Group meets to discuss downtown needs

Make it more like Smithfield or more like Norfolk.

Emphasize and build on the arts and culture; or anchor it by one or two strong, popular national brands; or build it to support a small college campus.

There are many ideas about how to make downtown Suffolk vital and vibrant again. Sifting through those ideas and exploring which ones are likely to bring the most success for everyone involved has always been the purview of the city’s economic development team.

But a new group is forming to offer new perspectives on and suggestions for downtown Suffolk, and a “brainstorming session” on Wednesday revealed a high level of interest, though no broad agreement on the details.

The “Friends of Suffolk” meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront attracted about 50 people — merchants, restaurateurs, professionals and others who work and live in the downtown area, along with a couple of current and former City Council members, investors and others interested in the topic.

“What we want is the voice of the people to speak out,” said businessman and investor Ralph Nahra, who was part of the small group that organized the meeting and served as its moderator.

The meeting served as an opportunity to do just that, and those attending expressed an interest in organizing their efforts to lobby City Council and Suffolk’s Department of Economic Development on behalf of the downtown area.

“We want to make Suffolk something important, and we’re not happy with the status quo,” said Douglas Parr, summing up many of the comments made during the hour-and-a-half meeting. Parr’s father, Charles, a former City Council member, was part of the group that was behind the meeting.

Discussion topics ranged from what could be done to entice a community college or other educational institution to start a downtown campus to the recent and successful pop-up shops event sponsored by the economic development department and the Retail Alliance to the possibility setting up a privately financed “lion’s den,” where investors could hear and consider start-up needs for businesses connected to the city’s core business community.

A variety of different groups have had informal discussions about those topics for a while, Nahra said in his welcoming remarks. City Council’s recent decision to move capital improvements money out of an account earmarked for a new library was the impetus for opening up the discussions to a wider audience, he said.

“I don’t think there’s any lack of support for a library and college,” City Councilman Mike Duman told the group. “A significant amount of land acquisition has already been consummated for the library. But I don’t foresee a significant amount of money for a library project for the next three to four years.”

Duman explained that a pressing need for a renovated downtown fire station had caused council to move the money originally earmarked for the library. Funding needs for two new schools will tie up most of the city’s capital improvements budget for the next couple of years, he added.

Whether it’s a technology incubator that encourages the creation of new businesses and brings new people to the area, a niche-market industry that opens a whole new sector for investment and employment or an arts district that encourages eclectic shops and restaurants to support galleries and studios, downtown Suffolk must become a place that attracts visitors and holds onto its residents, participants said.

“We need to give something to keep the younger crowd here,” said Jose Moncada, owner of East Coast Taco Co. on West Washington Street. “We need to have a mix where everyone can hang out in this side of town, instead of going to Norfolk.”

Scott Nash of Richardson and Nash Clothiers agreed, but he added a note that struck a chord with many of the others in the room. Suffolk’s economic development officials should “focus on downtown more than northern Suffolk,” he said.

Getting city officials involved in the process is one of the group’s goals. Organizers plan to hold another meeting early next year to firm up leadership and start formulating action plans.

“I’ll tell you this,” Nahra said. “There will be action. I want a tidal wave. I want an image change downtown.”