PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The third time was the charm for Portsmouth City Council to approve redevelopment at the long-vacant site of a former public housing community.
On Tuesday, council in a 5-2 vote approved a proposal by SAFStor Real Estate Co., LLC to turn the 5.3-acre grounds of the old Washington Park housing development into a three-story, 793-unit self-storage facility. Council members Mark Whitaker and De’Andre Barnes were the no votes.
The property at 0 Effingham Street, just south of I-264 and Olde Towne near Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA, is still owned by the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
Whitaker in voting no again said he was still concerned about the history of lead contamination due to a former Abex foundry at the site, which was declared a Superfund site in 1990 by the Environmental Protection Agency. Residents of the former Washington Park complex eventually filed a civil rights lawsuit against the EPA and the city over the matter, and the complex was eventually demolished in 2006.
Whitaker says despite corrective actions to try to remove lead in the soil around the area, “there are risks there.”
“I do not live in the area, I’m not comfortable voting on something that’s not going to affect me that could affect those in the area. And I’m not going to put economics ahead of the risk.”
Barnes says he envisioned more for the site than a storage facility.
“I look at this area specifically…. this is an extension of our downtown area,” Barnes said. “… to me putting a storage right there when people come right out of the tunnel … it puts us in a situation where a storage says that we’re just putting our hopes and dreams away in what this city could really be.”
“This city could really be something special and that area could really bring a lot of people to the City of Portsmouth,” he added. “… we can do more than just a storage facility.”
No other members of council spoke prior to the vote, but Delegate Don Scott, speaking as a attorney on the behalf of SAFStor, says it’ll be an $11.5 million investment with revenue of up to $1.4 million a year. It’s expected to employ between six and eight people.
Among the stipulations for the project, Safstor will have to elevate the property by seven feet to be above the floodplain and any development practices must be in compliance with the Superfund’s excavation requirements.
Scott emphasized that this is one of the few approved uses of the site by the EPA, as many residential and commercial uses are still prohibited, and the local civic league unanimously approved the project.
Former City Council candidate Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky said he was happy to finally see a productive use for the long vacant space.
“We have not been collecting any revenue from it, it’s been a liability to us and I’m thankful we have some lemonade makers in the room who are going to put something on that property that will bring revenue to the City of Portsmouth … and that will allow it to be productive in one respect where it can’t be in so many others.”