hannaford has made a big commitment,'' Massie said, ``We understand they will continue as long as there is progress. What else will go there is still a big question.''

Mayor Gloria O. Webb recently announced that she would like to see a public library built adjacent to the shopping center on the 33-acre site. Her idea is to get the developers to build the public facility and then lease it to the city.

The project had received strong opposition from residents of the Woodbine neighborhood, which is adjacent to the property. Developers of two other shopping centers in the surrounding area also opposed the project.

A handful of the residents and one of the nearby developers, Arnold Leon, filed a lawsuit to block the project. The suit is pending.

Residents of the upscale community are expected to oppose the shopping center in the next round of public hearings. If the rezoning is approved again, Massie said, the city will still have to deal with the lawsuit before construction can begin on the shopping center.

No hearing dates have been scheduled. ILLUSTRATION: Map

by CNB