Collegiate Times

Jonathan Strumfeld, a senior in landscape architecture, was hired as a student intern to assist the Sixteen Squares committee.

"It's important that as you grow, you also continue to remember your history," Rordam said. "Looking more and more at trying to grow and focusing on the downtown area, we are really growing to an environmentally sustainable community."

Nicholson added that the general goal is to bring development in and still safeguard the historical values.

"We need to revitalize the downtown and bring businesses in, but we also want to preserve its character in the ways that we can, even if they may not continue to be used for the function they were built with," Nicholson said.

Steika echoed Nicholson's sentiment, stressing subtlety of detail and articulating that new things can be incorporated into the town's design without being detrimental.

"The Sixteen Squares committee realizes that the history has been evolving and are not trying to hold Blacksburg at one point in time," Steika said. "They are trying to make sure that in the process, specific structures, like the Blacksburg museum ... and historic churches are preserved."

Steika's view of combining the past and present was described by Nicholson as adaptive reuse, meaning to employ historic structures and quadrants for modernized purposes.

Though their response has largely been positive, Nicholson and Steika both named certain mistakes they thought the town had made over the years.

"There was a lovely church on Draper, and now there is a 7/11," Steika said.

Nicholson added that while certain actions could have been taken for the betterment of the town, they have learned from their mistakes and managed to draw positives from otherwise negative situations.

While the official voice of the community will not be heard until the meeting, Rordam, who has held his mayoral position for just under one year, noted several opinions that will likely be heard.

"I think people want to see a vibrant downtown that focuses on the arts, a downtown that is full of locally owned businesses and rich in history and diversity and a downtown that incorporates the students and local community," Rordam said.

Regardless of the substance of the town's opinion, Rordam, Steika and Nicholson feel that all input should be taken to heart.

"A tremendous amount of value is put on community input," Rordam said. "More and more, a great deal of people are paying attention to our history and becoming involved. We have good people involved."

Continue Reading:  « Previous12