Collegiate Times

Blacksburg’s status as an attractive spot for Virginia Tech alumni is unquestioned, but as more seek to use the town as a springboard into the workforce, its traditional status as a landing pad for retirees may be altered.

“I think our biggest challenge, is how do we — especially within the core area of town — how do we find an appropriate mix, or change the demographics of downtown,” said Ron Rordam, mayor of Blacksburg.

Tech political science professor and local government scholar Karen Hult said the town has made some deliberate attempts at attracting an older demographic to go with the university’s student body.

“Blacksburg for a while was really trying to position itself as a retirement community, and there is still some of that out there,” Hult said.

Rordam acknowledged previous campaigns to attract retirees, but he also said the current movement is a product of Blacksburg’s comparatively low cost of living.

“Blacksburg had a real effort 15 or 16 years ago to market the town as a retirement community, and it didn’t go very far,” Rordam said. “I think its happening now simply because alumni want to retire and because it is a great place to retire. The costs are low compared to metropolitan areas like Washington, D.C., and other metropolitan areas, and you have all the benefits of the university.”

Still, the town has noticed the surge. In the 2009 annual review of the town’s comprehensive plan, one planning commission recommendation was to “increase the number of housing units attractive to and suitable for retired people.”

Hult said Blacksburg is not the only college town experiencing this phenomenon.

“A lot of university communities are becoming magnets of sorts for particular kinds of retirees who like living near a university for the athletic possibilities, the humanities and performing arts possibilities and being in an area where there is a little more interesting range of people to talk to,” Hult said.

The excitement of the college atmosphere was even part of Rordam’s reasoning for residing in Blacksburg.

“Students are a very important part of Blacksburg,” Rordam said. “My family is one of the few that doesn’t work at the university, but one of the reasons we are in Blacksburg is because of the vitality the students bring to the community.”

Tech is bringing one more possible demographic to the forefront: young professionals. Many students are seeking to stay in Blacksburg to start a career or work at the expanding Corporate Research Center.

“That’s a significant portion of the community, increasingly, that hasn’t really gotten as much attention,” Hult said. “I think they’re going to get more attention than they have been getting. That really is a source of possible conflict, but also a source of real diversity and vibrancy if one is thinking only in terms of senior citizens and those linked to the university.”

The second phase of the CRC is planned to house an additional 3,000 employees.

Town councilwoman-elect Krisha Chachra accentuated a commitment to young professionals in her campaign.

Hult said appealing affordable housing was the major hurdle for the town.

Rordam said the town is capable of hosting more than one major demographic group.

“But I think it’s also important that we expand the demographic downtown so that we don’t just have one population downtown, but three or four together,” Rordam said. “I think that’s happening now, and I think it’s very doable.”

Rordam said an upscale eatery would put the final piece in place to sustain a diverse community.

“One thing I think that both need, and I haven’t quite figured out how to do it yet, is a good restaurant,” Rordam said. “That’s on the top of my priority list.”