NORFOLK
The city has provided $325,000 to offset last year's operating shortfalls at the ailing Waterside.
The money isn't enough to cover the building's debt - it is about $25,000 short - but it will help close the gap that has been created by lower revenues at the city-owned entertainment complex, said John Kownack, the housing authority's assistant executive director for housing reinvention.
The funding comes as the City Council reviews the future of Waterside, which helped spark Norfolk's downtown revitalization when it was built 25 years ago.
Some council members have advocated tearing it down and redeveloping the prime piece of waterfront property. They plan to review possible scenarios later this year.
An affiliate of Norfolk's Redevelopment and Housing Authority owns the building, which houses bars, restaurants and a few small shops. In recent years, leases have not generated enough revenues to cover operating costs, so the city has provided roughly $850,000 a year to pay for utilities and construction debt.
Revenues dipped even further last year, and are expected to fall even more this year. Although Norfolk has budgeted a $1.05 million subsidy for the complex in the upcoming year, Kownack said Waterside still is projected to have a $290,000 operating deficit.
City leaders have argued that in return for their investment, the facility brings in more than $2 million a year in tax revenues.
City Manager Regina V.K. Williams, who authorized the $325,000 payment in a late June meeting with housing authority director Shurl Montgomery, did not return phone calls to her office Monday. Other city officials, including Assistant City managers Stanley A. Stein and Marcus Jones, did not return calls or could not say what part of the budget the money comes from.
City leaders also could not say why Norfolk didn't fund the housing authority's entire $350,000 request.
Board commissioner Robert Layton called the city's failure to fund the last bit of the shortfall "juvenile."
Kownack said the authority would cover the $25,000 in the short term, but the agency expects the city to pay it back.
Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com
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RE: rent
"Even a Flea Market would probably be able to bring in enough money to keep it floating while profitting."
I like the idea, but Norfolk won't allow any more flea markets. They also won't allow anymore thrift stores. The brilliant Randy Wright once said that "Antique shops were nothing more than glorified thrift stores". That's the mentality we are dealing with in our City Council. The businesses doing great these days, are those thrift stores that our City doesn't want. Go figure!
Rent?
Lets say I live in Norfolk, and don't pay my rent, will the city pay it for me? I think that its only fair. If Waterside can't pay its rent, then kick out the slackers and put in some tenants that can. Even a Flea Market would probably be able to bring in enough money to keep it floating while profitting.
Bars only bring in so much business, and most of that is only on Friday and Saturday nights. Come on Norfolk, get your heads on straight and actually put something in there that'll really make money. (An Indoor paintball arena, museum, or even a City Sponsored Child Care Facility)
Read this three times very slowly
"Some council members have advocated tearing it down and redeveloping...."
When did real estate development become a role of government? Somebody answer that question. When? How? By whose vote? Should the local gov get into say.....what......landscaping?....selling ice cream?.....running restaraunts?.....selling used cars? Real estate development is, besides risky, best left to private business and hardly the role of government. As is clearly evidenced by the fact that Norfolk gov run real estate development consistently fails. Houses of prostitution do well in states where legal. Should council make it legal here and open a chain of them? Government should not compete with private business on our dime. Tear it down and sell it. Zone it properly and let somebody make an investment and return. It's called capitalism. The opposite of socialism Mr Winn.
How much does it cost
How much does it cost to keep Nauticus open and the Wisconsin sitting there and what kind of revenue do they bring in?
Waterside ideas
Barney: 'The Nauticus and the Wisconsin are next door why not some of their history or History of the waterfront be displayed througtout water side..With the worlds largest Naval operations Base and all the navel History around here come on..Keep the marina,open the tugboat museum,keep the Ferry,Keep the sailing ship,keep the small specialty stores..keep Hooters the Outback and Black fin for lunches and dinners." Excellent plan. Blend the local history and military history for exhibits throughout, maybe have an indoor dinner theater (for actual 'live theater' with performances from ALL of the theater groups in town once a week (like Little theater of Norfolk, The Generic theater, Hurrah Players, Wells, The Governor's School, etc.. Norfolk is supposed to be the 'culture' area of Hampton Roads. Lets stay in that vein. Bars do not promote famlies or culture.
Predictable
The most telling aspect of the entire story is found near the end: neither City mis-Manager Regina Williams, nor her two assistants, have been avaiable to explain this decision and did not return phone calls from the press to do so. Instead, they trotted out the "assistant executive director of housing reinvention" to do THEIR job. In other words.... Williams and gang know this is a bad decision, and none of them have the spine to defend their actions. Ridiculous. This city is being mismanaged into becoming another Portsmouth. Just merge 'em both -- who would notice?
Wow. Failing business gets help
It seems that if a CEO allows a business venture fail the taxpayers are there to help out even if they did not want to. Then the public will be overcharged for the rotten services to make up the loss in the executives pockets.
Waterside Management
Who is the manager of this sinking ship? Who hired that manager? In the public domain whomever is responsible for this fiasco would already be looking for work! Just another example of the poor daily management of the once great city of Norfolk. Clean house and put responsible managers there, even if it means full employment for CPA's and accountants! And this is just another reason Ms. Williams has got to go. Just how much money and how many mistakes need to be done to the citizenry of Norfolk before she is terminated. Really poor management, fire them all. Vote accordingly!
What a waste! All the more
What a waste! All the more reason why housing authorities should be dissolved, expunged, and eliminated.
Casino
Yea, send Regina V.K. Williams and Paul Fraim out to Las Vegas for a week and that will convince them that Waterslide would make a great casino. The tables are working 24/7. It would be a major draw for Norfolk and leave a lot of money in the coffers. Get with it Norfolk.
Norfolk doesn't want tourist
Waterside was the best thing Norfolk has ever done, and it was the only thing that brought tourist dollars to the city. Now it appears it will be torun down, and there will be no reason to go downtown. Maybe to sit in a hotel room!
Waterside attractions
With all the hotels and office space downtown, to make Norfolk a better destination for conferences they need to add more attractions that will make it more appealing to tourists and conference goers. We certainly don't need anymore nightclubs in that area. A world class aquarium, Atlantic Coast history and wildlife museum, something that will attract people to the area. Right now, for the most part, Waterside is a lot of expensive wasted space.
You do the math
The City by it's own admission, is budgeting over a million dollars a year to subsidize a place that the City says brings in over two million a year in taxes. The City isn't doing a real good job in this real estate business, or in property managment. Privatize the whole thing or level it. Surely there has to be a property manager out there that's smarter than you guys are! But then Daffy Duck probably is smarter than you guys are!
omg!!!.......
.....what a thought!!!...Turn the Waterside into Va's first casino!!!!...Sen Webb is trying to make our local Indian American population offical...lest we could do for steeling thier land is reward them with casino rights!!!
$300K? HVAC?
Dude, I could so get a HVAC system for $300K. Jillians was lured by waiving of city taxes for a number of years I thought? The city drove the businesses out of Waterside and pushed them into MacArthur, which if I recall they couldn't afford so they all left. Turn the thing into a laser tag arena or something. Virginia Beach already has an aquarium, quit being a FOLLOWER. Skate park, indoor amusement rides, dinner w/ movie venue, convention space, gaming lounge, live music performance venue, ice skating... there are millions of possibilities without being a FOLLOWER. Should have put the light rail there. Heck, convert it into a library.
Yhe ailing waterside
is no one's fault but the City of Norfolk Council and the management of Waterside. Waterside has turned into one big bar when it use to be the most festive tourist attraction Norfolk has ever had. Norfolk must not care about tourist $$'s because it offers nothing to bring them in. It's such a shame to see what has happened to waterside. The City plans to spend $11.5 million to re-do the 7 acres of Town Point Park. Does that make any sense? No it doesn't because Waterside will be razed to make way for more condo's and empty office buildings.
suggestion
1. Gut it.
2. Add a deck and a gazebo.
3. Give the (previous) owners of Duck Inn a long-term lease to do with it as they see fit.
Now THAT would get me downtown!
jmo
Retail
Retails sales are down. How stores at MacArthur remain open (and many have left) in these tough times, is difficult to explain. Norfolk is not Baltimore, where their Harborplace is supported by a beautiful aquarium and many other family attractions. Like most other public buildings which the City owns or operates, Waterside has gone downhill from day one due to poor management.
Take it down. Put the property back on the tax records and get out of the entertainment business. Granby Street has become the Church Street of our era. It too has started to decay, with poorly maintained venues, bad sidewalks and over crowding due to sidewalk cafes. Another bad decision by City Council.
Maybe InBev would like to buy Granby Screet.
$325,000 =
...10 Teacher positions or...8 new police/fire/EMT positions or...1 new street sweeper...shoot...for $325,000...you might be able to demolish the problem forever!
Waterside needs to go back to its roots
And re-invent itself as an indoor/outdoor market. I recently went to the Farmer's Market in Norfolk (by the zoo) and the parking was terrible.....not that parking in downtown Norfolk is significantly better......the Farmer's Market wouold do itself a favor to relocate to Waterside......maybe other unique shops would follow. I worked at Waterside in the early-mid 90's as a bartender and it was a great place to be. It's all closed in now and feels like a dungeon. It's definitely NOT a family atmosphere now.
Limrick - ode to Waterside
Ok here goes Dr. Suess ...... BAR comes Drunks drink, Drunks drive Cops come, Cops drive drucks .......away.
the ailing waterside
is no one's fault but the City of Norfolk Council and the management of Waterside. Waterside has turned into one big bar when it use to be the most festive tourist attraction Norfolk has ever had. Norfolk must not care about tourist $$'s because it offers nothing to bring them in. It's such a shame to see what has happened to waterside. The City plans to spend $11.5 million to re-do the 7 acres of Town Point Park. Does that make any sense? No it doesn't because Waterside will be razed to make way for more condo's and empty office buildings.
And it smells.
And it smells.
why throw money at waterside
While Norfolk is throwing money around needlessly, I can think of a number of causes more pressing. Police salaries. Roads. Why would the city continue to bail out Waterside? This place is not only an eyesore, it's a huge expense no matter what city leaders say. Can we please get our government out of the business of owning and managing property, and back to running the city?
House cleaning is needed real bad
Not only with city council but with the tenants at water side..The city council we all no needs to be replaced..The same old thoughts plague this city council.Water side needs to be an attraction..not for bar hoping..city schools bring kids here during the day WHAT type of school attraction is there??Why cant the city team up with ODU and or the Va Bch Aquarium..u no Some type of partnership They can install and maintain some type of exhibits some large tanks something other than food or the Dollar store..The Nauticus and the Wisconsin are next door why not some of their history or History of the waterfront be displayed througtout water side..With the worlds largest Naval operations Base and all the navel History around here come on..Keep the marina,open the tugboat museum,keep the Ferry,Keep the sailing ship,keep the small specialty stores..keep Hooters the Outback and Black fin for lunches and dinners..Get rid of every thing else and make it an open market again for the residence of down town some thing to enhance attract and educate:)
City Idiots! My Taxes! Happy Business Owners!
I wish my landlord would give me a sweet deal like many at Waterside. The big difference is my landlord ensures he covers all the expenses of operating a strip mall with the lease payments he collects.
The City gives profit based lease agreements and when business is down we the taxpayer pay the bill for the business's in question. I am sure the city has an inspector to watch all financial transactions taking place to ensure they receive an accurate figure for each nights business!
PLEASE PLEASE buy my building so the tax payers who live at a lower standard than I can help pay my business rent!
While we are talking reinvention
We need to reinvent the Norfolk City Council in the next election.
Only in the wacky world of norfolk municipal government
would there be an assistant executive director for housing reinvention.
300K ????
That would not even buy a heating and AC system. Sounds like a waste of money if that is all they are going to spend.