Peninsula In Passage

Although Belleville’s self-sufficient life style survived the Depression, World War II took its toll on the male population and the community kept a lower profile. Under the leadership of Rabbi Levi S. Plummer Belleville began to rebound in the early 1980s with the dedication of the first phase of the Temple Complex, a multipurpose building that houses administrative offices, classrooms, and a meeting area that seats 1000. The second phase, the sanctuary, was finished in 1987. A 49 unit senior housing complex was completed two years later. In 1992 the church completed the Land Purchase Memorial, a brick shrine, in the shape of the Star of David, near the spot where Prophet Crowdy was called to buy the land. That same year the original tabernacle was renovated. The Levi Solomon Plummer Learning Center, and early childhood development center, opened in a renovated dormitory from the old school in 1996. Jump forward to August 2007 and the church’s latest re-establishment project kicked off with the ground breaking of a 120-room Comfort Suites hotel on Bridge Road near the temple. The hotel was the

Belleville Grays

first building of BelleHarbour Town Center, a mixed-use project developed by Temple Beth El, which has retained ownership of the land. At that time Locke predicted that, ultimately, the Town Center will include an additional 150,000 square feet of cafes and coffee shops, retail shops, offices and condominiums. Across Bridge Road stands Sentara BelleHarbour, the 75,000 square foot first phase of a multi building complex Sentara plans for the property it leases from the church. Kurt Hofelich, president of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and Vice President/Division Executive, Sentara Healthcare, realized the intimate tie the Saints have to the land during the groundbreaking ceremonies on what was once a Belleville farm. “Elders and other members of the church were there with Sentara executives and after the ceremony, while refreshments were served, I noticed that members of the church were scooping up small amounts of dirt and putting them in plastic baggies,” Hofelich says. “I realized then that it was Holy land to them and a spiritual memento of the day.”

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