Collegiate Times

Once a phenomenon exclusive to Christiansburg, upscale retailers and large businesses such as Books-A-Million have come to Blacksburg.

Driving on Blacksburg's South Main Street during the last year, one may have seen the large-scale construction efforts taking place across from Ardmore Street. The hard work of hundreds has finally started paying off with the launch of the "First and Main Blacksburg" development, which opened for business on Oct. 4.

Although many of the stores in the complex have yet to open or are still under development, some, such as Books-a-Million, have already experienced almost two weeks' worth of sales.

"We're doing very well considering that only about 20 percent of the shopping center is open," said Aaron Jarrells, a Books-a-Million store manager. "We always have people waiting outside in the morning."

Other stores currently open include Coldwater Creek, Talbot's, Rack Room Shoes and Hibbett Sports, said Blacksburg building official Cathy Cook.

"There are also about 20 other shops still under construction," Cook said. "Since (Oct. 4), both Ann Taylor Loft and Joseph A. Banks have received temporary certificates of occupancy."

The development, which is expected to have its grand opening in late November, will also be home to retail stores such as Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, Leatherhous, Clix, On a Whim, Steger Creek and Henebry's Jewelers.

In addition, a variety of restaurants will be added to Blacksburg's dining options, such as Salad Creations, El Rodeo Mexican Grill, Sake House of Japan, Baja Bistro, Sal's Italian Restaurante and Pizzeria, Bull and Bones Brewhaus and Grill, and Maggie Moo's.

There are currently only five occupancy vacancies left in the development, and Randy Ruttenberg, principal at First and Main's developing company Fairmount Properties, said they plan to have those leased and opened by the grand opening later this fall.

"We've been very fortunate with this project in terms of tenants," Ruttenberg said.

First and Main will be home to both local businesses, such as Beamer's restaurant, and the kind of chain retail stores that Blacksburg has not seen in awhile, with large scale companies developing largely in nearby Christiansburg for nearly two decades.

"The trend over the last 15 or more years here has been that retail had left Blacksburg and became more regional," said Blacksburg town manager Mark Verniel. "The new mall opened in Christiansburg and stores like Target and Wal-Mart and Best Buy went there for the regional shopping center concept."

Verneil said that many Blacksburg citizens travel frequently to Christiansburg to find the desired retail offered by these stores and others, spending time and gas money that they might save if the town had more options.

"We wanted to look at how we could attract more retail back to Blacksburg," Verniel said. "There were a lot of people who said in citizen surveys and meetings that they wanted to be able to find things they needed here."

But in recent years, some consultants argued that bringing these kinds of shops into the area would be difficult, particularly because the location was more than six miles from Interstate 81.

"A lot of people said the market wasn't really there and it would be hard to get chain retail stores, like Talbot's and Ann Taylor, to locate in Blacksburg," Verniel said. "But I think it was a matter of having a developer that already had contacts and relationships with those retailers to make that happen."

Fairmount Properties, a company based in Cleveland, Ohio, did not have any other developments in the New River Valley area before it began working on First and Main.

"We saw a significant citizen demand for store tenants. The fact that there was a university presence, with not only the student population, but also the faculty and staff, played a big role in our decision to develop in Blacksburg," Ruttenberg said.

In a marketing letter to potential tenants, Fairmount cited the new apparel and specialty stores, as well as restaurants, as "catering to an underserved 'lifestyle consumer,' as well as a populated college community." The letter names the area as having "retail, dining, and entertainment options significantly lacking given the population, income level, and educational attainment."

The letter gave results of studies showing an area market of more than 100,000 non-student residents, with primary area citizens (within a 15-minute drive time) having average incomes of $72,445 and secondary area citizens (shoppers with a 15- to 20-minute drive time) at $63,322.

Fairmount explained that these high numbers were the result of a "growing technology industry and excellent standard of living," and used them as rationale for the bigger retail stores to develop in the area.

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