The red represents closed-down shops on Main Street.
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Rack Room Shoes has become the most recent departure from the First and Main shopping center. For those keeping track — Books A Million, Maggie Moos, Edlerberry’s and Salad Creations have all left the center over the last few months.
Other vacant spaces are lingering in Blacksburg. Some locations downtown sit empty with peeling paint and broken windows, including the old Annie Kay’s Whole Foods and Xanadu properties.
But Paul Lancaster, the vice president of the Blacksburg Planning Commission has high hopes for the town, despite the string of closures.
“I think downtown will rebound,” he said. “I think there will come a point where we’ll be struggling to find space to move in … There will be a natural interest in coming downtown because of the stuff that’s going on … (In) another year or so things will be looking up for downtown.”
Zoning is a main factor that determines what type of business can set up shop downtown. Currently, downtown is commercially zoned — meaning businesses on the bottom level must be retail-based or restaurants, and the top is reserved with residential and office space.
The town does provide businesses with conditional use permits to have offices on the bottom level, but restaurants and retail stores on that level help create a sense of a hustling downtown, said Anne McClung, the director of planning and building for the Town of Blacksburg.
“The trouble with zoning is you’re trying to create an atmosphere that applies to every place in town, and every place in town is different,” Lancaster said.
“I’d like to see something to encourage larger businesses to move downtown and commit to 200 people who show up every day and have the opportunity to shop and eat downtown. How we do that zoning wise, I’m not exactly sure, but it’s something that we need to look at.”
Annie Kay’s previous site is a commercially zoned property for sale. The property, currently on the market for $1.75 million, also includes the adjacent gas station.
Terry McCraw of McCraw Real Estate and Auction Company, is handling the listing.
“The building is in some need of repair. I think the price tag has also kept it from selling,” he said.
The property was originally put on the market in September 2010 for $3 million. And McCraw hopes to see renewed interested in the property because of its decreased price.
“The part people forget is that the ultimate control for what happens to buildings
downtown lies with the property owners,” McClung said. “They control what they want to do and the appropriate leasing rates. There is an element to that that is really independent from the town.”
Outside of the downtown area, First and Main is also experiencing problems.
The shopping center has seen its share of difficulties since opening in fall 2008, partially due to the lack of an anchor store. When the site first opened, there was talk of a movie theater, but it has never materialized.
“I think they are back to needing a bigger draw, something that would bring people into the center. It’s always helpful to have one larger store or a movie theater to act as a draw,” McClung said.
Dhiren Mystry, one of the co-owners of Anytime Fitness, which recently opened at First and Main, said the facility is doing well. However, he would like to see an anchor store move into the development that could bring more people.
The old Blacksburg Middle School site will also be built on soon. The Blacksburg Town Council and Montgomery County approved the site’s master plan, which identifies development of residential areas and commercial space. The site will also be home to the Modea — a digital advertising agency — headquarters.
McClung said the site is not designed to compete with other downtown attractions, but rather complement them.
A version of this article appeared in the Jan 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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First, it's spelled Xanadu's -_- . Second, a new business is moving in where Xanadu's used to be (there are big "COMING SOON" signs on the windows). The Annie Kay's building has been vacant for years and probably won't sell as there are structural problems. The third red business (which i'm assuming is the old National Bank), also has major structural problems with the roof, limiting people willing to invest the money especially since it would require demolishing everything on the site and starting new (for the steep price of 1.75million). First and Main is a completely different topic that has been beaten to death on countless other news stories, but it's not as empty as you make it out to be. Just recently both Anytime Fitness and El Rodeo opened in the center, it's not getting any worse.
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i believe the old nbb building has asbestos, and was shut down while being gutted. The old xanadu location nmay or not work out , the business that was coming in has had problems with town of bburg getting permits anmd required work done
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Thanks for the insight anon, the main point of my comment was to point at the lack of insight and general caring that went into this article. Even if he had only taken the small effort to type his phonetically spelled incarnation of Xanadu into Google it would have autocorrected it for him. He also didn't even take the time or effort to take a look at these "vacant" buildings to realize one was about to reopen. Shoddy journalism in my opinion.
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If the town had allowed the wal mart to come in, first and main would be full and we would have a new movie theater in town.
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That's pure BS about Wal Mart. The town getting Wal Mart out was the best thing to do. Wal Mart may have given a bit more business to 1st and Main but it would suck the life out of down town like it has in every other small town across the whole country. Then in 15 years they pack it up and leave you with a huge crappy big box building in tatters. Plus I don't think the Jack Billies that shop at Wal Mart would be the same customers at JOS Bank. This is just growing pains and economic evolution. The weaker business fail and stronger ones move in.
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gosh, sorry some of us have to work for a living and shop at " gasp" wal mart to save money . The stuff sold at wal mart was never sold in downtown while I have lived here-1986. So not sure what wal mart would suck out of downtown. Maybe if there wa sa wal mart sports bar or something I could see your point
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gosh, sorry some of us have to work for a living and shop at " gasp" wal mart to save money . The stuff sold at wal mart was never sold in downtown while I have lived here-1986. So not sure what wal mart would suck out of downtown. Maybe if there wa sa wal mart sports bar or something I could see your point
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Lets see, since 1986 I remember a department store, a grocery store, a drug store, several record shops, music store, out doors store, the list goes on in Blacksburg. You must not get out too often. All this stuff is now purchased in Wally Worlds around the country. And time and time again shows that cheap does not mean less expensive. Sure you can go buy a fan at Wal Mart but it will break in a few months and then you will buy another one. When you used to be able to go buy a nice fan at a local store that would last for years. And when it brakes chances are the store owner will know who you are and take care of you on a personal level. You cannot buy that kind of service anymore. Buying cheap items cost you and every one else more. But that's another story.
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SS, Roses (the department store you mention) was a pit, and we currently have more drug stores than you can count in Blacksburg. Record stores have been going out of business right and left - another poor example in your argument. Having lived here about as long as you, I've seen a lot of change, too. I, personally, would not have minded having a Walmart in town. Walmart was going to do all sorts of cool things with the property in First and Main, but people never got a chance to hear about it because of the knee-jerk reaction many Blacksburg residents have to Walmart. Walmart would have brought a lot of customers to the First and Main area. And don't say the same people wouldn't shop at both Walmart and First and Main. I would havem and many other would have, too.
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Wal-mart probably wouldn't have saved First and Main. I agree with SS, the same people who shop at wal-mart wouldn't shop at Talbot's or Henebry's. All walmart would have done is killed Gable's Shopping Center next door and we'd be right back in the same boat we're in now. Additionally, do we really need a new Walmart? The Christiansburg one is, according to Google Maps, 4.1 miles down the road (the same road mind you). It just seems excessive to me to have two supercenters within 5 miles of each other. That plot of land is far better suited for a large home goods or general merchandise store that the area doesn't already have (think Kohl's, Ikea, etc). From the beginning of First and Main it was doomed by a shoddy developer who wanted to cut corners and use deception to turn a quick buck and when he got caught he got upset and pulled out because the quick buck wasn't there anymore. The shopping center will improve, even as stores close there new ones reopen behind it, just give the economy another year or so to improve a bit more.
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Gee Zachary, want to pack any more fairy tales in your post? I'm sure there are a few more BURG-isms out there, like "Wal-Mart sells alcohol and that is a bad thing so close to an elementary school" even though Kroger and the ABC Store are only a block further away. I'm surprised you didn't throw in the classic term "bait and switch" when you called out the "shoddy developer" who using "deception to turn a quick buck" at First and Main. I'll bet you're just salivating over the chance to whine and complain about the plans for the old middle school site.
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Ikea? You're joking right? Have you even paid attention to where Ikea stores are? Major metropolitan areas. Neither Richmond or Hampton Roads has one of those, why do you think Blacksburg would be suitable for one?
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@Anonymous - I actually didn't even live in the area at the time of the debate. I moved to the area after the shopping center had been constructed, but I simply don't see a demand for another walmart in that area. It's not economically sustainable for that area. I'm not completely opposed to walmart, just opposed to it's small retail destroying effects. I'd be more apt to support one on the north side of town where it would be more likely to attract the customers that travel all the way from the West Virginia line to shop. I'm not a member of this "BURG" clan that you so readily throw around here (and on the rants an raves section on CL I believe), but I do believe in sustainable economic practices, which walmart would not condone.
As for the Ikea, yes, I don't think Ikea would come to this area but was set forth as more of an example of a business type that would be ideal for the area. Something to attract people that somewhere else in the area doesn't have. If you bring in a business not found in the immediate area you'll attract customers from a wider area.
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I will agree that Kohl's is a better idea. When they opened the one in Roanoke on 220 near Clearbrook, it was like Black Friday for weeks there... apparently the people of SWVA have been craving that store, and until that opened, the closest store was Winston-Salem. Kohls would bring a lot of shoppers to that area for sure.
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...that said, it would be great to get a Kohl's at the center and the theatre.
I think the Wal Mart debate has been played and people just have to stop the argument.
The point is, there needs to be an anchor - and there isn't. Would WM have been the best?
Probably not simply because there is another 5 miles away and the cannibalization would
have existed between those two. It's actually not an elitist argument, it really is about economics and fit within the retail mix. Again, an anchor that draws is what's missing. And it is actually amazing the smaller business have survived without an anchor.
Rappaport who now own the property need to look at Barrack's Road in Cville. It is a thriving center with a genuine mix of local and national, high and low, and I just don't think the realtors have marketed the center properly, and the "behavior" of the anti-WalMart camp did send a chilling anti-business message to potential retailers. That IS a fact. But, as I said, we need to move on. It's a dead argument.
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That's pure BS about Wal Mart. The town getting Wal Mart out was the best thing to do. Wal Mart may have given a bit more business to 1st and Main but it would suck the life out of down town like it has in every other small town across the whole country. Then in 15 years they pack it up and leave you with a huge crappy big box building in tatters. Plus I don't think the Jack Billies that shop at Wal Mart would be the same customers at JOS Bank. This is just growing pains and economic evolution. The weaker business fail and stronger ones move in.
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With regard to the old NBB - The plan would be to retain the stone facade and completely
demolish the interior structure. Within that shell you would erect a 6-story steel frame building
that would also extend behind the two adjacent one-story brick facades to the north. Main Street would be a pedestrian entrance with a modern glass awning integrated into the historic facade, uplighting and the rear of the building would become a portico entrance for a 30-room high-quality hotel. Main floor would be lobby and small wine bar and the first floor brick spaces would be a local farm-to-table restaurant. (That's my dream one).
Dream 2 would be restore Annie Kay (its a great example of local architecture) as a design firm or another high-quality restaurant. The gas station would be demolished with ground floor office/retail built and residential brick lofts on two or three stories above.
I do believe regardless, with Modea, the Middle School Project, and Arts Center we will begin to see more pedestrian traffic and a true concentration of people in downtown who will be using our businesses.
But in the end - it is up to US to patronize the local businesses. The Farmers Market is a great example of the community supporting something and having it grow due to use.
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restaurant in old derelict building? isnt that already a failed project at taylors frames and things? And getting permission and permits from bburg is so very much harder than you think ( and yes i own a biz in downtown, yes i have gone through the permit process , and the historical review board)
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Ding! Ding! Ding! "permission and permits from bburg is so very much harder" hits one of the problems on the nose. Ask the guys trying to open the Irish pub next to Stellar One why they aren't open yet. Ask the guy trying to open the restaurant in the old Taylor Frames house the same question. Ask a lot of developers and builders if they would prefer to work in Blacksburg or anywhere else in the New River Valley and they will more than likely answer "NRV" in a heartbeat. Despite the claims that it wants businesses, the Town of B'burg has more hoops than the earring store at the mall. As to the old NBB building, there is also a dispute between the property owner(s) and tenants (or there was when the renovations started) that locked up that project in the state it is today. Why the town has let it sit in its crumbling condition while homeowners get hassled about leaving their trashcans out too long is one of those mysteries that only the town can (and won't) answer.
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That's some rant simply because you're too lazy to bring your trash can off the curb.
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Here's what somebody needs to do with the old bank building (a free idea for anybody interested): turn the place into a hounted house/arcade style place (like a D and B's or if you're from norfolk you might remember Jillians). Also, put a restaurant in there but something with minimal selection and cheap breakfast food. only open up the restaurant from thurs-sat nights from midnight-4 AM. don't sell alcohol.
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I think Blacksburg needs a spaceport so people can escape it's gravitational pull.
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Downtown has been in a slow death spiral since the drinking age changed to 21. Back in the eighties it was an amazing place, busy at all times and positively vibrant on weekends. It's a shame really. Beer causes some problems but overwhelmingly makes life more interesting.
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