NORFOLK, Va. - — Under the hot sun Friday, a crew continued to demolish the shopping center at the corner of 27th Street and Granby Street.
Last year, the city purchased the property in the Park Place neighborhood. Since then, businesses have been closed and now the property is being demolished.
"I think just about anything is better than what was going on over there," said Larry Friedman, the owner of the nearby M&G Sales.
Friedman has seen the issues at the shopping center of the years. In 2016, there was a deadly shooting at Bay Food Mart.
He described his reaction to the demolition as "mixed because it's provided a service in the community here. It provided something that they needed in terms of options to get necessities, but at the same time, it brought an element that was less than desirable."
Right now, the exact next steps aren't clear, butthe mayor has previously suggested it could turn into new housing.
"If it's housing, I would love for it to be affordable for those that are in this area," said another person who works nearby.
Others told News 3 off camera they were worried about the impacts of potential gentrification and the fact that places to eat were being removed from the community.
There are talks about sprucing up the area, including uniting several nearby neighborhoods to form Midtown, which could involve things like retail, open spaces, and other development.
"Our vision in Park Place is to have a safe, healthy, diverse, and inclusive neighborhood of choice," Joe Hamm, the vice president of the Park Place Civic League, told the city council in June.
The civic league would like the city to provide funding to help update the neighborhood's strategy.
"An update to the strategy will result in growth for our neighborhood, evidence based thinking, development and health for the Park Place neighborhood," said Hamm.
For now, the look of the neighborhood is changing as the shopping center is torn down.
