Photo by Marty Gordon
Installation of a new signal light and construction of a new entrance off North Franklin Street into Marketplace Shopping Center are nearing completion.By Marty Gordon
What has rumored to be the main anchor store for the Marketplace Shopping Center could be out as Earth Faire announced Monday it was closing all its stores.
The grocery store had never made the official announcement that it was coming to Christiansburg, but its name had been floating around the Internet and social media for months. A grocery location was mapped as the main store for the development, which has seen its ups and downs over the past five years.
The developer has not posted any update since September on its “Marketplace Facebook page,” and many local residents continue to scratch their heads about what is going on at the million-dollar renovation of what has become a desert in the middle of Christiansburg’s retail center.
Walt Rector, the developer with Bromont Investments who is working on the project, said Monday things are going extremely well with leasing.
While he would not release any name of possible occupants, Rector pointed to at least 10 tenants signed on. “We’re still trying to sign several major tenants,” he said.
Rector would also not give any timetable about an announcement asa to an opening date or for any retailer.
Work on a North Franklin entrance has continued, and a new signal light is partially up and running.
A posting by Thalimer, the leasing agent, has piqued everyone’s interest as it shows as many as a dozen names for occupants. But, Rector said, those were not correct.
Bromont Investments is a private real estate investment company owned by the Rector Family. The company focuses on the acquisition, ground-up development, repositioning and management of retail, class A offices and mixed-use properties.
Walt Rector is Chairman and CEO of all Bromont entities as well as the managing member of all single and multiple property limited liability companies or joint ventures.
With more than 45 years of experience, Rector has engaged in numerous successful partnerships and ventures. His track record includes the ground-up development of moe than two million square feet of Class A office space and 3.5 million square feet of retail space, and the redevelopment of retail portfolios in excess of 2.5 million square feet.
Christiansburg Mayor Mike Barber feels the investment and the planned changes coming to the shopping area is one of the best things to happen in Christiansburg in the past 20 years. “It’s taking a blighted property and giving it new life,” he said.
Those improvements will include a new signal light and a secondary public access along with new stormwater infrastructure to facilitate KR Christiansburg LLC’s redevelopment plans.
The shopping center has mainly been a waste land for nearly 17 years as Goody’s and a bookstore vacated the site. Initially Walmart had opened there but closed its doors with the opening of a supercenter across North Franklin Street.
KR Christiansburg is investing an estimated $30 million into the renovation of the marketplace to revamp the architecture and building facades, as well as to build new parking lots, complete interior work and possibly add new standalone buildings.
