Take long view on Portsmouth's makeover

The economic news is undeniably grim right now, but Portsmouth's future doesn't have to be.

The region's poorest city has witnessed a remarkable resurgence in recent years, with a burst of renovations and redevelopment bringing new life to its historic downtown and several long-struggling neighborhoods.

Construction has slowed, however, and - as The Pilot's Jen McCaffery reported last week - several highly anticipated projects have stalled or are taking longer to complete.

Recently, city officials have granted six-month extensions to developers of a $158-million makeover of the old Holiday Inn site on the Portsmouth waterfront and to developers of a major shopping center at Turnpike Road and Frederick Boulevard.

Meanwhile, Virginia Beach developers L.M. Sandler & Sons have proposed major changes for New Port, the city's largest new residential community. Instead of building 427 condos as originally planned, developers are seeking permission to construct apartments and a shopping center. Neighbors oppose the switch because of a concern about property values.

It's tempting for Portsmouth officials to lower their expectations to help developers proceed with their plans. In a tough economy, it's easy to adopt the view that adding something to the tax rolls is better than nothing.

But, so far, city officials are correctly resisting the urge to accept short-term gains at the expense of long-term planning. "We want to make sure during this downturn in the market that we don't build projects of a lesser value," said Kathy Warren, head the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

That's a wise approach. City officials should be open to granting extensions and discussing reasonable changes in designs. But Portsmouth shouldn't sell itself short.

The economy may take awhile to recover, but when it does, the city's revival will resume - as long, that is, as officials don't undermine progress by lowering the higher standards they've imposed in recent years.