PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Three organizations gave city leaders an unsolicited proposal to build a new city hall, with renderings being released last Monday.
Currently, Portsmouth City Hall sits at the corner of Columbia and Crawford Street, next to the city jail.
The proposal, backed by Ripley Heatwole, MEB, and Clark Nexsen, aims to build a new city hall building, an accompanying parking garage, and a plaza between King and County Street behind the Portsmouth Public Library.
Generating tax revenue, boosting city efficiency, and incentivizing tourism at Portsmouth's waterfront are the main goals of this proposal.
The proposal was submitted under Virginia’s Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act, or PPEA, which allows private entities to submit unsolicited proposals for public projects. Carter said the law requires the city to advertise the proposal publicly to allow other potential developers to participate.
“The law says we have to advertise it and allow anybody else to participate if they choose,” Carter said. “We did that. Nobody else made a proposal.”
These renderings were released as part of the conceptual proposal phase, meaning they are not part of a final design plan, nor has a decision been made to move forward with this plan. The estimated cost for this project is around $86 million.
In September, News 3 reported Ripley Heatwole Company is the developer building the proposed 192-unit housing in the Castle Heights neighborhood of Churchland.
According to the developers, the project is estimated to cost about $86 million. The proposal outlines financing the project through a third party that would issue a tax-exempt bond. Carter said the city could also consider general obligation bonds.
“Those general obligation bonds have really low interest rates, and that gives the city the opportunity to control the debt themselves instead of the developer controlling the debt,” Carter said.
The proposal comes as city leaders evaluate the condition of the current City Hall building. Carter said staff have outgrown the space, and the aging structure faces multiple maintenance challenges.
“We’re bursting at the seams. We have heating issues, we have cooling issues, we have plumbing issues, we have electrical issues, we have elevator issues. Those things are just things that pop up in an older building just because it's an older building, but we have to address those things pretty quickly because it's a public building,” Carter said. “With the people that we’re trying to put in the building and the services that we’re trying to provide out of the building, we’ve really outgrown what this building was designed to hold.”
Some residents, however, question the cost.
Sylvia Hicks, who was born and raised in Portsmouth, said $86 million is a significant investment.
“They need to come up with another plan as far as that,” Hicks said. “These buildings have been here a long time. If they can figure something else out without hurting the taxpayers, yeah, I totally agree with it.”
Carter emphasized that no decision has been made to accept or reject the proposal. City leaders are reviewing the plan to determine whether it is in the best interest of residents.
Carter said one key takeaway is that private developers see opportunity in the city.
“Somebody saw what’s happening in Portsmouth and decided that they want to be a part of what’s going on,” he said.
Under the PPEA process, the city must hold a public hearing before moving forward. The Portsmouth City Council wants to hear feedback on this proposal. Residents are welcome to participate in a public hearing on March 10.
