THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260463
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
In a time when experts are predicting that Portsmouth and other core cities will struggle to bring in new business, the City Council Tuesday took a step toward allowing a new commercial development in Churchland.
The Council voted 6-1 to transfer the old Churchland High School to the city's Industrial Development Authority to be marketed for commercial uses.
The vote came after a two-hour public hearing in which one developer presented a preliminary plan for a large retail shopping center at the site.
Residents of nearby Woodbine and other Churchland neighborhoods opposed the transfer, claiming that it would inevitably lead to a shopping center at the closed school.
The city staff had called the development ``absolutely essential for Portsmouth,'' according to Steve Herbert, assistant director of the Department of Economic Development.
Mark Mancuso, vice president of CBL and Associates of Massachusetts, described for the council a preliminary deal that would bring Caldor, one of the largest discount stores in the country, and Hannaford Brothers, a Maine-based supermarket chain, to the old Churchland school site.
The developer said, however, that unless the council voted 6-1 to make the transfer, it would likely pull out of the deal to avoid a threatened legal fight over how many council votes were needed to dispose of the property.
An opponent had argued that the City Charter required six votes for the transfer and threatened to sue if it was approved by less.
Members of the Portsmouth division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce supported the shopping center development.
John W. Whaley, an economist with the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, had predicted that Norfolk and Portsmouth would struggle to bring in additional tax revenues in the coming year.
Councilman James C. Hawks, who voted for the transfer, said, ``We are in an economic struggle with the surrounding communities. We go to Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and even the Peninsula to shop. It's a trend that's damaging this city.''
The lone vote against the transfer was by James T. Martin's.
Opponents said they prefer to see either more residential or a retirement community on the site.
CBL and Associates has scheduled a meeting with nearby residents for May 10 to show preliminary plans and get input on how the development can work with the neighborhood. by CNB