Liz Kirchner
The Blacksburg Town Council is hoping to vote on both the development agreement and rezoning of the OBMS property in early 2019, town council and planning commission member Michael Sutphin said in a town council report to the planning commission on Jan 3.
The planning commission approved recommendation for rezoning of the flagship Main Street property last September. Since then, the town council has been working on a draft agreement with the applicant.
Sutphin gave the update in the commission’s first meeting of the year.
“Our attention has been on the development agreement,which is a business contract between the developers and the town that governs the business aspects of the redevelopment including the town’s financial contribution for public parking and infrastructure,” he said.
The town council will undoubtedly have more questions of the planning commission as they move forward.
“We’ve been making steady progress and, by early 2019, we should have a draft that can be shared with the public with opportunities for public comment.”
Last month, an original tenant, 1901 Group, an IT services provider, pulled out of a plan to locate in an anchor building, changing the frontage design and causing, the town council said, uncertainty and delay.
“The council is addressing those changes,” Sutphin said.
The planning commission and the town council will hold a joint meeting at the end of the month on the final recommendations and plan for the Downtown Study, a planning effort that collected citizen input during multiple 2018 meetings in an effort to guide development as the town grows.
To keep up with planning commission and town council meetings, visit the calendar at www.blacksburg.gov/town-council/meetings/public-hearings
