THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240390
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Decision '96
Part 2: The Issues - Chesapeake
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines
When Motorola chose Richmond for its huge new semiconductor plant in April 1995, it became a symbol for Chesapeake residents.
A symbol of things gone wrong in their city.
Citizens say there are too many strip malls and fast-food restaurants and that city officials are not doing enough to court and keep high-tech industries, the kind with good-paying jobs and money to spend on community improvements.
Citizens' perceptions are tied to anxieties about how quickly their city is growing and changing.
But experts in economic development say that despite financial limitations and fierce competition, the city is doing a good job attracting new businesses.
Chesapeake has successfully lured at least 30 new manufacturing, distribution and service businesses over the past five years, according to figures provided by Forward Hampton Roads, the economic development arm of the regional Chamber of Commerce.
Last year, Chesapeake attracted more of those types of businesses than any other South Hampton Roads city - seven compared to Virginia Beach's and Norfolk's six each, Portsmouth's four and Suffolk's two.
Those companies made capital investments of nearly $63.4 million from 1991 to 1995.
Forward Hampton Roads' figures also show that Chesapeake got at least 1,285 new jobs between 1991 and 1995 from manufacturing, distribution and service businesses.
Donald Z. Goldberg, the city's director of economic development, said efforts to lure businesses have been so successful, there are almost no vacant industrial buildings left.
``The city of Chesapeake is in a unique position,'' said William J. Holloran Jr., executive director of the Chesapeake Division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.
``It's a city on the cusp of its growth curve,'' Holloran said, with even more business likely to be tempted by an increasing labor pool and the city's ready access to regional facilities like highways.
Residents say Chesapeake will not be able to take advantage of that unless officials improve public facilities that have been strained by growth, such as roads, schools and the water system.
Holloran defends Chesapeake's record. He said it wasn't fair to point to Motorola as a rejection for Chesapeake. No city in Hampton Roads could have provided the huge amounts of water necessary to run a semiconductor plant, he said. If anything, Motorola's Richmond move signaled a need for Hampton Roads cities to cooperate in getting a better water system. ``If they're seeing Motorola as a slap in the face of Chesapeake's economic development efforts, that's completely wrong,'' Holloran said.
``You can't get them all,'' he said. ``You can always point to the misses, but you forget to add up all the ones you hit.''
Chesapeake has had quite a few hits in the past several years.
Canon Computer Systems Inc.'s 200-employee customer service center, for example, came to the city last year. And YUPO Corp., a subsidiary to the world's largest maker of synthetic paper, announced in January that it chose Chesapeake for the site of a $100 million manufacturing plant.
The city also attracts many smaller companies that don't get as much press.
Goldberg said he and his staff are working aggressively to market Chesapeake to manufacturing, distribution, service and research and development firms.
Winning a company is an especially big coup for a city like Chesapeake, which doesn't offer much in the way of financial incentives. Other cities around the country give tax breaks, land or help with construction and moving costs.
Some candidates for City Council have suggested that Chesapeake needs to consider offering incentives besides tax breaks, which aren't allowed in Virginia. Citizens emphasize that improving city services is key to winning business. Goldberg said the same thing.
``The communities that have been real successful have pulled together,'' he said. MEMO: Main article on page A1; related article on page A8.
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE CHESAPEAKE CITY COUNCIL RACE CHESAPEAKE SCHOOL
BOARD RACE PUBLIC JOURNALISM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT by CNB