Sprucing up the half-vacant Port Elizabeth Centre is a great idea, says Councilwoman Anita Hummer, a member of the city's community image committee.

But cutting down and removing all 22 blooming crape myrtle trees along the Ehringhaus Street side, as the Los Angeles-based owner recently did, was akin to robbing this Southern town of its heritage, a sentimental Hummer says.

"They are special in the South," she says. "There's nothing prettier out that way."

That was until three weeks ago, when the shopping center owner decided to cut every tree down on its northern border to improve site visibility, according to Phillip Dunn, director of real estate for B.H. Properties LLC.

"When they were planted a long time ago, visibility was just about zero," Dunn says. "We were losing tenants because of visibility. Prospective tenants drove by our center and didn't see it. That told us we have a problem."

Dunn contacted City

Manager Rich Olson and told him of his landscaping plan, which included removal of the trees.

Olson recommended "thinning" the trees by removing some, and preserving others.

Then one weekend, Dunn had a crew remove all the trees along Ehringhaus Street.

Hummer says she noticed it on her way to church that Sunday morning.

"I just couldn't believe it," she says. "They either ignored the advice or just went ahead and did it. Another year and they would have been at a height where you could see all the way through them. No one ever complained."

Hummer publicly chastised Dunn at the following night's council meeting, which was televised. She even jokingly said she hopes the California-based commercial real estate company doesn't plan to plant palm trees in their place. Since then, she's gotten many positive comments.

"I'm sure I'll make an enemy of him, but it almost made me want to cry," she said.

Dunn said he didn't anticipate such a reaction, especially since he decided to leave several crape myrtles in landscaped parking lot islands throughout the shopping center.

Originally from Asia, crapes bloom all summer long in vibrant flowering clusters of white, pink, purple and lavender. Hardy and drought tolerant, they require little pruning and can grow up to 20 feet tall and spread out 10 to 15 feet, according to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at The University of Arizona.

Planning Director June Brooks said she advised B.H. Properties that it will have to replant trees where the crape myrtles were cut down.

Exactly what type of trees will be spelled out in a new landscaping plan the owner must submit, she said.

Dunn said he plans to do just that — hire a landscaper and re-plant trees.

"We're working with the city and planning department and will put up some flowers and trees so we can get back to financial stability and having merchants making money and paying taxes to the city again," he said. "We're interviewing local landscape companies to get an idea of what would enhance the center, yet still allow visibility."

B.H. Properties bought the shopping center in 2006 for $7.8 million. Its immediate goal was to find a tenant for the Lowe's building, which was left vacant when Lowe's opened its new store on the corner of Ehringhaus and Halstead Boulevard.

Later, after Wal-Mart moved, some smaller stores also closed and relocated to the new Shoppes at Tanglewood when it opened earlier this year adjacent to the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The other big tenant, Food Lion, is still open and has a lease through 2008, Dunn said. With another Food Lion being built on Weeksville Road near Elizabeth City State University, it isn't known yet if the supermarket will renew its lease at Port Elizabeth, Dunn said.

Dunn has been actively marketing space at Port Elizabeth Centre, and has been in touch with such interested retailers as Ross Dress for Less Stores and Tractor Supply Co., and even Home Depot.

Earlier this week, Dunn had good news to report when Ollie's Bargain Outlet of Pennsylvania announced plans to open later this year in more than half of the empty Lowe's.

"We've got long-range plans to make that a vibrant shopping center," he said. "That's our goal. We like the town, we like the location. Our specialty is picking towns that are growing."