
DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709180349

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   86 lines

SUFFOLK TO TAP FAMILIAR FACE FOR REDESIGN URBAN DESIGNER'S REFERENCES INCLUDE PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK COUNCILS.

The visionary who has helped shape the futures of Norfolk and Portsmouth may also help Suffolk revitalize its sleepy downtown.

City officials said they have invited Ray Gindroz, a Pittsburgh-based urban design consultant who seems to slowly be reshaping much of this region, to attend Suffolk's first greater downtown committee meeting Wednesday.

The City Council on Wednesday discussed hiring Gindroz in a closed meeting. While no official vote was taken, staff members said they will probably ask the council for final approval to hire Gindroz.

Gindroz would work with LDR International, the Maryland-based firm that has been working on Suffolk's Comprehensive Land Plan, the document that helps the city plan its growth.

``(Gindroz) has a proven track record in established older downtowns,'' said Steve Herbert, Suffolk's assistant city manager for development. ``He knows Hampton Roads through his work over the last few years in Norfolk and Portsmouth.''

Gindroz could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Gindroz, whose resume includes a list of international cities, could now have a hand in planning the future of three of the area's cities.

Gindroz was first brought to Hampton Roads by Norfolk to help revitalize its downtown as well as several decaying neighborhoods.

In Norfolk, Gindroz helped the city design the MacArthur Center Mall and Ocean View. He also has worked with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority on redeveloping a number of neighborhoods.

Gindroz began working in Portsmouth three years ago, producing Vision 2005, a plan that outlines how Portsmouth can resurrect its communities and promote business development.

The plan was adopted in 1995, and elements of it can be seen in Portsmouth today. The new ferry dock landing at High Street, the Children's Museum in downtown and I.C. Norcom High School, which also includes a civic complex for Portsmouth's mid-section, are examples of the redevelopment inspired by Gindroz.

``He has been a tremendous asset to Portsmouth, and I don't think we could have achieved a plan in such short time without him,'' he said.

Known for involving citizens in the process, Gindroz would work with members of Suffolk's downtown committee, which includes the mayor, vice-mayor, retired educators, real estate owners, historians, civic leaders and business merchants. The group would begin working on a plan to broaden the boundaries of downtown to include surrounding neighborhoods, Herbert said.

Suffolk's downtown, once a thriving section of the city, now resembles a ghost town. Many of the two and three-story office buildings - once flourishing department and dime stores and law and medical offices - are now abandoned.

Downtown carries the stigma of an unsafe and inconvenient area with little parking.

The city has just spent close to $14 million to build a new courthouse on Main Street hoping that the facility will be the engine that downtown needs to attract businesses.

Matthew James, Portsmouth's director of economic development, said Gindroz's greatest accomplishment in the city has been helping it develop a unified vision of how it will grow.

In other business, the council unanimously approved a plan to develop Hillpoint Farms, which is expected to bring more than 1,800 new housing units and an 18-hole golf course to the city in the next ten years.

The council also voted unanimously to allow City Manager Myles E. Standish to negotiate extending the contract with Portsmouth for the use of the Suffolk Golf Course. Suffolk has been leasing the golf course owned by Portsmouth. That contract ends in 1999, and the city wants to renew it early next year for an additional 20 years.

Standish has also been asked to work with Portsmouth on developing a second public golf course that would be co-owned by both cities. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

Color photos

In Norfolk

Gindroz helped the city design the MacArthur Center Mall, which

is under construction downtown, shown above, and Ocean View. He has

also worked with the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority on

redeveloping a number of neighborhoods.

In Portsmouth

Gindroz produced the Vision 2005 plan, which includes the new

ferry dock landing at High Street, shown above, the Children's

Museum in downtown and I.C. Norcom High School, which also includes

a civic complex for Portsmouth's mid-section. KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK REDEVELOPMENT URBAN PLANNER