THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 1996           TAG: 9610160398
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR., STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   46 lines

PORTSMOUTH NEIGHBORHOODS GET $3.5 MILLION CITY ALSO ALLOWS PRIVATE CORRECTIONS FIRM TO NEGOTIATE WITH STATE FOR JUVENILE CENTER.

The City Council Tuesday approved a $3.5 million Community Development Action Plan designed to provide affordable housing and street improvements in some blighted neighborhoods.

The plan will be overseen by the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Most of the projects are part of the city's Vision 2005 plan, which city officials hope will enhance Portsmouth's appearance and revitalize its economy.

Neighborhoods involved include: Ida Barbour, Brighton, Crawford, Effingham, Hattonsville, Mount Hermon, Northside, Park View, Prentis Park, Twin Pines and Southside. The city will remove vacant and obsolete buildings and relocate tenants and property owners in the neighborhoods.

City officials say the Action Plan is only a small step toward their goal.

``The 2005 plan is going to cost a lot more than we have,'' said Gordon Wheatley, director of development for PRHA. ``It is a 10-year wish list. We are hopefully going to be able to accomplish a tenth of it each year.''

In addition to the removal of blighted buildings, the plan will also install sidewalks and underground utilities in the 400 blocks of Green and Washington streets and in the 600 block of London Blvd.

The city will also extend Harrell Street in the Park View neighborhood to help encourage the development of low- to moderate-income housing in the area.

In other business, the City Council approved a permit that would allow a private corrections firm to negotiate with state officials to operate a juvenile corrections center in Portsmouth.

First Corrections Corp. wants to build a minimum/medium security center to house 225 juveniles at a site adjacent to the Pines Treatment Center on Portsmouth Boulevard.

First Corrections is one of several firms seeking to win a contract with the state to operate the center in Hampton Roads. The competing firms must first obtain the permission of the locality where they propose to build their center. The state would buy the center from the developer in a lease/purchase agreement, said Jim Gildea, the city's planning director.

The $19 million center will have an annual payroll of $6.4 million and staff of 260 and, as a private business, would pay property taxes, boosting Portsmouth's economy, Gildea said.

KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN by CNB