DATE: Sunday, April 27, 1997                TAG: 9704270038

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   68 lines

EXPERTS OFFER SOUTH NORFOLK IDEAS TO MAKE IT COME ALIVE

After a two-day tour of South Norfolk's depressed business section, a team of experts in downtown revitalization suggested that the borough tax itself and hire a full-time professional to help the area improve its historic flavor and market itself.

That wasn't to disparage the residents, business owners, activists and city officials who have poured time and money into reviving their community, said Timothy S. Pfohl, a team member. It was a recommendation that they find themselves a point person, not distracted by another job or obligations, who can organize them, find them money and help them dole it out efficiently.

Activists have long seen the area's potential as a charming urban center with turn-of-the-century architecture, boutiques, shops and restaurants.

But the slow pace of investment, crime rate, absentee property owners and disjointed civic and business groups have frustrated them.

So the city brought in the Technical Assistance Team, recently formed by the Virginia Downtown Development Association.

The group of five - made up of municipal and private downtown planners and a landscape architect - presented their initial observations Thursday at the South Norfolk Library in the heart of the commercial district.

And while the tax idea earned a few moans from the standing room-only crowd, representatives of the business consortium, civic leagues and revitalization commission said they would consider all the suggestions at meetings the groups recently have begun.

``This will help us focus,'' said Leo John, president of the Great South Norfolk Business Consortium. And as excitement echoed through the crowd, he added, ``I really think we can make this work.''

The visiting team said South Norfolk's many volunteer groups and an interested city government give the area a head start in revitalization.

But groups should start small, painting or adding an awning to a storefront or replacing street lights with matching, historic-type lamp posts, said Pfohl, a downtown revitalization planner for the Virginia Main Street Program.

``Don't underestimate the small things, because they add up,'' he said.

Another team member, David J. Pyles, a landscape architect at Hill Studio in Roanoke, suggested planting trees to buffer the road from an industrial site, adding attractive welcome signs to the community's gateways and creating small green spaces in forgotten lots too narrow for building.

He suggested building on the area's connection of sidewalks, and encouraged the city to step up code enforcement, address drainage problems and strengthen its overlay district, which enforces stricter building rules in exchange for zoning flexibility in the historic area. He also called on the city to continue its efforts to streamline the permit process for new and expanding businesses.

Concerning the economic development issues, Robert Chisom, executive director of the Downtown Suffolk Association, encouraged the group to ask local banks to create a pool of money for loans and to apply for community development block grants and other government restoration money for historic districts. He suggested a marketing study to identify the community's needs and the best sites for them.

To improve the area's image, Nanci N. Drake, director of the city of Franklin's Downtown Development and Management Services, said South Norfolk should develop its own brochure for prospective businesses, touting its unique historic architecture and tight community. Further, the area could promote itself with festivals and other events.

``Everyone looks to downtown as the place that creates fun things to do,'' she said.

``Don't make yourself out to be like everywhere else; play up your unique historic features and your hometown feel.''

All of these suggestions, including one calling for a professional person to implement them, will be included in a report from the team in another month.

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