By Lewis Loflin
In 2003, Bristol, Virginia, invested $2.5 million in a 23-acre speculative real estate venture at Exit 7 off Interstate 81, known as the Nicewonder property or "slate dump." The city added $175,000 to attract a Red Lobster and $50,000 from its public utility, totaling $2.725 million. The Bristol Herald Courier (January 12, 2005) questioned the return:
So far, there's nothing to show for it, and all that city leaders can do is urge us to wait patiently...
I opposed this at a December 3, 2003, council hearing, the only resident to speak. The Bristol Herald Courier reported my stance: "It's not the function of government to engage in private business ventures," I told the council. "I'd like to see full disclosure of all financial information surrounding this business decision." I also questioned replacing $15-an-hour jobs with $6-an-hour ones, given the retail focus. Much of the council’s talks were held in closed session—legal under Virginia law—leaving details opaque until a 2005 FOIA request revealed a vague agreement with developer Tim Carter of Starwood Properties.
Starwood’s website (starwoodproperty.com) boasted Exit 7 successes like Tinseltown and Ruby Tuesday, yet Carter needed public funds. The deal projected $50 million in development, but the city handed over the deed with no clear enforcement for Carter’s promised $900,000 investment. By January 20, 2005, I told Mr. Brown of economic development that Carter’s lack of infrastructure spending suggested default. Brown, sounding annoyed, insisted it was a sound investment, claiming Red Lobster would draw crowds and meals taxes would offset property tax hikes.
It took a year to get the agreement via FOIA, and its lack of specifics confirmed my fears of trouble ahead.
In July 2006, the outgoing council approved $5 million more for an Exit 5 strip mall, competing with Exit 7’s stalled progress. By 2007, a Bob Evans opened but closed after a Cracker Barrel arrived. Virginia Premier Health Plan (www.vapremier.com) bought a parcel, but by November 2009, the property sold for $700,000—a $1.8 million loss on the $2.5 million. Carter defaulted on a $894,000 bank loan, owing $700,000 (BHC, February 24, 2009). He proposed an auction, but the council let the bank foreclose.
Mayor Jim Rector (BHC, February 25, 2009): "We stood a better chance of recouping some money if it had gone to auction, but council has made their decision."
By February 2009, Exit 7 faced 15 business closures in 18 months—Bob Evans, Jumbo Buffet, and others—despite a Sam’s Club arrival (incentives undisclosed). I interviewed worried merchants as the Bristol Chamber called it “challenging.” The city, with $112 million in debt, saw revenue and jobs vanish. Mr. Brown’s defense—“The jobs aren’t as high-paying, but they’re jobs”—rang hollow as poverty climbed.
An empty Bob Evans below "The Village" at Exit 7.
As of 2025, Exit 7 hosts a Cracker Barrel, a motel, and a few businesses like Virginia Premier, but the economic impact remains negligible. Bristol’s debt rose to $149 million by 2023 (city audit), with poverty at 19.4% (ACS 2023) and unemployment at 4.8% (BLS 2024)—above Virginia’s 3.8%. The $50 million vision fizzled, leaving unrecovered losses and low-wage retail. Starwood’s site is inactive, and Carter’s role is unclear.
Published December 19, 2003, in the Bristol Herald Courier, my letter outlined the folly of this deal:
My compliments to the Bristol Herald Courier for reporting (Dec. 3 and Dec. 4) on the Exit 7 deal. I appreciate the council's honesty on their agenda, but reject their reasoning.
According to ETSU economist Steb Hipple, service jobs produce a shrinking payroll. A good job can create an additional one to two jobs in the service sector. Statistics from 1997 for Bristol show a 3 percent unemployment rate, but a 21-26 percent poverty rate. That's comparable with Dickenson County at 15 percent. It's much worse today as reflected in the almost 45 percent of Bristol children on free and reduced price lunch.
According to Steve Fisher at Emory & Henry College on this area, "It all comes back to jobs. ... Even two minimum-wage jobs together won't take a family above the poverty line. ... There are pockets of wealth (but) ... in general, it's pretty poor." (Herald Courier, June 22). Council acknowledged this Tuesday night, but seemed indifferent to it.
They revealed their real agenda and Mr. Wolfe admitted this development would not address the chronic underemployment, low wages, and poverty suffered by exploding ranks of the Bristol working poor. Their sole concern is tax revenue and continued public funding of private pet projects and pork-barrel waste.
Additional tax revenue will be used to pay for the train station, new library, etc. They want a high-class retirement community and plan to fund it with the misery and hardship of others. As for keeping down property taxes, that mainly benefits the wealthy (and some retirees) but not working-class Bristol residents, who can't afford much anyway. Most property in Bristol is either tax-exempt or owned by important people that want a train station but won’t pay for it.
Mr. Brown's excuses about his failure to get decent jobs to Bristol are nonsense. Land didn’t stop them from buying 23 acres for a Red Lobster instead of 15 for AFG. They can't levy an income tax on wages and better paying jobs threaten established low-wage employers.
The tax revenue from a Red Lobster they can get and poor people are that source of revenue. Maintaining a permanent underclass of cheap labor for the retail/service industries is the only way to make this work.
Bristol leaders must begin to serve all the people, not just their own narrow social class. Conducting public business in secret only undermines faith in our institutions. Let's see real leadership for all the people and open government.
Lewis Loflin
Bristol, Va.
My 2003 warnings—public funds wasted on risky retail, secrecy over substance—proved prescient. Bristol swapped manufacturing for a low-wage mirage, losing $1.8 million while poverty rose from 21.1% (1997, Census) to 19.4% (2023, ACS). The “voodoo bookkeeping” I criticized left taxpayers burdened, with little to show beyond a few struggling businesses.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
