Beach businesses uneasy as Laskin project to begin

VIRGINIA BEACH

At the swimsuit boutique, women browse the racks while chatting about politics. A couple of doors down at the flower shop, customers drop in to pay a bill and introduce an out-of-town family member to the owner. And across the street at the health foods store, an inventory collected over 40 years is crammed into every nook.

The shops that occupy this one block of Laskin Road, between Arctic Avenue and Pacific Avenue, is a downtown of sorts for the Oceanfront. And many of the businesses are local fixtures.

But their future is uncertain.

An upscale development and the city's plan to revamp the area into a pedestrian-friendly entrance way to the Oceanfront could force them out, several store owners said.

The city announced this week that, after Labor Day, it will start to clos e roads for the utility work involved in the transformation.

"It's just so frustrating," said Nancy York, the co-owner of the Ragged Robin, a gift shop. "Why should we try to be South Beach? Why can't we be our own beach?"

Hotelier Bruce Thompson's company, Gold Key/PHR Hotels & Resorts, plans in late spring to start building apartments, offices, restaurants and shops on the north side of the block. The project, called Beach Centre, has been billed as a way to revitalize that section of the resort. But it will force landmarks such as The Jewish Mother, a restaurant and music venue, and The Heritage Store, a health food shop and holistic center, to find new space.

"I'm mentally fighting it," said Tom Johnson, the owner of The Heritage Store.

Johnson said he has looked for other locations further inland but does not want to move his immense inventory to a new site. The store has been on that block of Laskin Road for more than three decades, he said.

Thompson said he would like to work out a deal to keep the retail portion of The Heritage Store in the new development, but the company's mail-order business would probably have to move.

"I would really hope he would remain," Thompson said.

For shop owners across the street, the city's transportation plans are a bigger concern, because they call for narrow two- lanes and parallel parking.

They'll lose the angled parking in front of their stores, which may drive away customers, especially locals, business owners said.

Theresa Parsons, the owner of Goldworks, is relocating away from the Oceanfront. The construction would have required her customers to walk into her store from the back entrance, an arrangement her insurance would not cover for a jewelry store, Parsons said.

"I'm heartbroken that I have to move," she said.

The city can't prevent private property owners from redeveloping this block, Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson said.

Beach officials are in negotiations to lease spaces for the public in a parking lot behind the shops during construction. Also, they have discussed placing time limits on some of the parallel parking spots on the road so customers can drop into the stores.

But diagonal parking doesn't fit with the two-lane road plan because of safety concerns, Deputy City Manager Steve Herbert said.

"It's a recipe for disaster."

The upgrades to Laskin Road should attract more tourists and customers and will benefit some of the shops, Herbert said.

"Change is hard," he said. "We think we'll provide a better address."

Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121. deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com