The Front Door Of Blacksburg

If home is where the heart is, then what is considered the heart of Blacksburg? 

During the planning commissions meeting Tuesday, a debate ensued following the request to rezone and change a proposal from an “office with conditions to [a] general commercial with conditions for tax map parcels.” 

The request would allow a grocery store and offices to be built in the town Blacksburg.  The location of these buildings brought up a number of concerns.   

The area will be called Park Place and will consist of a grocery store and a couple of office buildings.  The three developments will be located on Southpark Drive.  Questions arose as to whether the store is appropriate for the location.   

Lesley Howard, chair of the planning commission, asked, “Is this the front door we want for Blacksburg.”  The planning commission members deliberated about how the front door of Blacksburg should look.  

R. B. “Ben” Crawford, a planning commission member, said, the gentlemen is taking a difficult property and making into something good.  To which the other members agreed and began to examine other stipulations with the plans. 

In order for Park Place to become a reality, power lines are going to have to be moved.  Steve Semones, vice president of Balzer and Associates Inc., spoke at the meeting and said above ground power lines are cheaper than burying lines underground and he, along with others, are willing to handle the cost.

Chris Lawrence, the assistant to the town manager, said the last time the town helped pay to put power lines underground was for Virginia Tech and Prices Fork Road.  

Other concerns about the project dealt with the adapting traffic changes and patterns that will result on South Main Street and the 460 interchange.

After a brief deliberation, the committee voted on approving the rezoning request.  The vote was unanimous.