DATE: Sunday, July 13, 1997                 TAG: 9707110231

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: IDA KAY'S PORTSMOUTH 

SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan 

                                            LENGTH:   69 lines

FEET DRAGGING ISN'T DOING MUCH FOR CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Here we are, a few days before the opening of High Street Landing next Friday.

The new boat inlet and ferry dock is looking good. Unfortunately, the empty buildings on that end of High Street won't look so good to visitors.

The still unleased first-floor commercial spaces at Admiral's Landing and the first floor of the Seaboard building are still empty, less than inviting to strangers who may be seeing Portsmouth for the first time.

Some people, including me, are impatient. We want to see some action there. And it's really hard to understand why the city's economic development staff has not been able to sell the area. The potential is a given.

We know that almost 500,000 people, not including commuters, ride the ferry. We know that the Children's Museum traffic adds as many as 100,000 individuals from elsewhere to downtown traffic.

Yet, somehow, that message doesn't seem to get to the right people.

Just this past week, the Olde Towne Portsmouth Association heard the results of an assessment of market demands for the High Street Corridor. The association paid for it.

It's a good study. In effect, it backs up with research the gut feelings of many who believe Portsmouth has a lot going for it.

The real mystery in all of this is why the city's economic development people have not compiled such a study and had it out in the marketplace for the past two years.

The spaces on the first floor of Admiral's Landing are somewhat limited because restaurants are not a viable use. However, there are many things besides food that can attract people. Vacant buildings do nothing for either Portsmouth's image or tax base.

Then there's the Seaboard building restaurant. Alternately, I've heard two rumors: one that the Jewish Mother of Virginia Beach will open a second place there and the other that The Max, now operating on a short-term basis in the old Seawall, will return to its original space.

At this time, owners of the restaurants seem to have no idea of what's really going on. Unless something happens soon, we might wind up with neither The Max nor the Jewish Mother on the waterfront. If that turns out to be the case, is there an alternative plan? Have the economic development people lined up other unusual restaurants that would be a drawing card for the area?

What are we doing to move the city-operated senior center out of one of the best locations in the 300 block? The center could be relocated to a more convenient place, enabling the city to put the High Street storefronts back on the tax books.

And what have we done about that ridiculous Middle Street Mall stuff that, in effect, cuts the Children's Museum off from High Street? What happened to the notion of creating a separate exit from the museum onto High Street?

Some things are not controllable at this time. The city can't order the owners of major buildings in the 300 block or any other block to lease the space if they don't want to. But there are plenty of other things to do. For instance, the city needs to be sure all of the building owners are complying with city codes. Certainly, the city can bring them prospective tenants who fit the needs of High Street and urge them to lease or sell their space.

When the Children's Museum opened, little was done to fill spaces with businesses compatible to the market. Now, some time later, very little has happened even though the museum has been quite successful in drawing visitors from many places.

The city staff does not seem to be getting information to the right places in the right way. Or maybe the staff just doesn't know how to sell retail space. If that's the case, the city needs to find somebody with experience in that field.

Now, this week the landing will open and again there are nothing but empty windows staring back at visitors. How long will it take for something to happen there?

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