DATE: Tuesday, October 14, 1997             TAG: 9710140288

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   90 lines

FOOD LION PROPOSED FOR SOUTH NORFOLK IT WOULD BE THE AREA'S FIRST MAJOR GROCERY.

For most shoppers, a new neighborhood supermarket is just a convenience.

But for many South Norfolk residents, a proposed shopping center on Bainbridge Boulevard is a sign of economic revitalization.

Armada/Hoffler Holding Co. hopes to build a Food Lion supermarket as part of a proposed 46,000-square-foot development to be located across the street from Southgate Plaza, said engineer J. Randall Royal, agent for the project.

The 7.7-acre development will include a 37,000-square-foot Food Lion with a deli and bakery, as well as a separate 9,000-square-foot retail space, which could be developed as a drugstore, Royal said.

South Norfolk is home to more than 23,300 people but only two small supermarkets. Like Norfolk residents in nearby Berkley, people here have waited years for a full-service supermarket, said Gerald Johnson, president of the South Norfolk Civic League. The civic league met with Food Lion developers Monday night to discuss the project's design.

``This is real good news,'' Johnson said. ``We've been pushing for this for a while.''

Thriving new businesses could help solve some of South Norfolk's urban woes.

``I'm glad you're here,'' Brenda Johnson told the developers, noting that Food Lion tried unsuccessfully to open a store on the same site several years ago. ``I'm glad Food Lion never gave up on this community. It will cut down on the crime and the drugs and the kids hanging out in the woods.''

Others at the meeting said they welcomed a new store but worried about traffic.

The center will draw as many as 3,000 visitor-trips a day - a relatively modest number of cars, said Pete Burkhimer, chief engineer with Engineering Services.

``I think you can get half a dozen more businesses on Bainbridge Boulevard without causing traffic congestion,'' Burkhimer said. ``If anything, right now we have the opposite problem.''

Some business owners said the Food Lion could be a sign of more good things to come.

The shoppers who come to Food Lion for groceries may stop at other South Norfolk shops, said Leo Johns, president of the South Norfolk Business Consortium. If this new commercial building succeeds, other companies may be encouraged to locate in South Norfolk as well, he said.

Other national retailers already are showing interest.

Rite Aid had hoped to build in South Norfolk as well, but could not find the right location, said city planner Mark Shea. Rite Aid has not yet submitted a planning application.

South Norfolk hasn't seen much new commercial development in years, Johns said.

Located just south of Berkley on the Elizabeth River, South Norfolk boasts a graceful lakeside park, wide sidewalks and pastel-painted Victorian homes with white picket fences. But South Norfolk is also filled with boarded-up storefronts, drab brick housing projects and an industrial waterfront lined with deserted warehouses.

But all developments have costs, residents say.

Homeowners on Chapin Avenue will lose the woods that border their back yards. Food Lion will build buffers and position lights to avoid disturbing those homeowners, Burkhimer said.

The Food Lion will displace the Bill Midgette Auto Shop, a full-service station Midgette has run for nearly four decades.

And the Food Lion also will provide competition for Southgate Plaza, a struggling shopping center with several vacant storefronts and a largely empty parking lot.

The Great Valu supermarket in Southgate is just 13,000 square feet - less than one-third the size of the proposed Food Lion, said store manager David Hyman. A Be-Lo supermarket on Campostella Road is even smaller, a store manager said.

While Johns believes South Norfolk's population is large enough to support a new Food Lion, he doubts that Bainbridge Boulevard can support two groceries.

``I wouldn't be surprised if that Great Valu didn't make it, (located) that close together,'' said Johns, who said he wasn't worried about the competition. ``Something else could go in there.''

Chesapeake's Planning Commission is scheduled to consider Food Lion's revised preliminary site plan, which is scheduled to be submitted today, at its meeting Oct. 22. Because the South Norfolk site already is zoned for commercial use, the project will not need the City Council's approval. If its site plan is approved, construction could begin in December and Food Lion could be open by July, Burkhimer said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

CHARLIE MEADS/The Virginian-Pilot

The new Food Lion will displace the Bill Midgette Auto Shop, a

full-service station Midgette has run for nearly 40 years. The new

grocery store will also be competition for Southgate Plaza, across

the street. KEYWORDS: SOUTH NORFOLK

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu