South Peak development shows some structure
Gene Whitesell, the development manager for site developer Smith-Packett, discusses the plans for the site off U.S. 220 in Roanoke County near Tanglewood Mall. The bare hillside had become a point of contention among some residents. Photo by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
As promised, here’s the link to the story updating the work that’s happening at the South Peak development in Southwest Roanoke County.
The structure you may have seen rising from the top of the denuded hill is the first of four, possibly five, condo buildings.
The condos range in size from 800 to 2,600 square feet and are expected to sell for between $195,000 and $610,000, according to Gene Whitesell, development manager for Smith-Packet, the site’s development company.
The development will also include office buildings, a parking garage, a hotel, a restaurant and hopefully, some retail.
Whitesell said the company is close to signing a deal with Hilton for a Hilton Garden Inn. He said they are also talking with a small chain restaurant, but wouldn’t say which one.
Read the story for more info, and check out a panoramic photo of the site here.
May 29, 2012 - 12:00 PM
Thanks for the update!
Just heard on the radio that C’ville is getting a Wegmans grocery store at the corner of 5th Street and I-64. This would be the farthest south they have expanded. As a former resident of Northern VA, this cant come a moment too soon, as they have by far the best selection of fresh food, meat, and fish!
Perhaps the people of Roanoke will one day have another option for groceries. The next stops south are Richmond and Roanoke!
Its going to take be a pretty big ‘small’ chain restaurant/retail to get me to come there consistently
It doesn’t matter what is built there it will always be an ugly eyesore to all who drive past it.
“The condos range in size from 800 to 2,600 square feet and are expected to sell for between $195,000 and $610,000,…”
Because there’s all this pent-up demand to live at the intersection of 220 and 419.
They need to throw in a frozen yogurt place.
To the generations that live/lived there, and to those who attended Slate Hill Baptist Church, it will always be Slate Hill. It’s almost disrespectful to chage the name.
That’s a lot to pay for a view of one of the busiest intersections in the valley.
I probably stand out in the minority against all the haters, but I for one am happy to see something new happening here. Growth requires change and development, and those who trash anything new that comes along are just killing any chance for growth and development in the area. With attitudes like this around here, it’s no wonder some of the great stores we want like Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, and Whole Foods are steering clear.
Charles – Don’t take my comments as a ‘hater’. I am all for the development of South Peak and development of any sort. I’m just saying, that the current plans won’t get me up there often. I have a home – condos/houses does nothing for me. I have an office – won’t need the commercial space. I live in Roanoke – No need for hotel.
The only thing that would get me up there, would be the restaurant and retail. It will take something bigger than a Cracker Barrel to get me up there. Drop a Trader Joe’s, Wegmans or Whole Foods up there and I will be all over it!
I agree Charles. Everyone complains about the lack of shopping and upscale restaurants that aren’t here, and when a development comes forward that could bring those elements, there is still complaining. Admittedly, I understand the anger from some over tearing down a hillside, and even I wish sometimes that it wasn’t developed. But if we want to go forward and grow like other cities, the little space left available must be used. I personally enjoy the landscaping done so far on the site, and I imagine there will be demand from residents who would like a great view and be close to shopping and dining below them. The hotel also will be a neat treat with a view unlike anything else in the valley. It is well known that some people will complain about anything, especially in Roanoke, but I, for one, look forward to what new options will be added to the area from the development, and I can’t wait to see what the finished condos look like.
right on Charles. Roanoke is so backwoods it is not even funny. Bring on more development and maybe someday Roanoke will be something!!
@Charles – I couldn’t agree more. The mindset that Roanoke should stay the way it has been for 50 years is dangerous if Roanoke is to grow and expand into the 21st century. I for one am glad to see development there.
Charles I agree. I have come to realize after following this blog for quite some time that the people in Roanoke are never fully happy. They always find something to complain about…
My problem isn’t that they’re building in Roanoke – my problem is that there are plenty of empty spaces that aren’t being used right now. Drive up and down 419 and there are plenty of empty buildings – that shopping center at Keagy, the HQ library building, lots of smaller places – use what’s already developed before you start stripping out new areas.
Also for that kind of money I would want somewhat less traffic right in front of my home.
I’m far from anti development, and as a relatively new resident of Roanoke I couldn’t care less how it “used to be”. I’m one of the few people who thought the resistance to putting a restaurand up on zoo-and-radio-tower littered Mill Mountain was ridiculous…still do. It’s amazing to me that, as a resident of Roanoke living 1 mile from the Parkway, if I want to take out-of-town guests to a place to eat with a nice mountain view I have to drive to Peaks of Otter…it’s Roanoke ignoring one of the biggest attractions it has to offer. Sad.
I just don’t see how one more field of stick-build condos and another chain hotel makes Roanoke less “backwoods” or gives anyone who lives here a reason to go up there. There’s nothing interesting or unique about it…it’s just more same old/same old.
Condos selling for $600K? At $225-250/sq ft? Okay, good luck with that. Best of luck to them. It continues to amaze me that commercial developments like this get greenlighted by the financers, while the consumers have so many higher hurdles to overcome, just so they can pay a half million dollars for a residence where people live on the floors above & below them, as well as on all sides of them.
Roa10-”the little space left available must be used.” There is plenty of unused space in Roanoke, Tanglewood Mall right across the street from South Peak for example. For the money spent on South Peak Tanglewood could have been redeveloped, even if it meant tearing it down and building something new. Just because some developer comes here and calls whatever he is doing progress doesn’t make it so. South Peak has been a boon-doggle from the start and I don’t see that changing.(by the way Weagmans or Trader Joes would never build on top of that hill but that may have built in a new upscale development that would replace Tanglewood.)
I agree that Tanglewood should’ve been torn down in the late 1990s or early 2000s and been replaced by a lifestyle center/mixed use development. It would’ve been a great space for restaurants, retail like that which is now at West Village, and residences. JC Penney and Belk could’ve remained. It really could’ve been a showcase development, but I doubt it could be made to work now with all of the fragmented development along 419 and 220 South and the much less favorable climate for real estate development.
KEVIN YOU ARE RIGHT ON!! I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS THAT TANGLEWOOD SHOULD BE TORN DOWN AND DEVELOPED AS A LIFESTYLE CENTER!! I GUESS VALLEY VIEW WEST WIL BEAT THEM TO THE PUNCH!!!!!!
There’s no need to tear down Tanglewood any more than there was a need to build on Slate Hill instead of using existing vacancies. The major changes that have already been done, vis a vis TJ Maxx, STAPLES, etc. are a huge improvement. The only criticism I’d offer is that they need to keep pushing forward with those kinds of changes, and if there is ever an opportunity to get MMTC out and revert back to retail, they should do it. I understand that Advance has done a lot with Crossroads, but that mall had already failed. I understand the importance of keeping up revenue, but you’re either going to re-purpose the mall or keep it alive. They just need to keep the “retail” area retail and if any space needs to be re-purposed, wall it off and keep it separate.
Finally… “lifestyle center”??? Gimme a break.
Lifestyle centers are a thing of the future. This is what I mean about Roanoke being back woods. Poeple don’t want lifestyle centers?? We are not in the dark ages!! Gimme a break!!!!!!!!
The peeing contest between the two posters above is getting really old.
Tanglewood is a failed mall. Only the anchor stores and the major stores with exterior entrances are viable. The inside of the mall is dead. The mom and pop type stores inside the mall now could easily relocate to strip malls.
I wish it had been redeveloped into a lifestyle center, but I don’t think that’s a viable alternative now. With stores like TJ Maxx and Staples, Tanglewood has already been evolving towards a “Power Center” type mall. The interior of the mall should close down and the space repurposed for other retailers like TJ Maxx and Staples or restaurants which will just have entrances to the parking lot. Hopefully, some money could also be spent improving the appearnce to something more modern.
I’ve survived quite well without a “lifestyle center”, I have to admit. The name itself makes me giggle.
Agree with you Kevin. TW missed the boat and now it is sinking!!!
You must not shop much Ms Kristen. Lifestyle centers are the thing of the future-like it or not!
Sure, “lifestyle center” is a marketing term, and it’s sometimes abused such as calling the District at Valley View a lifestyle center. Still, the overall trend in retailing is moving away from the large, enclosed mall. The trend is towards a mix of retail, restaurants, entertainment, services, offices, and residences in an outdoor, walkable setting. Really, it’s somewhat back towards the urban model prior to the mid-20th century though with concessions towards the car. I think it’s a great trend, and the migration of more retail online will only accelerate it. Hopefully, the large tract of land across 581 from Valley View will be developed along these lines instead of just having more strip malls with big parking lots.
In regards to “lifestyle centers,” or an open-air collection of stores and dining and entertainment outlets, I ran across an interview that reporter Jeff Sturgeon used in a December story about Blacksburg’s First & Main. In that story, Sturgeon interviewed a real estate economist with commercial real estate data provider CoStar Group, who said lifestyle centers were hit hard during the recession, but are coming back. The average vacancy rate at lifestyle centers in the United States was about 14 percent and expected to improve.
Just stating my opinion, Tim… no contest at all. I’m participating in the discussion in a genuine, honest manner and making comments that reflect my actual background, experience and tastes. That’s all I ask of anyone here.
As far as “lifestyle centers” go, I’m just voicing my distaste for the term, similar to my dislike for the term “upscale” and what it represents. I’ll concede that Tanglewood is still pretty stagnant, but nobody can deny that the changes that were made did a lot of good. Maybe the solution would be to level the enclosed portion of the mall, but the outparcels, STAPLES and TJ Maxx seem to be doing well, and even AC Moore seems to do okay. Not everyone is SWCo wants to schlep all the way over to Michael’s.