Photos: Norfolk's Town Point Park ready for debut

NORFOLK

Town Point Park and the events held there - including concerts, festivals and boat shows - generate excitement, crowds and goodwill downtown.

Yet the site also generates money for the city and the business community. People visiting the park for the past four years spent an average of $20 million a year.

Close to $4 million of that was returned to the city in taxes, parking and other fees while the remainder benefited Norfolk businesses, according to data collected by Festevents, which manages the park for the city.

Officials anticipate that the value of the riverfront park, both social and economic, will grow even more after an $11.5 million face-lift that will be revealed in the park's grand reopening Harborfest celebration beginning Friday.

The city paid $8.5 million of the cost and the rest was donated. The Virginia Port Authority gave $2 million, and community fundraising by Festevents is expected to reach $1 million.

The makeover includes a relocated main stage, an outdoor cafe, fountains, landscaping, decorative fencing and lighting, promenades and terraced areas.

It's the first renovation in the 26-year history of the park, which city leaders credit for helping spark downtown's revitalization.

Memories have been made at the park for its estimated half-million annual visitors. Couples met and married. Children experienced fireworks for the first time. Visitors marveled at tall ships from around the world. Others sampled their first alligator on a stick at the Bayou Boogaloo or local wine at the Virginia Wine Festival.

"Town Point Park is the main gathering place for public events for the Norfolk community," Mayor Paul Fraim said. "Not only do we have festivals and special events in the park, I remember clearly that following 9/11, it's where the city came to mourn."

Cathy Coleman, president of the Downtown Norfolk Council, which promotes downtown, described the park as both the city's anchor and memory maker.

That sentiment is supported by the 1,000-plus commemorative bricks that have been purchased so far by members of the community. A sampling of the messages etched in them: "THX 4 THE MEMORIES," "1ST DATE HERE 2004 AND STILL LOVING IT," "FIRST MET RIGHT HERE APRIL 21, 1987," "FUN TIMES AND FOND MEMORIES."

"When you think about great cities, you think about great parks," said Barry Bishop, executive vice president of Greater Norfolk Corp., which marshals private sector resources to assist in the city's economic revitalization.

New York City's Central Park and Bryant Park, Boston Common and Millennium Park in Chicago come to Bishop's mind. Some aspects of Town Point's new design were modeled on Millennium Park.

While parks contribute to a city's quality of life, they also contribute to a city's economic life.

In surveys conducted by

Festevents, Town Point visitors reported spending $7 million to $27 million a year since 2005 while attending park events, with an average of $20 million spent.

The numbers are based on visitor surveys and are conservative estimates, Festevents executive director Karen Scherberger said. Visitors surveyed at the park were asked how much money they spent so far that day and Scherberger said they likely continued spending after the survey was done.

Festevents' annual report indicates that visitors spent $7.1 million last year, which was an off year because of the poor economy and because bad weather suppressed attendance at several major festivals, Scherberger said.

Almost half of the spending typically comes from the annual boat show, and luxury boat sales fell by more than half last year, she said.

The report shows that about $1.45 million of the $7.1 million was returned to the city in taxes, parking and other fees while the remainder went to Norfolk businesses, primarily in the downtown area.

In comparison, in 2007, visitor spending was about $27 million. The city's return, $5 million, and income to businesses, $21 million, were triple 2008 levels.

The survey also shows that about 75 percent of park visitors live outside of Norfolk, attracting "new money" to the city, Scherberger said. About 20 percent of visitors travel from outside the Hampton Roads region.

Considering the park's contributions to the city and its deteriorating condition, Fraim said investing in its renovation was critical.

Sections of the park had sunk as much as 3 feet. The drainage was poor. The bulkhead was in disrepair. And limited utility connections did not support park uses well.

"I am certain we can make the case that Town Point Park more than pays for itself and, beyond that, makes a substantial return to the community in a quality-of-life sense and in revenue," Fraim said.

Part of the new design re orients the main stage area. Instead of backing up to the Elizabeth River, it backs up to Otter Berth, where the Spirit of Norfolk docks, facing across the length of the park toward Nauticus. The arrangement gives more people better views of the stage and the water, and will tone down the volume of music outside the park.

Another new element is an interactive water fountain, in the grassy area between Waterside and Otter Berth, that includes 28 water jets for visitors to play in. It is lit and can be choreographed to music.

Electrical improvements include in-ground spotlights to light the landscaping at night. Utility improvements permit the use of trailers with running water and flush toilets for larger events.

To go along with the park's new design, Festevents has doubled the number of days of entertainment programming for the next year, from about 100 to nearly 200 days.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com