Will a new owner help Blacksburg’s troubled First & Main shopping center?
The First & Main shopping center on South Main Street in Blacksburg. Roanoke Times file photo
Roanoke Times writer Jeff Sturgeon reports this morning that Wells Fargo has found a potential buyer for the troubled First & Main shopping center in Blacksburg.
A bank spokeswoman told Sturgeon they hope to close on the sale by the end of the month. She declined to identify the potential buyer.
The shopping center has struggled since its 2008 opening. The town of Blacksburg won a court battle to keep Walmart from building there, and a planned movie theater was never built.
Last year saw the closings of Books-A-Million, Rack Room Shoes, gifts and collectibles shop Steger Creek, Maggie Moo’s Ice Cream and Treatery, and Elderberry’s Smoothies & Wraps.
At least three new tenants, children’s clothing store Piccolini, Mexican restaurant El Rodeo, and the gym Anytime Fitness, opened at the shopping center last year.
Wells Fargo took control of the property in 2010 and hired The Rappaport Companies to manage it. A Wells Fargo spokeswoman said late last year that the bank would likely put the property on the market the beginning of this year.
Do you think a new owner will help the shopping center?
June 5, 2012 - 10:41 AM
I hope so. It seemed that when I spoke with the folks in charge of renting out space there, they seemed less than enthused to really make the place work. I suggested retail stores that are desperately needed in Blacksburg and got a “well we tried them, but they didn’t want to” – said in a Eeyore style.
Hopefully the new owners are local and willing to put some effort into making the place thrive.
Hope it suceeds- great concept that was much needed. Amanda you might want to check in with Valley Bank. Heard from a city economic developer last week that the bank is in talks with a serious tenant- grocer for Ukrops space! Let me know what you find out. as alaways thanks!
Maybe, if Blackburg really wants First and Main to succeed, they should revisit Walmart. Walmart, like them or not, can draw a crowd, and that would draw more retail stores.
Not without an anchor store. If the TOB would have let someone build a big box or somthing similar scaled down, all this would have been a mute point.
@Chris: I talked with the president and CEO of Valley Bank last week, but all he could say was that they are still talking with developers. Meanwhile, the city has amended its performance agreement for Ivy Market, which the bank said would help progress at the property. I’m working on a more comprehensive update.
I sure hope so! That space looks horrible. The concept was great, but … ouch. I think it does need an anchor store – like someone mentioned previously. Or that movie theater that was promised. What happened to Sonic? A Ukrops or Fresh Market would be great!! I’d surely go there. Look just across the street at that little shopping center … surviving better than this “upscale” center and they have a Dollar Tree, grocery store, coffee shop and a couple of cheap restaurants!
Agree wholeheartedly with David and Local Guy. Gotta have an anchor store in there.
Kohl’s. Sephora. A place similar to Buckle that sells trendy denim. And a Bob Evans somewhere close by! Put in stores/ boutiques to attract high school and college age shoppers as both Talbot’s and Coldwater Creek are geared to a different demographic. This is a college town for heaven’s sake. I don’t feel that a property of this size can survive with only upscale shops.
A Bob Evans would pull in travelers, who might hang around and shop a bit if there was more to attract a variety of people.
While they’re in a shopping (center) mood, maybe the buyer(s) might be interested in picking up Keagy Village while they’re at it!
I’d love to see a Fresh Market or Trader Joe’s at F&M. But I imagine the town would find some way to block them out since they’re not “local enough”.
Also, any info on Cook’s Clean closing the N. Main location in Blacksburg? I tried to bring some dry cleaning in and was told they’re closing because of the parking situation.
@Bill: Hadn’t heard. I’ll see if I can reach them.
I was really looking forward to the salon/spa that was originally going to be opened on the corner…. would love to see the developers get a spa business in there!
Thoughts:
For the first year or so I didn’t even realize the place was open; from Main Street it just looks like the backside of an industrial wherehouse. It of course still looks that way…very ugly, very un inviting.
The place would benefit by removing all the buildings that have their “back” facing Main St.; opening up some front-side parking; adding the promised “green space” and fountains that never happened; and turning off the blaringly loud outdoor music from B&B.
Personally; we avoid the place except to patronize stores that we have patronized for years, when they were in other locations.
Great location for a comunity park!! Ball fields; track; Etc.
Perhaps the new owners have a bulldozer!
they should have let walmart build there. anyway, does anybody know when the el rodeo that is moving in where famous Anthony’s in Christiansburg was located is going to open?
I would like to see a Children’s museum and Dave and Busters at First & Main. Also, the town needs to extend their beautification outside of the sixteen squares and update South Main (and North Main). Bring KFC back somewhere Blacksburg!
I agree with several other posters here. Having the spa would have been a big draw for me. Also the view from Main Street is lacking…the signage is insignificant (probably because Blacksburg demands it) but adding signage on the building should be legal.
@heath: I’ll ask the reporters in the New River Valley bureau whether they know.
I agree with some of the other posters here. Until Blacksburg pulls its collective head out of it’s you know what, stops listening to a very vocal minority, and agrees to allow some large anchor store to move in, they can find all the buyers/owners they want and it won’t make a difference. F&M doesn’t need new owners, it needs CUSTOMERS. Since BURG and the other B’burg elites are so venomously against Wal-Mart, maybe Kohl’s would be a good choice. That store draws a lot of traffic and the nearest one is in Roanoke. Maybe as long as it matched the surrounding construction and landscaping, they might even consider relaxing the square footage limits. They could probably do this without too much risk of turning into {shudder} Christiansburg.
We were heartbroken when BOM moved to B’burg, but made the trek anyway (just not as frequently). For there to be a draw at F&M, even for those of us who live in C’burg, it will need to be something special. What we already like about B’burg, only brighter & shinier! Health Food/Grocers, Sephora, Bob Evans, some of the previously mentioned are wonderful ideas. Madewell, Nordstrom, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, The Container Store – how lovely to shop the stores (not just online!). Walmart is not anything special – phooey – and I avoid it like the plaque. How about some more environmentally friendly shops? Breathe some bold life into that white elephant.
Sorry, meant “plague”, not “plaque” – but you get the idea! Both equally bad! LOL!
Owners barely matter unless they are willing to fight the town. Without a big anchor store to make people want to give a crap about the shopping center, they are completely effed.
The C’burg El Rodeo was trying to be open the first of May, but I haven’t been over there to check recently…
That is a horrible map with the news story — drawn by someone who must have never set foot in Blacksburg. There are buildings on there that don’t even exist. Great job, RT!
As to the town, per the Mayor’s blog, a South Main task force was or was to be appointed back in February to look at that part of Main Street, since many thought it was getting short shrift after all the work, attention, and money that downtown had received. Since then, nadda. Goes to show how well regarded that part of town is in the government’s eyes. Although the malconfigured traffic lights are getting worked on — it will be interesting to see if they will work so one can get a green at Ellett and go all the way to downtown without stopping. There is probably more pollution poured out from idling cars at red lights than the Sonic ever would have produced.
As to downtown, cross off another “free” lot — the Baptists are finally getting back at the town for rejecting their plans to tear down “historical” houses to expand their facilities. The church parking lot is now signed off-limits with 24-hour towing, at $150 a shot. So much for the myth of lots of parking downtown — Kent Square doesn’t cut it if you want to eat at Mike’s or the Cellar. That could bode well for F&M in attracting more business, since there is plenty of parking there.
@heath: My colleagues in the New River bureau tell me the El Rodeo has opened.
@Joe Hokie: Thanks for pointing out the map – we’re fixing it. The building depictions were derived from a concept map. We are revising it for tomorrow’s newspaper to reflect only what’s been built.
Anyone that felt Walmart a bad choice must not have seen what they did at Clearbrook. The traffic problems did not happen. The place looks good, with a great job of landscaping and building design. Some people just to not want progress and would rather live in the past.
Great point, David! Haha, I didn’t even know where/what Clearbrook (or Bonsack, for that matter!) was until they got a Walmart! It is nice, clean, in a great neighborhood (upscale and all that jazz) and there are lots of great local businesses around it!
The center will do better with a property management company that cares and returns phone calls. I know someone who is trying to lease there now and can not get anyone to return phone calls or give them a price for the space they are wanting to rent.
First & Main was poorly thought through, poorly designed, and poorly implemented. I simply do not agree that a big box store is the magic bullet, especially of the Wal-Mart variety. The development’s concept and configuration are seriously flawed, from the totally illogical mix of stores and restaurants, to the complete lack of features that would encourage anyone to linger and enjoy (Have you seen the “pond”? Have you walked the pedestrian friendly “trails”? If you do walk the ONLY one that runs along the back of the development, be sure to wear water-proof shoes and carry mace.) When Books A Million bailed out, that pretty much sealed the deal for my family. Steger Creek? On a Whim? Rack Room? Hibbets? Talbots? Jos A Banks? Coldwater Creek? Various and sundry cheap haircut chains? Some kind of workout-as-you-want-to place? Please, it’s like a surreal Marketing 101 case study.
Nevermind. Third attempt to say anything. Your loss. Congratulations on the check the box trick. So much better than Captcha and whatever else we do to prevent those other idiot beings.
You win, I are one.
I do enjoy going to First & Main. I do wish that a Movie theater was there. I think that would be a good addition. New owners new hope.
I am hoping a new owner will be energized to sell this center to new retailers from other parts of VA as well as national and regional retailers. If they are in a position to break ground on a five or six screen first run movie theatre, get the out parcels built and go hard after a combo of innovative retailers who might be willing to try new markets with new concepts from JCrew to others they could see success. A new owner and a new outlook could just shake off the bad energy from the ‘Burgs’ resistance and the unfortunate timing of the economic crisis.
And all of you locals – get your butts out there and have lunch and buy something.
So much for accuracy. Google maps broken in the newsroom? So a couple of stray buildings were taken off the horrible map, making it a little less horrible — but there is still some big building in F&M on the south end that isn’t really there if you visit in person and there is that really big building behind Gables that the BURG folks have fought that truly doesn’t exist if you visit in person. Maybe if the NRV bureau folks actually left the building . . . or I guess they are too busy dealing with the flood of prom pictures to fill what used to be news space in The BURGS
I keep hoping that some new stores will come to the site. For me there’s not any real reason to go there though, since I can’t really eat at any of the restaurants…and the shops present are not where I prefer to buy things. And I also don’t use that fitness center, not being a town resident.
Some good ideas for potential tenants have been mentioned, but given the layout of where the bulk of the parking is located, the chances for a high-end grocery store within the existing center footprint seems unlikely. A theater would be nice, but given that ticket prices have curbed demand, and the still relatively new Regal theater is in C’burg, I’m wondering if that would draw enough to be financially feasible.
What is probably needed are stores of a local/regional variety or national chains that are not in the area today, that would be a draw…kind of like the place was intended to be. But an anchor and outparcel development would also help draw additional traffic to the site and perhaps help spur existing and future tenants too. I hope that having non-bank ownership will kickstart efforts to fill the rash of vacancies and pump some much-needed life into the place.
Joe, hopefully the drive on Main Street will be a little more pleasant now. But with parking…I noticed Stellar One in downtown by Turner Street did the same thing, I’m guessing to combat people parking in their lot and walking over to Castle’s Kettle & Pub, which has maybe 8-10 spaces behind their building. I take my chances parking between Taco Bell and the vacant TCBY space, hoping I don’t get towed. But I’ve heard from some of the Castle’s staff that many of their customers have had their vehicles towed. If it’s after hours at the bank, I don’t see a need to enforce the lots until 6am the following day, it just makes it harder on adjacent businesses, especially now that the Squires lot is forever gone…at least until the new development along Turner opens up with the parking deck I have heard will be a part of their work.
I agree that it was probably a “vocal minority” that blocked Walmart, and I suppose the Clearbrook store is more of a positive than a negative (although it bothers me that I have to drive so much further than Hunting Hills Plaza to get there), but I think some pro-Walmart folks might be overlooking the very real possibility that in a town as small as Blacksburg, having a Walmart could render dozens of local businesses obsolete. I was shocked to learn that there are NO music stores (not even a chain like fye) in the C’burg/B’burg area since everyone just goes to BEST BUY or Walmart, and if a Walmart was built in Blacksburg there would probably be a LOT of other stores disappearing because “you can get that at Walmart”.
There are several new franchises that will move to First & Main once a new owner is in place. Even a movie theater.
Spiny, there were several factors at play…one of which was a vocal and well-organized group that fought the store and got ordinance 1450 passed, which requires the Town Council to approve a special-use permit for any retail building over 50,000 SF. Most of the retail stores in Blacksburg do not compete with Walmart, except maybe for VT apparel. With Walmart, Kmart, and Target just a few miles away in Christiansburg, (not to mention other box stores like Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes, Petsmart, etc), if business was going to be lost to them, it has already happened and what is left is capable of standing on its own.
But, would 2 Walmart stores that close to each other make sense? Perhaps not…but the C’burg store is usually slam-packed most of the year so perhaps it would have eased the customer traffic in Christiansburg by spreading it out a bit more. Traffic was one of the major concerns for locals…the Miller-Southside residents fought the project because of the potential for increased traffic. Other residents fought Walmart because they sell alcohol and firearms…though several of their stores do not have the firearms section in sporting goods to comply with local requests. The alcohol issue is laughable…given that Kroger, ABC, and Vintage Cellar are all on the other side of the rugby field from the school, where parents and opposition said sales were too close to the school. Heck, Bull & Bones brews on site…no complaints that I’ve heard about that, or the other existing businesses…but Walmart was a problem?
As a result, Walmart was nixed from the project and no anchor store was built. Further, the timing of construction put the completion right as the economy took a swandive, and the Regal cinema at the NRV mall rebuilt and opened just before First & Main was slated for opening, removing the market potential for the proposed theater. And, with the lousy economy, many potential tenants never came, and others who were seeking to relocate within the town closed up shop entirely. Then the Town fought the Sonic because of the outdoor speakers…saying music was too loud for neighbors. Say what? It was on Main Street, surrounded by commercial properties. But by the time they displayed some sense, that was scrapped too, and the center has largely remained half-vacant with no theater, no anchor, and no outparcel growth…resulting in limited traffic to the site, and a generally low customer base since aside from a few high-end clothiers and specialty shops, the only other tenants are restaurants…and now a fitness center. Hardly what it was envisioned to be.
I still have hopes that with new ownership, they can aggressively market the site to potential tenants and get it filled. It has a lot of potential that has never been realized. And as Virginia Tech continues to grow and the NRV becomes a more favored retirement location for many, the demand for retail shopping in Blacksburg will continue to grow. Christiansburg is about tapped out in their retail hub surrounding the mall, but a lot of voids are sitting in Blacksburg, waiting for the right company to come in and make it work. But, they have to overcome an adversarial Town Council and generally adversarial citizens groups to do so, and that may be the biggest challenge any of them face.
Go to any college town in America supporting a large university and you will find it filled with art galleries, book stores, theaters, coffee houses,live music venues and good local and national retail. I’m not sure what has happened here, but I think those deluded enough to think they are protecting the town’s “charm” should be allowed to keep their neurosis to themselves and stripped of their rights to represent me. Blacksburg has turned into a dumpy little backwater that is at the whim of a few people who last had a good reality check in the seventies, or maybe earlier.There are plenty of people here who have money to spend on things like clothing, furnishings, artwork and decent dining choices, amongst many other things.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the ratty thrift stores, odoriferous head shops and weird geegaw sellers that seem to populate other “college towns” just as much as the finer things mentioned heretofore because they are part of the unique fabric that defines a cool college town. Sadly,this is not one of them, and frankly, I believe it is because our “caretakers” make a lot of judgment calls on our behalf when they should really be out doing a little market research.
Giving in and letting a WalMart into Blacksburg is not the solution. And while Talbot’s has several times saved my day when I needed a new pair of black pants that wouldn’t embarrass me out of town, it is a place I associate with my 65 year old mother and her friends.
This isn’t me being a snob; this is me worrying that our humble little burg has become a run down has-been that repels many from coming here and staying a while.I think the people who are making our decisions for us don’t believe we deserve a few nice things in our midst. Who are they to make these decisions for us?
Ugh… can we please reintroduce some kind of spam filter here?