THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090358
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY AKWELI PARKER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 76 lines
For years, a typical scene along Granby Street after 10 p.m. was an occasional police cruiser slowly rolling by, a wino or two roaming or sitting by a dark storefront and the sound of footfalls from a lonely, nervous pedestrian making haste.
But local real-estate companies say the debut of Tidewater Community College's new campus will change that while contributing to the overall renaissance in the downtown Granby District.
The effects of the campus, street renovation, retail openings and the completion of MacArthur Center Mall can only be ``absolutely positive,'' said Barron Kesser, a real-estate appraiser with Keystone Realty Co. in Norfolk.
For the past few years, property values along the corridor have been stagnant, said Mike McCabe, president of Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate in Norfolk. But recent renovation projects have helped those values creep up.
McCabe said his company has already seen a ``heightened level of interest'' from restaurants and stationery stores eager to tap intothe TCC student population.
School officials say about 2,000 students will have signed up for classes by Friday, and they predict annual enrollment will hit 10,000 by the end of the decade.
But TCC is only part of the downtown revival equation.
``The improvements we're seeing as a result of (higher) occupancy and rental rates are a result of supply and demand reaching more of an equilibrium,'' said Donald R. Crigger, director of office leasing for the commercial real-estate firm of Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler in Norfolk.
As available office space in the suburbs has dried up, downtown Norfolk has become a more attractive option, Crigger said.
The transformation of Ghent into a yuppie mecca and the erection of waterfront condominiums have also spurred the development, he said.
But some big hurdles remain.
Although TCC's presence makes the corridor more attractive to businesses looking for space, many of the buildings are in no shape to accommodate them.
``There are so many properties on that end of the street in need of significant renovation,'' said Crigger, adding that many of the older buildings are 60 to 90 years old.
But the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority is anticipating a snowball effect as transplanted or new businesses succeed downtown, said Steven Cooper, the agency's assistant executive director for development.
``As the economics get stronger - or the perception of it does - people are going to be drawn here,'' he said.
Another possible snag: Some retailers have complained that ``squatters'' - absentee landlords who've held on to dilapidated properties along Granby - have hampered the district's rebirth.
But Kesser isn't so sure whether squatters are a cause of the problem or a result of it.
``It's sort of a chicken and the egg thing,'' he said.
Whichever happened first, the rise of the retail mall, especially the opening of Military Circle Mall nearly a quarter century ago, signaled the end for downtown shopping.
But McCabe, of Harvey Lindsay, says in most cases the absentee owners haven't had anyone to buy their buildings. That will change, he said.
``There will be a market in the near term for their properties,'' he added.
In the meantime, businesses are counting on TCC, whose latest classes end at 10 p.m., to make sure people are on the street well past quitting time.
Cooper said NRHA engineered the campus to be pedestrian-friendly.
``We designed it so that at night, light floods out onto the street,'' Cooper said.
``This is just one more leg on this milking stool that's going to help the downtown area,'' Kesser said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Beth Bergman/The Virginian-Pilot
A glance down Granby street near the corner of Freemason Street.
A Construction site on Granby Street.
KEYWORDS: TIDEWATER COMMUNITY COLLEGE MACARTHUR CENTER MALL
DOWNTOWN NORFOLK