Filling an old building

Published 9:35 pm Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Opening a jazz club in downtown Suffolk was a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, it proved to be an idea that was ahead of its time, and back in 2008, the business was closed, and the building was put up for sale.

The 9,625-square-foot 1930s-era building, located within a block of the downtown area’s busiest intersection, had served as the unique, three-story Main Street Jazz Restaurant, where customers could enjoy meals with friends and listen to a variety of jazz bands.

But when the business was shuttered, the building became a high-profile empty shell, right in the heart of downtown Suffolk. Investors who owned the structure originally sought to get $1.1 million for it and then dropped their price at least once in the face of a grinding real estate market. It’s a safe bet that the new owners got it for a bargain, compared to the value of its renovations.

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That’s great news for downtown Suffolk.

The city’s central business district struggles hard to overcome an image of being a wilderness. The perception, false though it might be, is that there is no reason for shoppers to come downtown — so they head to North Main Street, North Suffolk or, even worse, to Chesapeake and Newport News.

Having an active business inside the old jazz club will help give the core downtown area a needed boost. We welcome the expansion plans of Embroidery Etc., which made it all possible.