NAACP Wants
Roseland Bid
Re-Considered

Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter
New Journal & Guide
 
       By November, according to an official with Portsmouth’s Economic Development Authority, the contract between the city and the company selected to  develop the “Holiday Inn Towne Site” could be signed. The downtown waterfront parcel of land is slated for condominiums, upscale office and commercial space.
       In August, the Portsmouth City Council agreed to accept the bid presented by Lincoln Property Company. Steve Lynch, the Director of Economic Development for the City of Portsmouth, said the documents finalizing the deal between with the city and Lincoln  should be completed by November. 
Officials from the Greater Portsmouth Development Corporation and the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority (PRHA), which now owns the land, have been at the forefront of the developing the contract which will launch construction.
 

        
        But the effort has been overshadowed by  complaints in the African American community that the city ignored a key provision of its Request for Proposal (RFP) which required bidders to include “minorities” among the list of investors and participants in the effort.
       Lincoln Property Company’s winning bid proposal did not mention any minority participation.
On the other hand, the loser of the competition, Roseland Property Company, listed
four minority businessmen—lawyer  Eric O. Moody, Judge Johnny E. Morrison, Rev. (Dr.) Melvin O. Marriner,  and Engineer Kenny Wright.
       Since the Council made its decision, opponents of the panel’s choice said that it has poisoned the racial waters  in the city and  heightened longstanding claims that the Portsmouth’s multi-million dollar development programs have deliberately excluded African Americans.
       The last U.S. Census count noted that Portsmouth was over 50 percent African American.
       Many African American citizens have claimed, over the years, of  having been left out of reaping any of the benefits from the millions of dollars which have been spent to  redevelop the face of Portsmouth, especially in downtown.

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