Econ-development talks in Portsmouth hit on regional cooperation

PORTSMOUTH

With their residents fronting the highest local tax burden in the region, City Council members said in November that they had to make economic development their new priority.

To be successful, they said, they needed to get their business-oriented boards and commissions on the same page.

On Saturday, a group of local officials gathered to begin shaping that common agenda in a meeting it hailed as the first of its kind in the city.

"Bringing all the players to the table," Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas said.

About 20 local officials sat at tables shaped into a large horseshoe and listened to developers, state business staffers and a regional spokesman tell them what to focus on and how to grow.

Liz Povar, director of business development for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, said confidentiality is crucial in business deals, so local officials have to trust staff when they say they can't disclose every detail of a corporation's pitch.

"Teams that win play as partners," she said, adding that she knows that's not always easy on the local level.

If any theme emerged, it was the value of regional cooperation.

Michael Barrett, CEO of The Runnymede Corp., said Portsmouth's leaders must work with their neighbors to expand service at Norfolk International Airport.

"We have terrible air service when it comes to attracting international companies," he said.

The airport also needs a new name to better advertise its reach, said Gerald Divaris, chairman and CEO of Divaris Real Estate Inc.

He told city leaders to press the state to include them and others on the airport's authority, a political subdivision of the commonwealth with commissioners appointed by the Norfolk City Council.

As for local projects, Lou Haddad, president and CEO of Armada Hoffler, said for every 10 cities that want to encourage economic development, there's one that can do it.

The problem is usually a lack of vision, he said.

If it was vision they sought, Divaris pitched a couple of ideas. One was a sports village to capitalize on the athletes that have come from Portsmouth.

The other was to build a "school of retail" with an enterprise village next to Portsmouth's new Tidewater Community College campus off Victory Boulevard. Students could learn all facets of the business, and the city could grab the attention of national retailers, he said.

"Just a thought," Divaris said.

The challenge with the council's new focus will be how much it wants to commit to it, said C.W. "Luke" McCoy, chairman of the Portsmouth Economic Development Authority.

The former Portsmouth city manager said economic development was a priority at every city retreat he attended in the past. But that focus inevitably faded, he said.

To make progress, the city must set clear goals, make them public and figure out a way to measure their success, said E. Dana Dickens III, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Partnership.

Council members plan to hold more Saturday meetings with their boards and commissions to do just that. They also plan to have monthly work sessions devoted to economic development.

The event Saturday was a good start, Dickens said.

Besides council members and staff, it drew people from the planning commission, the Economic Development Authority and the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

"This is absolutely huge," Dickens said.

Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com