Council approves amended Main Street mixed‑use plan and vacates alley to include former Speedway parcel

Blacksburg Town Council approved an amendment to a previously approved Planned Residential District (PRD) and vacated a piece of town‑owned alley to allow a revised mixed‑use redevelopment that adds an adjoining parcel including the former Speedway site.

Staff said the amendment expands the approved rezoning area to about 3.1 acres and adds the Speedway parcel so the applicant can deliver more residential units and additional commercial frontage along Main Street. The proposed plan combines multifamily and townhome units, commercial space facing Main Street and a central plaza; staff said the amendment includes at least 25% total resident‑amenity open space (including indoor amenity space) and more than 8,000 square feet of commercial (roughly 6% of the PRD land area). Use‑and‑design standards, setbacks and heights generally match the previously approved PRD; the application includes proffers for occupancy restrictions, signage, building energy efficiency (applicant proffer), a contribution to the town’s affordable‑housing fund, and stormwater compliance.

Staff and the applicant emphasized design revisions to break up the commercial façade with stepbacks and materials, enlarged resident terraces and courtyards, two bike rooms at grade for up to 420 bikes, and a parking strategy that includes tandem spaces in a structured garage to increase capacity. The applicant described shifting a storm channel through the site (including a subgrade channel beneath part of the building footprint) as part of the engineering approach and said the stormwater/floodplain analysis is still undergoing review; staff said the town’s consultant (AECOM) has outstanding comments that must be addressed at site plan submittal.

The applicant said the revised scheme adds roughly 100–110 bedrooms (transcript references ~103 beds and ~45 units in places), about 3,200 square feet of new retail frontage, nearly 28% open space by the applicant’s calculation across the project, and additional public parking and tenant parking configured with some tandem stalls. The application also includes a donation to the town’s affordable housing fund; the applicant described an additional $161,000 contribution and referenced a $1,300,000 figure on total contributions, which the council and staff discussed as part of the applicant’s summary. Planning Commission recommended approval 7–0 with two members absent.

Council debate focused on density, building height, and parking adequacy. Several members said adding the formerly separate parcel improved design and circulation, including parking flow, and supported the amendment as an improvement on the previously approved plan. At least one member said the overall number of beds and the parking ratio remain too high and recorded a dissenting vote on the amendment. The council then voted separately to vacate approximately 2,981 square feet of town alley as requested; that motion passed with recorded ayes.

Both the rezoning amendment and the alley vacation were approved by roll call. Staff emphasized that final site‑plan approval will require resolution of the outstanding stormwater/floodplain model comments and other technical submittals before construction may begin.