DATE: Friday, November 28, 1997             TAG: 9711280096

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   73 lines

LAMBERTS POINT TO GET 18-HOLE GOLF PARK THE PAR-3 COURSE IS PLANNED TO BE BUILT ON A VACANT LOT THAT ONCE WAS A LANDFILL.

There will soon be a place for birdies to land in Lamberts Point.

The City Council voted unanimously this week to authorize the lease of an overgrown landfill to McCullough Enterprises Inc. of Germantown, Md., to turn the lot into a $2.45 million, 18-hole, par 3 golf park.

Fences bearing ``No Trespassing'' signs wrap the perimeter of the property, which has been unused for more than 40 years. The plot stretches from the Elizabeth River to Powhatan Avenue south of Old Dominion University.

The golf facility will be about half the size of a regular golf course, and will feature a two-story driving range, putting greens and a pro shop.

The development of idle land is a good deal for the city, according to Stanley A. Stein, director of Parks, Recreation and General Services.

``There are not that many different types of developments which can go on a former landfill,'' Stein said. Though the Lamberts Point landfill is covered with about 6 feet of top soil, regulations necessitated an environmental review before the development could be approved.

Public coffers will benefit, Stein noted, though initially through taxes alone. The 35-year lease agreement from the city frees McCullough from paying rent in the first dozen years after opening the greens.

Beginning with the park's 13th year, however, the city could claim 15 percent of the profits or take a $50,000 rent fee, whichever is greater. The lease would increase in value for the city through the remaining years and, eventually, the city could earn 17.5 percent of the park's profits or take an $80,000 rental fee annually.

That money, Stein noted, will come from a piece of property which has not produced for the city in the past four decades.

Stein, an ``average old golfer'' with a handicap of about 18 strokes, predicted the park will be a good place for young folks to get the basics down. As a smaller facility, the park may cater to beginning golfers and families, though local golf enthusiasts may take advantage of its convenience, and work on ``the short game.''

The Lamberts Point Golf Park, as the lease agreement calls it, would also give the neighborhood more manicured greenery to join soccer and softball fields recently constructed along Powhatan Avenue. Lamberts Point, originally designed to house families of dock workers, is dominated by older, private residences and low- to middle-income families.

Marisol Wilson lives with her husband and sons in a house across the street from Powhatan Field, which is adjacent to the landfill. She said she is pleased with the revitalization project, which the city has sponsored in the neighborhood and the addition of the athletic fields. She will be glad to see the golf park, too.

``I like the improvements,'' Wilson said Thursday. ``I'd rather have the ball field and the golf course there than nothing.''

Mike Scammon, an engineer who lives near the future golf park, is not a golfer, but will be glad to see the land used.

``It's been idle for some time,'' Scammon said.

He said such development and possible expansion by the college bode well for the community.

``It might raise property values,'' he said. ``Whatever they do, it's going to improve the neighborhood.''

Negotiations between the city and the developer have stretched for months. Much of the focus has been on the environmental aspects of building on top of what was once a dump.

Stein said the developer and the city are ``making sure we're squared away with the environmentals'' and examining a few last construction details.

A final agreement on the golf park may be announced next week. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE

Maryland-based McCullough Enterprises Inc. will develop the

landfill. The project will provide tax revenue to Norfolk during

the first 12 years, and a portion of the profits or a rental fee

beginning in the 13th year.

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