DATE: Saturday, October 18, 1997            TAG: 9710180303

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   74 lines

VISION OF VIBRANT GRANBY UNVEILED

It's March 1999, and you're visiting the new $300 million MacArthur Center mall. After an enjoyable shop at Nordstrom, you wonder whether there's anything else worth doing downtown.

You venture outside onto Monticello Avenue and are drawn to a lively scene a block away on Granby Street: There's a cybercafe with a rooftop garden. Nearby is a street-front grocery with an eight-lane bowling center on the second floor. Diners eat at sidewalk tables. Residents lounge on loft balconies.

Now step back into October 1997.

On Friday, a group of architects presented their vision for a downtown face lift that city and business officials say could revitalize Granby into a vibrant, 24-hour district.

Beyond the steel frame of the rising mall, there are nearly as many deserted storefronts as there are occupied ones along Granby Street. Many buildings are run-down, and street life, except for the 9-to-5 weekday traffic, seems unsafe.

With a little more than two years to go before MacArthur Center opens, city and business officials say it's critical for the rest of downtown to prepare.

Donating hundreds of hours, members of the American Institute of Architects Hampton Roads picked six buildings in prominent locations on Granby and gave them a makeover on paper.

The result: an urbane, cosmopolitan mix of shops, restaurants and lofts - even the second-story bowling center, an unconventional example of one way to provide entertainment that doesn't now exist downtown.

In the architects' hands, the old two-story Hofheimers building at 325-331 Granby, a former shoestore vacant for four years, became a combination grocery store and bowling center.

The Adams/Esquire building, which is what mall shoppers will see when they walk out onto Monticello, was transformed into a cybercafe and newsstand.

Parties could be staged on the second floor, which architect Robert H. Fiedler said has ``a few generations of pigeons living up there.'' A roof garden would be on the third floor.

The other properties involved, some historic but most vacant and in need of overhaul, were the Lonsdale and Pender buildings in the 200 block; the Antell building in the 300 block; and the Cosmos building in the 400 block.

The architects also turned five blocks of downtown alleyways into pedestrian-friendly spaces, including al fresco dining spots. Daniel L. Sampson, president of the regional architects' group, said the connecting alleys would create an atmosphere that recalls New Orleans' French Quarter.

``Instead of being a place you're afraid to walk as night approaches, you turn it into a place that's inviting,'' Sampson said.

Property owners and business types who attended the Friday gathering at Scope came away enthused about the potential.

``It's unlimited,'' said Lee Bozeman, a partner in the Blue Hippo, a new restaurant opening soon in the Plume Center West building in Granby's 100 block.

City officials, who have $100 million in tax dollars tied into the mall and millions more in infrastructure such as streets and lighting, say that private investment in Granby Street is crucial to downtown's long-term success.

Norfolk officials have formed a partnership with the Downtown Norfolk Council, called the Granby District Initiative, to link property owners with bankers, real estate marketers and tenants.

Bankers, who not so long ago wouldn't risk such loans, are ready to jump on board. About 13 banks are involved in the initiative and are talking about making a pool of money available for loans.

While optimistic, property owners said there's a long haul ahead.

``It may not all happen at once,'' said Charles Cooper, owner of the Hofheimers building, ``but I think if we don't dream ahead, we won't get there.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo of architect's drawing

RICHARD L. DUNSTON/The Virginian-Pilot

Norfolk can build on the momentum of MacArthur Center to revitalize

downtown into a safe, bustling entertainment district, architects

say.

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