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| Will Downtown Blacksburg Become A Ghost Town? |
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| David Grimes | |
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As you drive or walk through Downtown Blacksburg, one can only notice the large number of empty businesses on Main Street and the adjacent side roads even though a few new business have moved in.
If you haven’t counted them, the total is more than 25 empty spaces, which at one time or another was occupied.
“I think downtown is in a state of flux,” said Leslie Hager-Smith, Director of the Downtown Merchants of Blacksburg. “We have some businesses leaving, but we also have some new tenants coming in.”
So why are businesses leaving downtown? The reason varies according to some of the storeowners who have already left or will be relocating to the new First & Main Project.
“The reason we left was because of the lack of parking,” said the owner of one business, who recently relocated to a strip mall on Prices Fork Road.
Another storeowner, who asked not to be identified, is moving his business to the new First & Main Project. He said his reasons were parking and the fact no one comes downtown anymore. “We don’t get that much local business, because many of the Blacksburg residents will not come downtown because of the students and all of the bars. They are afraid.”
Hager-Smith went on to explain some of the things that are currently underway or in the works to bring people downtown.
“We have started the Wonderful First Wednesday’s, which is held the first Wednesday of each month,” said Hager-Smith. “This event features entertainment and library activities, a mobile town hall at the Lyric, as well as a show and tell event, also at the Lyric.”
In addition to the Wonderful First Wednesday’s, a new street festival is plan for June 21, which will be called the ‘Summer Solstice Festival.’
“This new festival will be totally interactive,” added Hager-Smith.
The very popular Blacksburg Farmers Market will be starting back up in April.
While the Downtown Merchants Association is doing things to bring people downtown, the group is operating without any financial support from the city.
“In the 18-year history of our organization, we have never received any operating funds from the town,” Hager-Smith stated. An antique store, the new downtown inn and a new clothing store are in the process of moving to Downtown Blacksburg, plus a new restaurant, Moe’s, opened up recently.
“We hope these new businesses will help attract more people to downtown,” said Blackburg Town Manager Marc Verniel.
Verniel went on to explain that in the long-term, more tenants will be moving into the downtown area.
One of these new tenants according to Verniel is the Virginia Tech Performing Arts Center.
“The downtown merchants are also starting to do more things to draw people to the downtown area,” added Verniel.
Only time will tell if Downtown Blacksburg will be a vital shopping area for everyone, or a section of town that caters only to the student population.
Photos by David Grimes
Comments (3)
  written by Meghan, June 04, 2008
Blacksburg is a local, independent business friendly town. It doesn't want large chain stores coming in and destroying that. That's why places like Walmart and K-mart and Target are in Christiansburg and Blacksburg has places Gillie's and Annie Kay's and Homebody. Christiansburg can keep its merchants.
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 written by Antonio, March 09, 2008
Blacksburg is not a business friendly town. There are two many clique groups that fight to keep businesses from coming to Blacksburg. They should take the money they're wasting to fight the First and Main Project and give it to the Downtown Merchants Association. Wake up Blacksburg, you need to figure out why all the merchants are located in Christiansburg. The Christiansburg mayor has made it known, "Christiansburg is a business-friendly town."
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That so many businesses have vacated their locations is indeed troubling. That there are new initiatives to stir up things is exciting. My hopes run high. 8^) - Andrea