Council approves CenterPoint rezoning

By Tracy Agnew (Contact) | Suffolk News-Herald

Published Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Suffolk City Council approved the controversial CenterPoint development in a vote during Wednesday’s meeting.

CenterPoint Properties, an Illinois-based developer, now has permission to develop the land it owns on U.S. Route 58. The plan, as conceived by CenterPoint, for the intermodal center includes 13 buildings, 5.8 million square feet of light and heavy industrial, distribution, office space and general commercial facilities, as well as a rail yard adjacent to the CSX rail line.

In a vote of 7-0, with Councilman Robert Barclay IV abstaining because one of his law clients is a consultant for CenterPoint, the council soundly gave their approval to CenterPoint.

The project, CenterPoint estimates, will bring about 3,000 jobs – one job for every 27 Suffolk residents – and millions of dollars in real estate taxes.

It is still unknown how the city will pay for widening Holland Road – a project for which CenterPoint proffered about $3.5 million. The project is estimated to cost between $54-94 million, depending on who is providing the estimate.

Funding for the road improvement has been a major bone of contention associated with the project. Three residents in the Holland Road area came to speak against the project.

Karen and Ron Fecteau, who live in the 2200 block of Holland Road, said that nobody has considered the safety aspect of increased traffic on Holland Road.

“Extra lanes is not the answer,” Ron Fecteau said. “We’re not against the project, we’re against the road.”

The Fecteaus’s house is about 100 feet from the asphalt currently, they said. The increased right-of-way needed on the road will give them only 10-40 feet of front yard on a 45-mph road, they said. In addition, the Fecteaus said they heard no viable options for funding the road improvements.

“Nobody had (any) answers,” Ron Fecteau said. “They don’t even know what they’re gonna do.”

Keith Nelson, who owns property on Deer Path Road, objected to the amount of noise the project will generate.

“This proposed project is in our back yard,” he said. “The noise generated by this has been greatly underestimated.”

After the public comment period, several council members spoke in favor of the project, acknowledging the difficulties but saying the positives outweigh the negatives.

“We’re talking about positives,” said Jeffrey Gardy, who represents the piece of land CenterPoint will sit on. “Two thousand-plus jobs in an economy where Circuit City is laying off 34,000.”

He also noted that CenterPoint Properties has offered to donate land for a new fire station and water tower, pay $3.5 million toward Holland Road improvements, do the design work on the road expansion and more.

Councilman Charles Brown said the council could solve “small problems” like the concerns brought forth by the three citizens.

Councilman Parr made the motion to approve the project, which was seconded by several of his colleagues. Before the vote, however, Mayor Linda T. Johnson had a comment.

“I do firmly believe this project would go right on down Route 58” if it doesn’t go in Suffolk, Johnson said, motioning with her hand. “I do believe that we can make this work.”

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---