SUFFOLK, Va. — The city of Suffolk has "momentum," according to Mayor Mike Duman.
At the State of the City address Tuesday, Duman said Suffolk was the only city in Virginia to break into the Smart Assets' top 100 fastest-growing cities list. Suffolk ranked 78th. He said Suffolk is growing in business and in housing.
Suffolk real estate agents said the growth they've seen in the city is incredible, but there are certainly some growing pains.
Business owner and real estate broker Domenick Epps said he's watched his city grow from farmland to what it is today.
"Downtown Suffolk is the place to be. We are growing, growing, growing, growing," Epps said.
Growth typically means more jobs. That's why Epps said there's a need for the development of "rooftops," or housing.
Real estate broker Linda Bass agrees. She says new houses are what people, especially families, want.
"We need the rooftops to support the job growth because if people can't find a place to live in Suffolk they'll take their paycheck they made in Suffolk to other areas," Bass said.
Bass chose to move back to the city because of the potential. Suffolk is the largest city land-wise in the state.
"Of course, Norfolk, there's no more land. Virginia Beach, there's no more land. Chesapeake has expanded out to almost North Carolina," said Bass.
But city growth comes with challenges, too.
"I think the city is trying, but of course, not everyone is going to be excited about that growth," Epps said. With growth comes traffic."
"Inspections has been a problem. Our permitting process, we had a 30% increase in inspections that were required last year. So obviously it has been difficult to manage the inspection process," said Mayor Duman.
Mayor Duman said they've hired sub-contractors to help ease inspection delays. He added the city is keeping pace to provide adequate infrastructure, but school funding and services are a challenge. He said the city conducted eight listening sessions to allow for public input on Suffolk's development.
"We have to be very cognizant in what we do approve," said Mayor Duman.
In the meantime, Epps says he'll gladly wait for the city to catch up to its growth.
"Let me say that nice and loud. It's very exciting as a business owner," said Epps.
Other ways the city has seen expansion has been through the addition of warehouses like Amazon and Lowes.
