After years of sitting vacant, one of Suffolk’s historic African American landmarks is moving into its next chapter.
The Phoenix Bank of Nansemond building dates back to 1921, built to serve Suffolk’s African American community at a time when Black residents faced barriers to traditional banking.
“African American businessmen and farmers could not … do banking at the white banks,” Suffolk Deputy City Manager Gerry Jones said. “They couldn’t get loans. They couldn’t do banking there, so they created their own bank.”
Over the years, the building took on other uses, including as a Chinese restaurant before the City of Suffolk purchased it in 2001…