DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709120243

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: IDA KAY'S PORTSMOUTH 

SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan 

                                            LENGTH:   68 lines

EMPTY BUILDING NEEDS ATTRACTIVE BUSINESSES

The empty buildings at the corner of High and Effingham streets that most recently housed Allan Furniture need to be appropriately used to create an anchor for the business section that is rapidly coming back between the waterfront and Effingham Street.

As consultants have suggested, the city must think of the downtown business area in the same way shopping center owners think. That means an anchor at that point to attract people to the business district.

The Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority owns the property. It was once considered a prime location for a new City Hall if the waterfront property that now houses municipal offices were sold to a private owner. But that idea seems far on the back burner now.

So what should PRHA do with the corner?

It's a place passed daily by thousands of people who go to the Naval Hospital. Most of those people do not live in Portsmouth, so it would be good to have a business venture on the corner that could stop some of them. Even if we stopped only a few to spend money in Portsmouth, the corner should be attractive and busy.

Part of Portsmouth's lingering image problem has its roots in what visitors see when they come into town for various reasons.

Those who go to the Naval Hospital don't see much between Interstate 264 and the hospital gates - mostly empty buildings and fast food outlets that look like Everywhere USA. Certainly for total strangers there is nothing to suggest the attractiveness of the Olde Towne area or the existence of interesting businesses - especially restaurants - only a short distance away.

Many shipyard workers and others who pass High on Effingham Street to use the Midtown Tunnel or the Western Freeway have no idea what lies between Effingham and the waterfront.

Currently, PRHA has a proposal for the empty store. Quentin Roesser, speaking on behalf of Portsmouth Antique Company, has submitted a plan for a mall within the huge building.

He described the plans for ``an upscale mall, concentrating on antiques, associated crafts and complementary small specialty shops.''

Roesser would be the developer. He said he has investors from Norfolk and Virginia Beach who initially would put up $300,000 toward remodeling the building. In addition, he has a $250,000 line of credit from a bank to get started on the project.

In addition, to the first-floor antique and specialty shops, Roesser foresees leasing the top floor of the three-story structure for a dance studio. The middle floor could be offices or more shops.

``Upscale'' is the important word in all of this. If the businesses attracted to the building fit that description, the proposed mall could be the answer for small merchants who cannot find appropriate space on High Street. However, if PRHA goes with Roesser's proposal, the authority should build into the deal some provision for reclaiming the building if it did not live up to expectations. Of course, it always is difficult to determine just what ``upscale'' means, but PRHA must have some control to avoid the building becoming a flea market. Portsmouth certainly does not need tacky businesses on that corner.

Parking, of course, is another problem - and another story.

But we must address the perception that there is no place to park, which sometimes is true - and sometimes not. In the middle of the blocks adjacent to the large buildings on High and Effingham streets, there is some space that could be used for parking garages. Certainly, any additional parking facilities need to be inside blocks with commercial space fronting the streets around them.

Portsmouth has very little storefront space left. It must be careful not to waste potential retail spots on parking that can be located away from the street.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu