Two of Suffolk’s newest buildings have brought in major accolades.

The Hampton Roads Association for Commercial Real Estate awarded the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center and the Virginia Commerce Center Building 100 with Excellence in Development Design Awards for 2008.

Director of Economic Development Cindy Cave called the awards a “great honor” and a good recruiting tool for the city of Suffolk.

“We’re proud to have these honors and hope it’s the beginning of many, many more,” Cave told City Council Wednesday night.

The Virginia Commerce Center is one of the McDonald Development Co. properties in the city. The first phase of the project alone boasts more than 385,000 square feet of distribution space, and is made of architectural tilt-up concrete panels. The center is located on Kenyon Road, and will ultimately include 1.3 million square feet of distribution space.

The modeling and simulation center is the first phase of the Hampton Roads mixed-use master plan, and is owned and operated by Old Dominion University. The facility is used for research and development, with a specialty in modeling and simulation.

Officials from Suffolk, Portsmouth and ODU cut the facility’s ribbon in a special ceremony a year ago this month.

Mayor Linda T. Johnson said the awards are especially meaningful, given the tough economic time facing Suffolk.

Johnson also included the Greater Suffolk Council in her praise.

Dave Arnold, chairman of the GSC, shared with Council the details and background surrounding the GSC’s 2008 Award of Merit from the Virginia Downtown Development Association. The council was given the award for its past and current projects impacting downtown.

“It really is an exciting time,” Johnson said. “These are great stories to tell, and it sets a great tone.”