The Montgomery County School Board let go of the vacant Blacksburg Middle School site this week, leaving its future in the hands of the county’s Board of Supervisors.
Many Blacksburg residents and town council candidates have pitched ideas for development on the site, which has been vacant since 2002.
A resolution passed Tuesday by the school board allows the Board of Supervisors to work with the Blacksburg Town Council to sell the property to a developer. The school board removed a clause that would have given it input on the future of the property.
Funds from a potential sale would go toward the Montgomery County Public School system’s debt or building new facilities.
The new school facilities in the Prices Fork area have allowed the school board to feel secure about releasing the property, said board member Phyllis Albritton.
“They’ve just been waiting for the time to come when they could have the land for the new school at Prices Fork,” Albritton said.
She said the debate over whether to give up control of the land parcel, which is just less than 20 acres, has been heated since before she joined the board two years ago, but an uncertain future for county facilities motivated the board to hold on to the land until this week’s meeting.
Albritton said the county has determined population patterns are moving out of Blacksburg. She said that while she may not have been on the school board for an extended period of time, she remembers when Blacksburg Middle School was full of life.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia for a lot of us about it, but as we’re told, the population is moving out into the county,” Albritton said. “Having it sit vacant for 15 years while we see if we need it is not a wise decision.”
Montgomery County’s Board of Supervisors now owns the land, but the town of Blacksburg still determines the zoning of the property, said Blacksburg Town Attorney Larry Spencer.
The parcel’s assessed value, as listed by Blacksburg’s Geographic Information System, is over $4.4 million.
Rezoning the site, a process controlled by the town, to allow commercial or mixed-use development could increase the sale price, which would benefit Montgomery County.
“The county would be in the position of the landowner and the developer would be in the position of contract purchaser,” Spencer said.
Blacksburg would only have “zoning power” over the property.
The site is currently zoned as a low-density residential parcel, which would make single-family homes the only development that could be built without rezoning. It sits adjacent to a commercial zone.
Any development of the site will need to meet the town’s zoning requirements, but the land must be purchased from Montgomery County.
The Montgomery County School Board let go of the vacant Blacksburg Middle School site this week, leaving its future in the hands of the county’s Board of Supervisors.
Many Blacksburg residents and town council candidates have pitched ideas for development on the site, which has been vacant since 2002.
A resolution passed Tuesday by the school board allows the Board of Supervisors to work with the Blacksburg Town Council to sell the property to a developer. The school board removed a clause that would have given it input on the future of the property.
Funds from a potential sale would go toward the Montgomery County Public School system’s debt or building new facilities.
The new school facilities in the Prices Fork area have allowed the school board to feel secure about releasing the property, said board member Phyllis Albritton.
“They’ve just been waiting for the time to come when they could have the land for the new school at Prices Fork,” Albritton said.
She said the debate over whether to give up control of the land parcel, which is just less than 20 acres, has been heated since before she joined the board two years ago, but an uncertain future for county facilities motivated the board to hold on to the land until this week’s meeting.
Albritton said the county has determined population patterns are moving out of Blacksburg. She said that while she may not have been on the school board for an extended period of time, she remembers when Blacksburg Middle School was full of life.
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"Nostalgia" - here's where we get into trouble. It does not strengthen a community vision, or build a tax base, or define a best land use. Vision is what we need. Exisisting BMS Building - gut it, rehab it, upgrade it to
'Southern Vernacular Warehouse Style' similar to Roanoke, Cville + Richmond industrial architecture + build out residential lofts. Behind that, a parking structure for the entire redevelopment. Ringing that is a 17th Square - public park, fountains, neighborhood link. Along main street build 3-5 story Office, Retail with tripple width sidewalks, cafes, galleries. On Stadium the site opens up to 'in town style' townhomes - owned, not rented - with first floor/basement private garages to reduce on-street park (see Alexandria/Richmond style townhomes)...reserve 10-15% of the 26 acre site as open/park space...you will instantly expand Downtown (this is your ONLY chance) and link the residential neighborhood with a gorgeous mix of condo + townhome=more downtown residents to support our downtown.
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If the site was turned into an athletic facility, where travel baseball and softball-AAU basketball etc. could be played; millions of dollars in revenue would be brought into Downtown Blacksburg.
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Turn it into a casino, legalize prostitution and why not throw in a horse track?
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A Hockey Rink would generate a lot of revenue and add a much needed
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This would be a perfect location for a new Walmart!!!
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