THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270512
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR., STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 66 lines
City Hall for sale?
Not yet. But that could be in the works if city officials go forward with an idea to move the seat of Portsmouth government off the downtown waterfront.
New locations could be Tower Mall or MidCity Shopping Center. Or a new building could go up at a site not yet determined.
Portsmouth officials are weighing the idea as a way to lure a big-name corporation and other tax-paying businesses to the Elizabeth River waterfront, as part of downtown revitalization.
The relocation of Portsmouth City Hall has been discussed for years. But city staff's consideration of the proposed new sites represents the most serious thinking yet toward making that idea a reality, Deputy City Manager C.W. McCoy said Thursday.
``At City Council's request the city manager has been aggressively pursuing the relocation of City Hall,'' McCoy said. ``If it proves beneficial we will move forward.''
Strapped for cash, Portsmouth is seeking to revive its economic base. As a result of aggressive recruiting, the downtown office vacancy rate has dropped to about 10 percent, down from 20 percent in 1990, said Matthew James, Portsmouth's economic development director.
That created a need for additional space to attract businesses, James said.
So, rather than keep a waterfront building filled with government offices, McCoy said, city officials would prefer a company that created jobs and paid taxes.
``It would be good if we could do this and sell the building to a large corporation,'' McCoy said. ``If we could bring a Fortune 500 here it would be very marketable from the city's standpoint.''
The City Council, three months ago, requested relocation proposals from developers, McCoy said.
Portsmouth officials, he said, are now negotiating with developers to determine the price and feasibility of each proposal. The costs of each option range between $10 million and $20 million, he said.
The proposal for a new municipal center came from the Chesapeake-based Armada/Hoffler Construction Co.
The center would have a 110,000-square-foot main building and two annexes at 20,000 square feet each, McCoy said.
The owners of Tower Mall and the MidCity Shopping Center made separate relocation proposals to the city, McCoy said.
If City Hall moved to Tower Mall - sold last week to a North Carolina investment firm - it would occupy space formerly used by Hess's Department Store, McCoy said.
The space formerly used by a JC Penney store would be the site of city government offices if City Hall moved to MidCity, he said.
Moving to Tower Mall or MidCity also might be a boost for the struggling retail centers, some city officials have said. But before deciding to relocate to either shopping center, city officials want to know if a retail center and government offices can coexist under the same roof, McCoy said.
``That is the biggest question,'' McCoy said. ``Typically, they are not compatible.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Portsmouth City Hall
Map/VP
Possible Relocation sites for Portsmouth City Hall
[For complete copy, see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH CITY HALL by CNB