Proposed eight-story housing development in Blacksburg causes mixed feelings

BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - An eight-story proposed housing development with up to 759 bedrooms could soon be making its way to Kabrich Street, Winston Avenue and a part of Progress Street in Blacksburg.

Town leaders say the housing project is geared to serve students, as it’s nearly adjacent to Virginia Tech, but may also serve families.

“This location is noted in the North Main Street Strategy as a location that is appropriate for student housing as it is nearly adjacent to campus,“ said Kinsey O’Shea with the Town of Blacksburg Planning & Building Department. Also adding that the proximity to campus and services may be a benefit for this development.

The building would have commercial space on the ground floor, including a coffee shop with townhome-style units above, modern amenities, as well as a pool.

The old Speedway gas station property on Main Street will not be included in this project.

The site used to be home to several businesses, but many are now vacant or have moved elsewhere.

Peter Macedo is the owner of Blacksburg Bagels, a local favorite since 2013 that’s right across the street.

He and many others say they are worried about the drastic impacts this new project could have on their businesses, such as parking overflow into neighborhoods, not being able to serve the number of people in the complex and the long construction process that could prevent access or even cause them to move.

“I think that there’s a misconception in town that that more people are always better for a business, and so in this town, this isn’t going to change the number of people in town, it’s just going to change where they live. For my business, I feel like it’s going to be very damaging,” said Macedo.

Saul Halfon also lives down the street from the proposed site. He agrees there’s a need for more student housing near campus and is glad these won’t turn into vacant homes for football games, but he says building at this specific location could bring certain impacts to the neighborhood.

“Another thing that I haven’t heard talked about, that I think is a big issue with a lot of these projects, is lighting. They don’t actually talk much about lighting and the ways that lighting affects the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s a very easy thing to address and to fix,” said Halfon.

There’s a Town Council Public Hearing on this housing project set for Tuesday, March 11th at 6:30 p.m.