Razing Norfolk building for light rail to cost more than $1 million

A divided City Council approved spending an additional $934,000 in taxpayer money to purchase a small office building on York Street in Norfolk, Va., that officials say would cause a safety issue when light rail opens in May, The Virginian-Pilot
 reports. However, some council members say Hampton Roads Transit, not the city, should be responsible for purchasing the building. The transportation agency is constructing the city's light-rail line.

"Let HRT pay for this,"
Councilman Andy Protogyrou said. "This is their fault. It’s their mistake. I
don’t see why Norfolk taxpayers have to pay for this.

HRT officials say the
light-rail tracks are safe and were approved by the city, state and federal
agencies.

"If the City Council
wants to make it safer, that’s a good thing," said Tom Holden, HRT’s public
affairs manager.

The building, which
houses a psychiatric practice and a printing company, is about a yard from
light-rail tracks as they turn west from Duke Street onto York Street. Mayor
Paul Fraim said there’s a blind spot where the tracks turn that could lead to
pedestrians being injured or killed by light-rail trains.

"I don’t know how the
engineers configured the tracks here, but just to the naked eye, it’s a safety
issue," Fraim said. "As the train comes around the track, you cannot see it and
you may not be able to hear it. I think we did the prudent thing."

Protogyrou and other
council members said the blind spot was a design flaw made by consultants and engineers
hired by HRT.

Light rail, expected to
cost $338 million, is more than $106 million over budget. That does not include
the money the council decided to spend this week with its 6-2 vote.

The issue was debated for
nearly a half- hour in closed session. There was no public debate.

Councilman Paul R.
Riddick, who chairs the HRT board, said he went back and forth on the issue
before voting to approve the additional money. "I just decided the best thing
to do is to get this done as soon as possible," he said.

Councilman Barclay C.
Winn, who also serves on HRT’s board, said the current management of the
transit agency is not to blame. Michael Townes was forced to resign as HRT head
earlier this year primarily because of the project’s cost overruns.

"There are skeletons
coming out of this project because of poor management and poor engineering"
under Townes, Winn said.

City Attorney Bernard A.
Pishko said the building was appraised by the city at slightly less than $1
million. It is assessed for tax purposes at $755,000, City Assessor Deborah
Bunn said.

Pishko said building
owner Jim Baylor was seeking $600,000 in compensation for diminished value of
the office building because of light-rail construction, which had previously
claimed a small parking lot and two offices attached to the building.

In all, it will cost HRT
and the city $1,175,000 to acquire the property. HRT is kicking in
$261,000 that will essentially pay for Baylor’s claim of diminished value. The
city will pay $20,000 in closing costs and $914,000 for the building.

Fraim said the building
will be demolished and the site cleared before light rail begins running. He
hopes it will become a park.

"The site just cries out
for grass and a few trees," he said. "If you stand there on the corner, it looks
like the place was built for machines instead of people. This will allow us to
soften that up a bit."