Smithfield's Church Street beautification project on final stretch

SMITHFIELD — The hand-printed sign taped on the door of Lisa's Sweet Shoppe, shuttered and dark near the hustling Smithfield Station, is crystal clear: "Out of business. We did not relocate."

Just down the wooden boardwalk of gift shops, Ham Town Books owner Becky Veverka is negotiating a cash-only deal with a customer who wants to buy the colorful shelf that holds the store's children's book inventory. After a dismal Christmas season, Veverka is giving up on the cozy shop she opened 18 months ago by remortgaging her home and dipping into her retirement fund.

"One of the reasons I can't make it — not the only one, but a big one — was that I could not get locals into the store this year," said Veverka, pointing outside toward South Church Street. On an overcast winter's day, flagmen were routing alternating lanes of traffic through the potholed artery that runs to downtown Smithfield.

Rather than driving around the frequently clogged South Church Street, people turned to the Internet or grabbed what they wanted while shopping in other cities, Veverka said.

Traffic headaches are just one of the concerns that have cropped up with the lengthy final phase of the $4.4 million Church Street Beautification Project, said Town Manager Peter Stephenson. After years of planning and fundraising by residents, the Norfolk-based Excel Paving broke ground in January 2011 for the 18-month overhaul of one of the town's most historic — and most heavily traveled — roads.

The project is on time and budget for a May 2012 completion, Stephenson said.

For the past 14 months, residents, business owners and motorists have waited patiently — for the most part, anyway — through ripped up sidewalks, stopped traffic lines, unpaved streets filled with holes and dips so large that motorists have to drive at half the legal speed limit. They have gotten used to waking up to jackhammers, having strangers — usually tourists — walk across their yards or work crews digging holes in their lawns to bury utility lines, said South Church Street resident Florine Moore.

"It can be frustrating at times, but you have to remember the outcome," Moore said. As part of the project, which is being funded with $1.9 million in private donations, South Church Street will have brick sidewalks, new lights that look historic, storm-water drainage, public parking and buried utility lines, with the exception of one electric line running between the Cypress Creek Bridge and Thomas Street.

Dominion Virginia Power's estimate to bury its main cable was in the millions, said Stephenson. Through state and federal grants, the town is able to absorb the cost of undergrounding the wires running from the main power line to each house, Stephenson said.

In an effort to speed up progress, the town has allowed Excel to shut down two block of South Church, between Cedar Street and the intersection of Luter and Thomas streets, until April. Although the closure also shuts down one of the historic district's main intersections, Main and South Church streets, it allows work crews to work six days a week.

Most traffic heading downtown seems to take the bypass, a route that misses Smithfield Station and its adjacent shops, said Veverka. It's a stark contrast to Smithfield Station next door, where manager Randy Pack says business at his family-owned restaurant, marina and motel is up 21 percent this year, mostly because of three promotional efforts through Groupon.

Groupon is an online coupon site that offers deep discounts to subscribers.

Pack estimates that his Groupon sales brought about 50 visitors and families to Smithfield, with most coming from Richmond, Washington, D.C.and New York City, Pack said.

"Most of my shops (at Smithfield Station) are doing well, " said Pack, adding that he is close to sealing a deal to bring a similar business into the waterfront store that was once Lisa's Sweet Shoppe.

Over in downtown, several businesses reported seeing minor — if any — declines in business related to the Church Street Beautification Project. "Maybe a 10 percent reduction," said Rita Greiner, owner of Smithfield Flower Shop.

Margaret Carroll, owner of the Smithfield Confectionary, said business at her eatery has grown, simply because people who use to lunch at Smithfield Station are staying in town to avoid the road work.

Although road construction probably did negatively impact the book store and bakery, the floundering economy probably played the largest role, said Jim Carroll, executive director of the Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads.

"The economy is the 800 pound gorilla in the room," said Carroll. "There is a lot of uncertainty in the markets and when that happens, people tend to hang onto their money longer. Although some businesses are thriving, others are withering on the vine because the business is just not what they expected."

Generally speaking, road construction — particularly long-range projects such as the one in Smithfield — can cramp the style of struggling businesses, Carroll added.

"It becomes a problem when it gets to the point you are constantly at the mercy of the construction," Carroll said.

Meanwhile, Veverka plans to empty her shop over the next few weeks.

"Books, shelves, even the rugs. Just about everything is for sale except my stuffed pigs," Veverka said.""It's been a tough year. If nothing else, I hope my closing will make people aware of the need to shop local."

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Smithfield's Church Street beautification project on final stretch