JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

The Tractor Supply Co. is now open in the Hills Plaza shopping center at 1540 Roanoke St.

| Chris Winston

chris.winston@roanoke.com, 381-1678

CHRISTIANSBURG -- A slew of renovations at a Christiansburg shopping center has cleared the way for one business to relocate and another to expand.

For several months, improvements to the Hills Plaza center at 1540 Roanoke St., near U.S. 460 and Interstate 81, have been preparing the way for two new tenants: Tractor Supply Co. and Dance.tech Performing Arts Studio.

TSC closed its previous Christiansburg location last week at the Market Place shopping center at North Frankin Street and Peppers Ferry Road.

Rob Hoskins, a spokesman for the company, said in an e-mail that TSC is "always looking for potential new store locations that are a good fit as far as the target market is concerned."

Hoskins said the New River Valley is an attractive market for the company because of its part-time and hobby farmers, and horse owners.

He said TSC's products, which include lawn and garden and animal care products, will serve those customers and that the new store "fits our needs from an operational standpoint and will enable us to better serve our customers."

The new location employs more than a dozen employees, and a grand opening will be held Oct. 10.

There has been no announcement about the plans for the previous TSC location, and Hoskins said no new information was available.

Meanwhile, also in Hills Plaza, Blacksburg-based Dance.tech Performing Arts Studio has expanded and is preparing to offer classes.

According to studio director Karen Stemen, the center has grown faster than anticipated since the 2005 relocation to Main Street in Blacksburg.

She said the new Christiansburg studio is now taking registrations for October classes. The class schedule will include classical ballet, tap and jazz classes for students age 3 to 14 at both beginner and intermediate levels.

The Christiansburg location, Stemen said, will be able to serve other communities such as Riner, Elliston, Floyd and Radford.

The studio has grown quickly, Stemen said.

Last season, the Blacksburg location added a third studio for instruction to its 10,000-square-foot facility, and two new theater and music rooms will debut next month.

The studio this season has five directors, more than 20 instructors and six student assistants. The Blacksburg location hosts six performing arts companies with more than 60 competitive dancers.