Fresh perspective sought on Waterside's future

CLARIFICATION: The job title of Norfolk Southern’s F. Blair Wimbush is vice president for real estate and corporate sustainability officer. It was unclear in the original version of this story.

NORFOLK

Five urban planners - all outsiders to Norfolk - this week will take a close look at troubled Waterside Festival Marketplace, then have an important say in deciding its fate.

City officials hope the group offers a fresh perspective on what should be done with the 27-year-old facility, which sits more than half empty on the downtown waterfront.

Among the panelists are a maritime development expert; the planning director for Charlotte, N.C.; a former director of Richmond's department of community development; and a public-private development consultant.

Over three days, the group will tour downtown, learn about Waterside's history, meet with city staff, and interview residents and business owners. The plan, according to a memo from City Manager Regina V.K. Williams, is for the consultants to present the City Council recommendations for Waterside's future by mid-January.

"We're all so close to it, we wanted to put it in the hands of some really bright people who can be objective," said Councilman Barclay C. Winn, who represents downtown. "We have confidence in what they'll come up with."

Winn said the panel's recommendation wouldn't be binding but added that "I think we'll put a lot of cre dence in it."

The panel will take previous findings about the facility and bring them together in the latest study.

This fall, city officials released the results of a survey of more than 3,000 residents that offered ideas for the two-story building, including tearing it down, making it into a casino, and reverting it to a community market.

Most respondents said changing Waterside should be a priority. Some civic leaders who will meet with the experts this week said the same.

"The river is a key asset for our community; we've got to pay attention to it," said F. Blair Wimbush, vice president and corporate sustainability officer for Norfolk Southern.

Waterside opened in 1983 as a community marketplace and was reinvented in the late 1990s as a nightspot with restaurants and clubs.

In recent years, business has dropped off and its profitability has declined. Some of its clubs have departed for other cities while others have closed altogether.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com