DATE: Monday, September 8, 1997             TAG: 9709080060

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER JACOBSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   76 lines

IN SUFFOLK, COMMERCIAL GROWTH IS ON THE RISE SOME FEEL THE GROWING PAINS MORE THAN OTHERS.

On Suffolk's North Main Street, there's a quiet battle going on.

It's a fight between asphalt and chrysanthemums. Between cold hotel balconies and welcoming front porches. Between Colonel Sanders and a 67-year-old man named Alphonso B. Downing.

Downing is determined not to let the chicken king win this one.

Downing is one of only a few residents left on Suffolk's fast-developing main drag. Most have sold out and gone to the suburbs. Those who remain have watched fast-food chains and shopping centers replace neighbors' homes.

Soon they'll witness the widening of North Main Street's four lanes into five - perhaps the biggest change yet. They'll have to decide once again whether to hang on to life in the heart of the rapidly growing city.

The Virginia Department of Transportation's plan to improve the road, from the Kimberly Bridge to the Suffolk Shopping Center, is in the design process. It calls for the addition of a fifth, left-turn lane and sidewalks and drain gutters.

Residents will be able to continue living along North Main Street, unless they decide to sell.

``It's probably 90 percent commercial right now,'' said MacFarland Neblett, a Transportation Department engineer.

Neblett said the department will begin in October to purchase the property needed for construction.

``Everything up and down there is pretty well developed,'' he said.

Except for 1011 N. Main St.

Downing has lived in his grandmother's home since he was a child. The retired schoolteacher has no desire to move. Never has.

``This is the home that I've always known,'' he said.

The white house with the light-green shutters is like a local landmark. Almost every day, Downing tends to a blossoming garden in his front and side yards. It overflows with chrysanthemums, roses, irises and lilies. Neatly trimmed hedges frame his front porch. A row of crape myrtles lines the right side of the house.

``I'm always trying to do something for the home and the appearance of the city,'' he said.

Passers-by have taken notice. In the last year, Downing has found two anonymous notes in his mailbox thanking him for his beautification efforts.

One reads: ``Dear Gardener, I make the trip down North Main Street at least twice a day. It's a grim and uninspiring journey - except for the moment when I pass your house and get a glimpse of your yard with all its lovely flowers. You have created a delightful oasis in the middle of one of Suffolk's busiest areas. It gives my heart a lift each time I pass by.''

Downing doesn't begrudge Suffolk's economic success.

``When I go around and see these places going up, I say, `Thank God Suffolk is going on,' '' he said.

But there are problems with living in a home where the neighbors are an Econo Lodge and a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

His driveway slopes, and he has trouble getting his car out because an electrical post in the Econo Lodge's parking lot blocks his view to the left. To help Downing pull out into traffic safely, the hotel has zoned off a space in the lot. But some guests continue to park there. They simply ignore the no-parking sign.

A nearby stoplight also makes driveway navigation difficult for Downing.

The state Transportation Department moved the light closer to Downing's property about two years ago.

City officials are aware of the problems North Main Street residents like Downing face, but can do little to help.

``It is a major thoroughfare,'' said Suffolk Planning Director Paul E. Fisher. ``With increasing traffic, there will be those conflicts.'' ILLUSTRATION: Alphonso B. Downing lives on North Main Street and is

determined not to leave his home.

BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Alphonso B. Downing has no plans to sell his home on North Main

Street in Suffolk despite the increased business development around

his home. He says he maintains his garden to help beautify his home

and the city.

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