Development brings new hope in Suffolk

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - A ribbon cutting in Downtown Suffolk is cutting through old stereotypes -- a new apartment complex that spreads success from one side of the tracks to the other.

The real story here is not the ribbon cutting, but everything else the ribbon cutting symbolizes, and it is far more than scissors, polyester and silk.

This is a story about the train tracks that split the city of Suffolk into two. Wealth is on one side, and lower income on the other.

"Most of the people always thought once they got up to the railroad track it was the end of the city, and when they come over they go to another world," said Suffolk Councilman Leroy Bennet.

Just on the other side of the tracks there were two old, beat up buildings that hid a third. The Lofts at East Point and the East Point Plaza now symbolize the future on the other side of the tracks.

Thirty-two one and two bedroom apartments bringing professionals to the other side of the tracks. Builder Chris Johnson told WAVY.com, "This is the toughest job we've every had. It was really in rough shape. This was one of the worst buildings."

The vision came from Johnson's business partner, Businessman Tom Powell.

"I wanted urban funk. I wanted something different," he said. "I wanted energy, and skaters, and I want people...as you know with retail you gotta put butts in the seat. We do that and the Starbucks and the cafes and the restaurants and the jobs will come."

The want people to break down the barriers of the tracks. "This track divided, now with this new project we are going to see economic development on both sides to the track," says Clarissa McAdoo who is Executive Director of the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Former Councilman and Mayor Andy Damiani put it this way, "I never thought it would happen. I coined a phrase: the fairgrounds moved uptown to downtown. Remember that."