| Greater Portsmouth Development Corporation |
About half of Portsmouth's land area is exempt from city taxes. This places an unusually large burden on the city's businesses and homeowners. To address this, the Portsmouth Partnership combined forces in 1997 with the City of Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority to form the Greater Portsmouth Development Corporation (GPDC), a 501c3 organization with the talent, financial leverage, and tax advantages necessary to acquire and control under-utilized but strategic properties throughout the city. Some of the properties which have been successfully placed back on the tax and employer rolls are pictured at right.
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| Roger Brown's Sports Bar and Grill |
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| Hawthorn Suites Hotel |
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| Partnership Development Foundation |
In the summer of 2005 the Partnership Development Foundation, also a 501c3 corporation, was formed. Consistent with the Portsmouth Partnership's mission and similar to the GPDC, the Partnership Development Foundation seeks to revitalize under-performing properties as it generates revenue to support the Portsmouth Partnership's mission and affiliates.
The Foundation's first purchase was the 60,000 square foot Oxford Building, adjacent to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Having been nearly vacant for several years, the building was sold in November of 2005 to a developer who has since converted the building to provide street-level retail space, ground-level parking and 24 luxury condos.
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