RICHMOND—
In Richmond's Shockoe Bottom,there's a mixture of old and new businesses sprinkled throughout the neighborhood.
Now, rewind to 2004.
When tropical storm Gaston came through causing millions of dollars in damage to dozens of local businesses.
"We rushed downstairs and it had literally just gone from two or three feet deep to the water was literally rising as we stood there watching it," said Bottoms Up General Manager Charles Lichter.
Charles Lichter says it took them more than one million dollars and a year to rebuild.
"Maintenance is always the key making sure that the drains are clear of debris should another storm occur."
Lichter is one of 19 businesses who signed onto a $25 million dollar lawsuit filed against the City of Richmond last year.
It alleges that the City did not maintain its sewers and storm drainage systems.
And it also claims the City built a system that it knew would not work or handle major rain events.
But city leaders invested $20 million to prevent flooding in Shockoe Bottom.
By widening the drains, adding more pipes to pump out the water, and put in an early warning system.
"If we had a major storm event, I believe that the infrastructure that we put in place and the improvements that we put in place would be able to handle a reasonable storm event," said Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Chris Beschler.
The City of Richmond filed a motion in July to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that the damage from Gaston resulted from an of God.
The judge hasn't made a ruling on that motion yet.
People living and working in Shockoe Bottom say the area has a lot of potential, now, that the City has improved the drainage system.
City leaders have done a number of studies and even spent $125,000 looking at the area.
But some say it's going to take more than a vision to bring this neighborhood back to life.
