DATE: Tuesday, July 22, 1997                TAG: 9707210216

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   56 lines

ON A ROLL PORTSMOUTH IS POSITIONED TO DO WELL IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM.

Ford Motor Co., the first U.S. carmaker to rise to the Japanese challenge, piqued consumers' interest in their products a couple of years ago by asking: ``Have you driven a Ford? Lately?''

Portsmouth could similarly challenge the public: ``Have you seen Portsmouth's downtown? Lately?

Portsmouth is on a roll. Friday, Portsmouth formally presented, with fanfare, its handsome new $4 million ferry and cruise-ship inlet at the foot of High Street.

Downtown bustled. As busy as Lynnhaven Mall? Not a chance. But sailing boats were assembling for the annual Cock Island races on the weekend. Bunting, balloons and band music were busting out all over. The day was glorious. Some of the crowd that had gathered for the occasion had never before or not recently set foot in downtown Portsmouth.

Charm abounds. Admiral's Landing, a mix of waterfront condominiums and offices, is lovely. The Portsmouth Naval Museum and Portsmouth Lightship are nearby. Holiday Inn Olde Towne has just gotten a $3 million makeover. Portside, Portsmouth's waterside festival center, beckons pleasantly. A dozen historic artillery pieces adorn Cannon Walk. The Tidewater Yacht marina is gorged with sailboats and power boats.

Away from the waterfront, downtown teems with attractions: restaurants, specialty shops, the Children's Museum of Virginia, the 1846 Court House Arts Center (which also houses, though perhaps for not much longer, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, which seeks expanded quarters), the Commodore Theater and entrancing Olde Towne, a collection of Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Georgian and Victorian housing that qualifies as unique. Adjacent to Olde Towne is Swimming Point, a neighborhood of up-scale contemporary houses. And there is the high-rise apartment building on Crawford Parkway.

Portsmouth is resurgent, thanks in no small measure to grass-roots involvement in Vision 2005. Initiated in 1995, Vision 2005 divides the city into five parts, with a city council member chairing a task force for each sector. The High Street Landing project is one of the fruits of Vision 2005. The cleanup of Scotts Creek and the revival and gentrification of three neighborhoods clustered beside it are among other dividends.

Progress's pace has quickened notably since Ronald W. Massie, who retired from Norfolk City Hall, became Portsmouth city manager in December 1995. Massie's creative touch seemingly is everywhere.

Confidence, optimism and pride are evident throughout the 100,000-citizen city. The populace and the police having joined hands, criminals are on the defensive as they weren't for so long. With substantial aid from federal law enforcement, some very violent drug peddlars were removed from the scene. City Hall meanwhile is sweeping away rotten housing and successfully strengthening Portsmouth's economic base.

Look for forward momentum to accelerate, at least in the short term. The 21st century is around the corner. The 227-year-old city is being positioned to prosper in the new millenium.

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