THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 20, 1996 TAG: 9609200609
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 59 lines
A world of business opportunity is opening up at Norfolk Naval Base - or at least a city's worth of opportunity, speakers at a luncheon said Thursday.
How much business potential?
The 95,000 people who are on the base most days make it the equivalent of a small city, said John A. Simon, deputy commander for resources, planning and business at the naval base.
Surrounding that city are 14 miles of shoreline. More than 70,000 cars cross through its gates each day, along with up to 1,000 trucks. They drive on a 150-mile road system. About 1,000 contractors, from pizza delivery to industrial suppliers, keep it stocked.
That's why the region's cities, especially Norfolk, within which the base lies, are in almost daily talks with base officials. Darlene Burcham, deputy city manager in Norfolk, joked that she's probably one of the few people at the luncheon who didn't need directions to the Breezy Point Officer's Club.
Other cities also have opportunities.
The Navy owns 6,500 housing units in Hampton Roads, Simon said, its personnel need more than 50,000. The question is, should the Navy stay in the housing business or sell the units and let the real estate companies do it?
Plans are under way to set up a Virginia Welcome Center on the base to show the base's 500,000 visitors a year what else is available in the region, Burcham said.
The scheduled topic of the day - the impact of military downsizing on Hampton Roads - was quickly dismissed as having done most of its damage. More or less. And a panel that included military and city government officials turned the focus toward business that could be mined from the massive Navy complex.
The American Society of Public Administrators sponsored the lunch.
Among the ideas being tossed around are: letting private operators run a marina; opening a world-class restaurant along the shoreline of the base; and building a rail connection between Norfolk International Terminals and the base's piers.
``What this also means,'' Simon said, ``is the city of Norfolk doesn't get any revenue off this right now. Once we open it up to commercial business, they'll collect sales taxes.''
The rail connection and cooperation with NIT could alone mean several billion dollars a year in business for the region, Simon said.
The idea is to build grade crossings under Hampton and Terminal boulevards enabling Norfolk Southern Corp. trains to loop through the base and deliver cargo to the base's supply piers. Since the trains wouldn't have to cross roads, the number of railcars Norfolk Southern's trains pull would no longer be restricted because of traffic, Simon said.
``They can handle cargo more efficiently,'' he said. ``We're not talking about loading guns and bombs, we're talking about beans and butter.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN, The Virginian-Pilot
The Norfolk Naval Base is like a small city: more than 70,000 cars
pass through its gates each day, along with up to 1,000 trucks; it
has 150 miles of rads; and 95,000 people are there most days.
KEYWORDS: PRIVATIZATION OUTSOURCING by CNB