On Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., the Blacksburg Town Council will consider rezoning 4.6 acres of land on University City Boulevard to allow for a new six-story building with high-density housing and commercial space.
The proposed building includes 221 market-rate student housing units, 37 affordable housing units for low-income families, 6,300 square feet of commercial space and 264 parking spaces.
The proposed building would be located on three parcels of land behind the Kroger fuel station and Verizon on University City Boulevard. For the project to move forward, the land must be rezoned from General Commercial to Planned Residential.
The applicant behind the rezoning request, Ascent Property Co., is based in Culver, California, and is working with Balzar & Associates of Christiansburg on the rezoning request and building proposal.
The proposal was updated on Nov. 24, primarily to address concerns of the McBryde neighborhood. For example, a rooftop pool has been relocated, an 8-foot-high screening fence on the east side of the property has been added and Ascent Property Co. has committed to protecting the existing tree buffer along the eastern property line. In addition, Ascent Property Co. plans to “emulate the materials, colors and forms we find in the McBryde neighborhood to the east.”
Tonight’s meeting is the last scheduled public hearing of the year and the final public hearing with the current town council. The meeting will be held at the Blacksburg Municipal Building at 300 S. Main St.