I hope you enjoy my latest column, a collection of weekly short news updates and future events to look out for, and arriving to your inbox as part of our NRV newsletter on Mondays.
As your New River Valley reporter, I primarily cover Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County and Radford, but aim to expand my reach throughout the rest of a bustling valley.
I aim to inform and meet people where they are at, but the valley is vast. So if you have thoughts on a developing story or ideas on how I can get to know your community better, you can reach me at erick@cardinalnews.org.
Blacksburg council to consider lease for municipally owned downtown building
The long vacant former Cook’s Cleaners building in downtown Blacksburg will be set for a new use if the town council approves a lease for a business incubator.
The Blacksburg Town Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed $1-a-year lease for an LLC tied to Downtown Blacksburg Inc. to use the town-owned building. The initial lease would be for five years as it’s currently written.
The small retail business development plan began in 2016, when Tracie Hughes, executive director of DBI, and her fellow board members discussed at a retreat how to promote growth downtown.
“How can we really affect business downtown in a positive way?” asked Hughes. “Instead of just supporting merchants through marketing and events, what else can we do to leave an impact?”
Three years later, the town purchased the 5,000-square-foot building at 414 North Main Street for $900,000, using funds it received from the American Rescue Plan Act. Then, it partnered with DBI to have its controlled entity 441, LLC, be responsible for managing the incubator program.
“It has been rumored, apparently, that it can be difficult to do business here,” said Angie Marcolini, town business solutions manager. “The town really wanted to kind of shift that narrative and provide more support.”
The lease includes provisions for the town to maintain oversight over the project, including reporting requirements, audit rights, insurance requirements, and compliance.
Rehabilitation construction on the building, called The Local, will be finished within a few weeks, according to Hughes, and will feature a cafe and five incubator spaces for future tenants to sublease.
“Our goal right now is to have tenants,” said Hughes. “We have an orientation plan for early August, having them move in by late August.”
A soft opening is then scheduled for September, followed by a larger opening for fall family weekend in October.
Tuesday’s meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers of the Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 South Main Street.
Airport parking area to be improved with federal money
The Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport will receive nearly $3 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for infrastructure improvement and long-term revitalization.
The state’s U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, announced the news last Tuesday, giving their strong support for the FAA Airport Improvement Program, which provides funding to public agencies, and sometimes private owners, for public-use airport revitalization.
“AIP grants are highly competitive, with the demand far exceeding funding available,” said Warner, “so the Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport project met FAA’s award criteria and demonstrated that the project will meaningfully improve safety at the airport.”
The airport, located adjacent to Virginia Tech’s campus in Blacksburg, received $2,927,304, the largest share of the more than $5.8 million awarded to the nine Virginia airports selected for grants. The money will pay for a pavement upgrade of the Blacksburg airport’s main parking area that extends out toward the taxiway.
“Some of it’s been almost 30 years since it’s had any rehab or work done to it, so this will help increase its longevity,” said airport Executive Director Keith Holt. “This project allows us to continue to serve the business needs of the community and help support the economic development for the New River Valley region.”
Improved technology, more mills lead to increased Montgomery County recyclables
Less recyclables in Montgomery County will go to landfills, thanks in part to advancements in technology that can sort new items during collection.
In May, the Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority, which collected 93,000 tons of solid material for the county last fiscal year, announced that it would accept new items into its single stream collection to include the following:
- Newspapers, cardboard, cereal and tissue boxes, gable top and aseptic cartons, glass bottles and jars, aluminum beverage cans, steel and tin cans, as well as #1 (PET), #2 (HDPE) and #5 (PP) plastic bottles, jugs and food containers, clam shells #1, #2, and #5.
“And the big thing is that there is less trash going to the landfill, more material going to the recycling facility and being recycled and reused instead of buried,” said Alan Cummins, the authority’s executive director.
Previously, these items would go into the trash, not the recycling bin you put on the curb. These new items have made it to the other side because of advancement in the robotic system used to sort new recyclables, along with identifying more recycling mills that will accept materials.
“That’s the biggest one right there, is being able to find markets or mills that will accept this additional material,” said Cummins.
The recycled material is sent to Tomorrow Recycling facility in Roanoke.
Currently, the county — including Blacksburg and Christiansburg — has a recycling rate of 33.7 percent, with that figure expected to increase slightly following the new recycling classification, according to Cummins.
For more information on the new single stream items, click the following link: https://mrswa.com/images/Single_stream_0526.pdf
