Blacksburg Baptist Church’s proposed sale stirs zoning concerns
Blacksburg Baptist Church on Main Street could be sold, partly depending on a zoning decision. | Daniel Lin, The Roanoke Times
Another development debate may be shaping up in Blacksburg’s historic district.
Members of Blacksburg Baptist Church are expected to vote Sunday on whether or not to sign a contract to sell their church and surrounding property to a Georgia developer for $9 million.
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I think it would be hilarious if the turn the place into a giant parking lot… considering their stupid “Thou shall not park” signs all these years.
Comment by Bjoe — September 27, 2012 @ 10:55 am
With effort, there has to be a way develop a plan with a footprint that fits the site without needing to demolish any historic houses—naturally this would guide us toward a ‘vertical’ solution: Main St. Facing Retail/Office Space on the first and/second floors and residential on floors 3 through 6? From the current alley ‘rear of the site – you’d upgrade for entrance and exit to parking which (similar to the Brownstones – which is very nice) would provide the needed spots for residents. The building exteriors would need to be of en extremely high quality design and building materials (do not cheap out on what this building would LOOK like).
We live in a ground, diverse town and we want to be sure we aren’t destroying historic sites BUT we also have to be sure that we aren’t restricting people who have the money and want to build in our town. The enormous benefit of a quality building on this site would be that again, we are placing residents right in our downtown which helps grow and sustain local businesses and services as well as attract new ones = tax revenue, filling empty store fronts, creating jobs, putting more and more people on Main Street during the day and night. Good luck. BE NICE. BE RESPECTFUL. PLAY FAIR. As for the Baptist congregation – they are growing and need more space.
Comment by LOVE NRV — September 27, 2012 @ 12:04 pm
correction: Poor typing lead me to a mistake. I meant to say:
We live in a GROWING, diverse town…
Comment by LOVE NRV — September 27, 2012 @ 12:05 pm
“Old” does not equal “historic.” The resistance of the town to accomodate the Baptists in doing what they wanted to do with property they own was a major screw-up. Here we have people promoting “sustainability” on one hand and fighting it on the other. The church is downtown and in walking distance for a lot of people, but there was a need to expand the space and parking for the large congregation. Since it was shot down on doing what it wanted with its property, it was forced to move. They now want to build a new building on what is now green space, far from everyone out on N. Main St. Utilities will have to be extended, more ground covered with asphalt for parking, and EVERYONE will have to drive to that location. Smart plan.
Now I’ll bet the tailBURG folks and other “no growth” groups are ramping up to fight any changes to the downtown church site (even though the sale will help finance the new building). The “historic” houses will have to be preserved at all costs, even if it means the town looses out on tax revenues (how much do you think the Baptist church is paying in taxes now?). The quaisi-government group that has sway over all the property owners (which seems to be stacked in favor of do-nothing, preserve everything) is sure to come out against any changes in the zoning or historic district designation. This will probably be another Blacksburg Middle School deal, with lots and lots and lots of talk but no action, leaving everything and everyone in limbo until the developers decide it is a waste of their time and money to try to do anything in and with the Town of Blacksburg.
Loosers in the whole thing — homeowners who continue to carry a large burden of property taxes because of a lack of commercial development in the town (and county).
Comment by Joe Hokie — September 27, 2012 @ 1:58 pm
The Town and the various organizations who do not want Blacksburg to change will stifle, delay, and make a mess of this site. What happened with “First & Main” on South Main Street?
Comment by Townie — September 27, 2012 @ 5:11 pm