Thursday, September 03, 2009
Grocery store planned for downtown space
The new owners of a Church Avenue building plan to install a food and retail hub.
The latest from The Ticker blog
Plans are in the works to fulfill a need for the residents of downtown Roanoke, a neighborhood that's sprouting at a fast rate.
Four business partners purchased a 37,000-square-foot building at 16 W. Church Ave. last month, with plans to open a grocery store, pharmacy, health-focused food court and a fitness center.
As of now, these plans exist only on paper. No businesses have signed on as operators.
The purchase and subsequent plans come on the heels of the summertime openings of two new apartment dwellings in the city's downtown, the 108-unit Cotton Mill Lofts and the 25-unit Lawson Building East. As of March, there were more than 375 apartments and condominiums throughout downtown.
John Garland, president of Spectrum Design, and three other people who also work for the architecture and engineering firm, paid $425,000 for the Church Avenue building that currently houses the Downtown Sports Club. When the structure was built in 1951, S&W Cafeteria was its first tenant. The cafeteria closed sometime in the 1980s, Garland said.
He's seeking photographs from the building's cafeteria days so that he can preserve its architectural features. This historic rehab work is necessary for the owners to be eligible for tax credits to help fund the project.
The timetable for interior and exterior rehab work is unclear, Garland said. Some of it will involve pulling up carpet and vinyl tile to reveal the structure's original terrazzo floors.
Garland and his partners want to create a food and retail hub, named the StayWell Marketplace, to cater to downtown's condo and apartment dwellers. There is not a large grocer or pharmacy in downtown Roanoke.
"Our goal is to fill that niche," said Garland, whose firm has worked on many of downtown's residential projects.
On the Church Avenue building's first floor, Garland envisions a small grocery and convenience store selling produce and upscale food. Several food vendors additionally would sell healthy fare, such as soups and salads.
The retailers likely would open each day at 7 a.m. and close in the midevening, Garland said.
There also would be a pharmacy and other offices, such as a dentist and a massage therapist. Oasis Chiropractic already is located there and likely will stay, Garland said.
An upscale exercise facility would fill the structure's second floor, while the third floor would house offices with an entrance on the building's back side on Luck Avenue.
It's unclear what will become of the Downtown Sports Club, owned by Suzanne Huffman. The club may end up on the marketplace's second floor or it may move out altogether, Garland said.
Huffman was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Despite a tough economy for business, Garland said he hopes that "an attractive rent structure" will make it easier to draw businesses to the StayWell Marketplace. He would not disclose rental rates.
It's still early to predict the success of a grocery store and other new retailers on Church Avenue. And apparently, Garland and his partners aren't the only ones who are considering the possibilities.
"A lot of people have been nosing around and giving it some thought and looking at possible locations," said Douglas Waters, interim president of Downtown Roanoke Inc., who also lives downtown.
If you have an old photo of the S&W Cafeteria you'd like to share, contact John Garland at jgarland@spectrumpc.com.
