DATE: Tuesday, September 30, 1997           TAG: 9709270053

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E7   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: Church Street: What was lost...

        Part 3

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER LENGTH: 103 lines

AREA

A huge metal claw reduced a half-block of Church Street's rich history to rubble earlier this month. But Yvonne Simpkins Watkins, whose family has had a presence on the street for a half century, didn't mourn long.

She had the future to consider.

The demolition on the west side of the 1700 block is paving the way for the final leg of widening Church Street from two lanes to four, between Goff and Granby streets. Watkins hopes to rebuild a new generation of businesses on vacant land just west of the razed buildings, which included the once famous Plaza Hotel.

The Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, owner of the approximately eight-acre parcel, has given Watkins first rights to develop it.

Watkins, 47, mother of two elementary school-age children, seemed a good candidate, housing authority officials said.

For one, the Simpkins family was involved in past commercial redevelopment on Church Street; her brother, Bobby Simpkins, was a co-developer of the Church Street Square Shopping Center, including a medical office building and a convenience store. For another, the latest street widening is claiming several buildings owned by her family, including Simpkins' Wholesale Confectionery. Finally, she has pushed for involvement.

Her family also owns the Shop 'N Go and the Texaco station across the street from the rubble.

Watkins says she wants to make Church Street special again, instilling it with a sense of place and a usefulness lost in earlier redevelopment efforts that displaced many black-owned businesses.

Now people have to catch the bus or drive to shop for many things. She'd like to provide a ``community-friendly'' place within walking distance where neighbors can socialize, buy essentials, have a meal and be entertained.

She envisions storefronts facing the street like Colley Avenue or 21st Street. Such urban design, she says, will deter crime and help people feel more secure.

A big bill to fill, perhaps. But Watkins, who said she grew up poor but not knowing it on B Avenue in nearby Huntersville, is determined - like her parents.

Joseph and Audrey Simpkins opened Simpkins' Confectionery in a small shack on Church Street, she said, but later tore it down and rebuilt.

``We revitalized ourselves,'' she said.

Still, nothing's set in concrete.

``It's a blank sheet to be filled in,'' said civic leader Joshua Paige, who also sits on the redevelopment authority's board of commissioners.

Watkins has until April to present the redevelopment agency with a plan. The agency has put her in touch with lenders, and she is discussing the possibility of bringing in partners.

City officials say they'll hold public meetings this fall with residents and business representatives to discuss the street's future. Officials say there are competing visions.

Among some of the unresolved issues:

How much commercial development the surrounding neighborhoods can support, given the poverty level. Mean household income is $15,397, compared to $29,947 citywide, according to a 1996 market study.

What to do with a vacant brick building in Huntersville that housed a Champale brewery. The housing authority has proposed buying and razing the building for single-family homes. Some in the community propose renovating it for small businesses, perhaps a museum of the city's black history.

How to develop a tract of land that backs up to Elmwood Cemetery on the west side of the street near Goff. Some say it should become a park, perhaps developed with an amphitheater for concerts and community gatherings. Now, men sit in chairs under trees and pass the time playing dominoes and sipping wine and quart bottles of beer in paper bags.

The housing authority wants to develop the land with single-family homes, similar to the nearby Attucks Square West.

Existing businesses that will not be disturbed by the widening also want to be part of the picture.

Ralph B. Brickers, owner of R.B. Brickers & Co., a jewelry store, has been on the street since 1978 and plans to stay. He once did a brisk business in such Masonic regalia as crowns, fezes, pins and rings. But traffic of late has been slow.

``Some days you sit in here and the phone's not ringing and you sell one auto emblem for $4.95 - $5.17 with tax,'' Brickers said. ``Buddy, you've got to pray hard.''

He refuses to leave, though. Giving up would be the wrong message to send, he said.

City Councilwoman Daun S. Hester, who represents the surrounding neighborhoods, is optimistic.

The planned refurbishing of Attucks Theatre, once featuring such entertainers as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, will ``be alive and useful,'' she said, bringing activity to the street.

New homes will help stabilize the community, she said. The monument honoring the slain civil rights hero, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., will be a beacon for the community at the intersection of Church and Brambleton Avenue.

As the last remnants of the street's physical past are bulldozed into memories, Watkins and others hope to restore its spirit, the vibrant cultural and economic soul that was the community's glue.

They want to rebuild a street that will sustain their grandsons and granddaughters and leave them with something much more than fond memories of a good thing lost forever. ILLUSTRATION: Richard L. Dunston/The Virginian-Pilot

Yvonne Watkins... KEYWORDS: CHURCH STREET SERIES

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