DATE: Thursday, September 18, 1997          TAG: 9709180352

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LIZ SZABO, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   53 lines

CHESAPEAKE CLOSER TO 2ND BUSINESS PARK

Chesapeake could be one step closer today to getting a much-needed business park.

Chesapeake's Industrial Development Authority is scheduled to receive construction bids for a road leading into Cavalier South, envisioned as Chesapeake's second city-owned commerce park, Economic Development Director Donald Goldberg said.

The IDA owns the 60-acre parcel, between Interstate 64 and South Military Highway, near the city's first public industrial zone, Cavalier Industrial Park. Chesapeake also is home to several other privately owned commerce parks.

Once the IDA knows how much the new road will cost, the authority can set prices for land parcels and begin negotiating with prospective businesses, Goldberg said. He already has found buyers for 10 to 12 acres in Cavalier South.

Chesapeake needs more industrial parks in order to attract new businesses, Goldberg said. The 600-acre Cavalier Industrial Park is nearly filled.

``This is a quick fix,'' he said. ``It gives us some time to select a site for a major industrial area.''

Construction of Cavalier South should begin within a year, said IDA member Philip A. Johnson.

While Goldberg said ``we're not ready to get serious about other sites yet,'' the IDA has been actively investigating at least one other potential industrial park site.

The IDA, a state-chartered body with the authority to issue bonds for economic development, has hired engineers Hassell & Folkes to draft a master development plan for a 1,000-acre Compaz industrial park on 1,400 acres of land south of Military Highway near the Sunray development.

Chesapeake does not own that land, however, and will need to find money for the purchase, Goldberg said.

But Chesapeake has budgeted $1.7 million for utilities, roads and sewage at the Compaz site over the next two years, said budget director Iris Hoskie.

Goldberg said he has met with residents of the Sunray neighborhood, a community that dates to the American Revolution. Most Sunray residents he has met oppose the construction of an industrial park in their neighborhood, Goldberg said.

Several City Council members and Mayor William E. Ward support more industrial parks.

Chesapeake might be able to help fund the land purchase with revenue from a recent, 5-cent tax increase on a pack of cigarettes, Ward said. The city expects to reap $500,000 a year from that tax increase, according to minutes from the IDA's May meeting.

``We certainly want to be ready for the next spurt of economic activity,'' Ward said. ``Our sister cities, particularly Virginia Beach and Norfolk, have already begun to develop industrial parks, and we want to be able to offer potential clients to the region the option of a site'' in Chesapeake.

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