The Virginian-Pilot
©
PORTSMOUTH
Small offices on second floors along High Street. A greater range of shops. Even a boutique hotel.
Those are some of the visions that consultants hired to work on plans for the city's downtown and waterfront think could be realized in 10 years if Portsmouth can bring in about 2,000 more households to its core.
"The challenge is you don't have enough people living downtown and on the waterfront to support the types of activities you all have said you want," said Colin Greene, director of design at the Washington, D.C.-based HOK Planning Group.
Greene and several other urban design specialists were in town last week to present drafts of revitalization plans.
The proposals are part of an initiative called Destination Portsmouth that includes new plans for downtown, the waterfront and transportation, and an overhaul of the city's zoning code.
The downtown and waterfront proposals were devised in part based on citizen input and on the results of a market study conducted by Bay Area Economics that was finished earlier this year.
The study notes that Portsmouth has both short- and long-term possibilities for growth, Greene said.
The biggest untapped opportunity for attracting more residents and visitors downtown is the four employment centers in Portsmouth or close by: Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, downtown Portsmouth itself and downtown Norfolk, he said.
Nearly 58,000 people work in those four job centers, but only 1 percent of them live in downtown Portsmouth, according to the study.
The study suggests that the city should not wait for its largest employers to add more jobs downtown but should target smaller businesses as well.
On average, most Portsmouth businesses employ fewer than nine people, according to the report.
The report suggests encouraging more unconventional office space on the second and third floors of buildings along High Street.
Portsmouth leaders also should build on existing downtown assets and plan events to encourage more maritime-oriented tourism. The steps might help the city attract a greater range of businesses, the study says.
The study also states that another target area for city leaders is reduction of the vacancy rate from the waterfront to Effingham Street. It currently is 40 percent.
In the long term, the consultants think Portsmouth leaders should continue to encourage retail downtown, which could help spur the development of new office space and maybe another hotel down the road.
Another area of focus for Portsmouth officials is the redevelopment of the London Boulevard and High Street corridors west of Effingham Street to the Midtown area.
Geoffrey Ferrell, of the Washington, D.C.-based urban design firm Ferrell Madden Lewis LLC, gave a presentation of a draft for that area last week as well.
The plan calls for creating a clear and easy-to-understand guide for developers interested in doing work in the area.
Jen McCaffery, (757) 446-2627, jen.mccaffery@pilotonline.com
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revitilizing portsmouth
Honestly I think that the skyline, given what it is in Norfolk, is a shame. People want to see Portsmouth make good, but it is entirely too difficult to get into the city. Right now it is only a problem during rush hour, but if Porstmouth ever builds up that skyline you will have transportation problems all the time going in and out of the place. Also what good is a vibrant downtown when the ghetto is a stone throw away? Yeah it is a natural transition for downtown Portsmouth to eventually come up, but as other posters have said, there is no infrastructure to actually keep people in Portsmouth. Everyone wants to work there, wants to visit downtown, no one wants to live in the city.
What??!!
Look...I am the first one to do a song and dance about what's wrong in my neighborhood of Cradock. We are STILL waiting on the Cradock revitalization plan (from either decade) to be executed. And, do we have more than our fair share of "burdens to society" in Portsmouth? Absolutely! But, most of what I am reading here from posters is a crock!
Olde Towne is without a doubt the BEST place to go in Hampton Roads for first rate, unique restaurants. Granby Street was "there" a few years ago, but they lost focus and it's turning into a dump....and Chesapeake, VA Beach, Hampton, and NN, focus on "chains" for dining.
I go to a beautiful church smack in the middle of Old Towne, I regularly patronize the nearby restaurants for brunch, dinner, or late supper, and I love to browse the art galleries and antique stores. I have NEVER had a problem...not a one...and I have been going there for years.
Why go to Portsmouth?
The prepared food tax is one of the highest in the nation. The City is not friendly to small business owners and tries to tax them to the limits. Portsmouth could be a jewel but the demographs keep people who work for a living going to other cities. The only people who want to come to Portsmouth are the folks on public assistance. What a deal they get in our city. More free stuff than Opra gives away on her show. Some of the newest housing in the area. In an effort to clean up the downtown the city is actively moving section eight housing to some of the better neighborhoods. This is a cancer that will not get better since few productive people want to move to Portsmouth and buy these houses. If Portsmouth wants to prosper they have to offer more than unfriendly city government, high taxes and crime. In all fairness Portsmouth is in a deep hole that is going to be very difficult to crawl out of. We can thank the voters for this.
Be afraid!
Apparently, everyone is scared of Portsmouth and wouldn't dare come here. They say you're crazy to go. It's that talk that keeps Portsmouth great.
I love downtown
That's the truth. It is relatively safe most hours of the day and night. There are some wonderful restaurants, pubs and shops. Many great changes are coming to the area through private investment and at great risk. There are coming despite our city council's unwillingness to make some hard decisions. The public housing has to go. The proliferation of section 8 throughout many of Portsmouth's better neighborhoods has to go. The Oasis and any other operation that draws the homeless and hobo's to this city have got to go. MOST IMPORTANTLY, the city has got to let go of it's addiction to the federal subsidy funds. That 'crack habit' is killing this town. We need VALUE ADDING citizenry. That comes from taxes collected and, more importantly, the benefit of bringing quality of life through personal responsibility and education. Until all of the voting citizens of Portsmouth stop seeing everything as 'black and white' we will not progress. We must stand up and tell city council they MUST make the changes or plan on being voted out!
made that mistake once
When I moved to the Hampton Roads area in 1988 I moved to the Churchland area of Portsmouth. I loved the area untill the police would not respond to calls about the drugs being peddled on the corner. Then I was given a ticket for trespassing on school property because I thought the old Churchland High school property would be a good place to teach my 6 year old daughter how to throw a football one weekend.
Sorry P-Town. Nobody in thier right mind will buy there. Maybe Lucas would like to help as long as it lines her pockets.
Bait the trap
If Portsmouth wants to attract new residents, especially to the pricier Olde Towne neighborhood, they're going to have to do a better job of bating the trap. Perhaps they can start by knocking 24 cents off the $1.24/$100 residential real estate tax. Of course, then they couldn't afford to keep the dead wood around, which would mark a major shift in Portsmouth's direction and that'd just be wrong. Oh, wait, that's what they just paid big bucks to have a consulting firm look at.
"and make it a nice warm homey kind of place!"
P'town HOMEY don't play that!
There is one reason I will
There is one reason I will never live in Norfolk. The light at the end of the tunnel is either Hampton or Portsmouth. No matter what you do, it will always be Portsmouth. Not many people want to get robbed or shot. So until that can be removed from the picture, they will just be putting Lipstick on a Pig.
You have to give something to get something!
Portsmouth wants to revitalize the downtown, and make it a nice warm homey kind of place! They want the dollars from those who would come to live, shop and do business there. Not a bad idea really. But what they haven't figured out yet is that in order for that to happen they (THE CITY)has to give something. Tax breaks, reduced property taxes, special financing incentives, get rid of the homeless population, the list goes on. Either step up to the plate Portsmouth or stop spending our tax dollars.