DATE: Sunday, March 16, 1997                TAG: 9703160042

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   89 lines

SOUTH NORFOLK ACTIVISTS CALL IN CITY-DEVELOPMENT REINFORCEMENTS

The new parks and freshly painted houses in South Norfolk are a testament to the efforts of residents, business owners and city officials who have long been trying to revitalize the neighborhood.

But while those who live and work in South Norfolk agree they are making headway on some fronts, the downtown area can't seem to attract many new businesses, an element on which many of the South Norfolk's troubles hinge. The activists are now pinning their hopes on a team of professionals planning a trip to the city next month.

The area will become the first project of a technical assistance team put together by the Virginia Downtown Development Association - an group of planners, architects, economic development officials and other professionals from around the state.

For the price of joining the group - $50 a year - and the cost of expenses during the team's two-day visit, the team will tour a city and evaluate its potential.

``This is the first time the city has focused on South Norfolk in 25 years,'' said Anne Tregembo, a long-time civic activist and member of an area revitalization commission convened by the mayor. ``The city is spending millions on revitalization in South Norfolk, but we need help.''

Tregembo can rattle off a list of improvements to the neighborhood during the last few years: New parks have been opened; owners of dilapidated buildings are being cited; new drainage, curbing and sewer lines are going in; a new police station opened; young families have moved in and renovated old turn-of-the-century homes.

Not on the list is a major grocery store, she noted. And standing idle are a handful of large buildings and storefronts along Poindexter, one of the main drags in the business district.

``We're coming back and revitalizing,'' she said, ``but the city needs help in urban development, the business district in South Norfolk.''

Property owners say they realize the difficulties in marketing older buildings, some of which have been abandoned and left to deteriorate. Also, with newer buildings and undeveloped land in Greenbrier and other sections of the city, South Norfolk can't always compete.

Jennifer Dalla Vecchia, an administrator for the 12-year-old Downtown Development Association, said many cities are facing difficulties in revitalizing their downtowns - which have deteriorated since suburbs have become popular living and shopping grounds.

The technical assistance team was created to help areas like South Norfolk, which are part of a larger city and too populated to qualify for help from a similar state-run program - the Virginia Main Street Program. Many of the professional consultants, however, gained experience working for the state program or for other revitalization projects.

The leader of the team headed to South Norfolk, Bob Chisom, also serves as executive director of the Downtown Suffolk Association.

Chisom, who has already made one trip to South Norfolk, said the city's enthusiasm will help.

``We can't do anything unless they want to make changes,'' he said.

Chisom, along with Timothy Pfohl, a revitalization planner with the Virginia Main Street Program, an two other unnamed professionals, haven't yet set a date for the formal visit but plan for late April.

The group will spend time interviewing civic, business and city leaders to determine the extent of problems in housing, commercial and municipal areas.

``From the initial visit, people identified dilapidated housing, a lack of a focal retail area with a grocery store and heavy truck traffic on Poindexter,'' he said. ``The most obvious thing to do is identify what the local community sees as their problems. One benefit we have in coming in from outside is that we don't come in with preconceived ideas of what problems are. to start small. We'll set achievable objectives.''

Chisom said the group may have ideas, business contacts and knowledge of grant money that no one in Chesapeake has considered before.

That's what the assistant city manager, Clarence V. Cuffee, said he's expecting. ``We're hoping they can take an objective look at potential revitalization,'' he said. ``It's what they do.''

The city requested help from the team after city residents and business owners asked them to seek outside help, Cuffee said.

Business owners in the city have long been seeking change in the downtown area. Some say troubles prevail because there is a lack of focus on one element of the city's problems at a time. Leo F. Johns, president of the South Norfolk Business Consortium, said there has been a lack of communication among businesses, residents and city officials.

``We need to all want the same thing and focus on the same thing at the same time,'' he said. ``We're fragmented.''

Johns said the competing forces have pledged to meet regularly and come up with one plan - which he expects to be formulated with the help of the Downtown Development Association's team.

``Sometimes when you're in the forest you can't see the trees, and we're in the forest,'' said Una McConnaughy, a consortium member and owner of the BP gas station on Bainbridge Boulevard. ``We're really hoping some good will come of this.''

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