Virginian-Pilot


DATE: Sunday, July 27, 1997                 TAG: 9707260154

SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN             PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 
                                            LENGTH:   30 lines




OPTION ON NEW INDUSTRIAL PARK IS UP WEDNESDAY

The countdown is on for the city to decide if it will purchase the land on Nansemond Parkway at Shoulders Hill Road that was once earmarked for an auto racetrack.

Economic Development Director Thomas O`Grady said last week that the soil surveys on the 460-acre parcel owned by L.J. ``Buzz'' Upton III and another developer should be completed by Wednesday. That's also the last day that the city has to buy the property.

The tests are being done to determine if the land is suitable for development.

Suffolk wants to build another city-owned industrial park there.

The land will cost the city about $18,000 per acre. The city has 15 years to buy it all. But each year, the price will increase by about 6 percent annually.

Three years ago, Upton and another developer said they would turn the land into an industrial park, complete with a racetrack. The city said it would help by installing utilities and finding tenants.

But earlier this year, city officials said they would like to purchase the land. There have been no discussions, they say, on filling it with a racetrack.

The city has already set aside about $130,000 to purchase the first seven acres of the property that is closest to the road.



[home] [ETDs] [Image Base] [journals] [VA News] [VTDL] [Online Course Materials] [Publications]

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu
by CNB