Blacksburg should help First & Main

Suppose the First Main shopping center in Blacksburg were located in Waco, Texas. Tumble weeds would drift down the streets of the shopping center. That’s because First Main is becoming a ghost shopping center.

Many stores have never been occupied, and recently Books-A-Million pulled up stakes and left. The reason: There is no big anchor store to provide foot traffic for smaller shops. The current town government and its supporters oppose big anchor stores as a matter of principle. This is consummate silliness.

Roanoke County recently welcomed a Walmart, and Roanoke a Kohl’s. They did not seem to think that having these stores would degrade their quality of life. Both would be good candidates for First Main, along with perhaps a Target super store.

We live in a global economy. These stores – along with others such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ross, Best Buy and T.J. Maxx – provide access to that economy for all, regardless of income.

Of course, you can shop online if you can afford the monthly Internet access fee or can do it during your lunch hours at Virginia Tech. Many people don’t have Internet access, so these stores level the playing field for poorer folk.

They also provide entry-level jobs for people who need them. If you work at Tech and have a job and benefits for life, you might not worry about this, but many other people have to.

Opposition to these stores represents an elitist attitude. Some of the opponents of big-box stores just don’t want to rub elbows with poorer folks when shopping. They also say that stores like Walmart pay slave wages.

Entry-level pay at Walmart stores is at least Virginia’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour but more with experience. Virginia Tech dining hall workers start at $8 per hour. The pay is low at both places, but people fill those jobs.

With an anchor store at First Main, many of the 25,000 Tech students would flock there to buy their stuff. Thousands of people who come to Blacksburg every year to visit their children and attend sports events would shop there, too. All of this foot traffic would make First Main successful and generate tax revenue for the town.

Why is this important? Federal money used to support such projects as the Blacksburg Motor Co. remodel, Main Street improvement and the roundabout is drying up. Getting Tech to pay meals taxes from its sumptuous dining facilities is highly unlikely. Our county property taxes are likely to go up 10 cents per $100 of assessed value to pay for the new high schools. A few years ago, the meals tax was raised to improve the police department. Can’t go there again. Thus, the sales tax revenue from First Main is very important in these challenging economic times.

Blacksburg Town Council should direct town staff to work with the developer to get an anchor store for First Main.

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