Photos by MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

From left: Susan Anderson, Kim Kipling and Nancy Newman clean the windows of the former Blacksburg Tattoo shop at 116 N. Main St. on Thursday. The Downtown Revitalization Committee members have dressed up three vacant windows and have permission to do two more, both in the 100 block of North Main Street.

Nancy Newman (left) and Susan Anderson hang artwork from the Art Pannonia gallery in the window of the former Blacksburg Tattoo studio. The gallery's owner also owns the vacant retail space that is for rent. Below: This window on North Main Street is also on the list to be dressed up by members of the Downtown Revitalization Committee.

Nancy Newman (left) and Susan Anderson hang artwork from the Art Pannonia gallery in the window of the former Blacksburg Tattoo studio. The gallery's owner also owns the vacant retail space that is for rent. Below: This window on North Main Street is also on the list to be dressed up by members of the Downtown Revitalization Committee.

Members of the Downtown Revitalization Committee are redecorating empty storefronts in the hopes of attracting new businesses.

The committee has already cleaned up three stores on North Main Street: sweeping the floors, polishing the windows and putting up posters advertising upcoming downtown events.

Members completed their third project Thursday, a former tattoo parlor next to Art Pannonia. The store has been empty since January.

Susan Anderson, head of the committee and a member of the town council, explained that the project has several goals.

In addition to beautifying the downtown area, the idea is that the refurbished storefronts will attract new renters to the spaces. Each store features a poster with the words "Step into this Space" and "Step into Blacksburg," encouraging passersby to stop and take a look.

"People will see it as a viable space," said Nancy Newman, a committee member who is also part of the Blacksburg Partnership, an independent development group whose goal is to boost tourism and economic growth in Blacksburg.

"They will say, 'I can see myself in there.' "

The project also promotes downtown events by advertising them in the storefronts, such as Steppin' Out, an arts and music festival in August, and the Summer Solstice celebration on Saturday. The former Blacksburg Tattoo windows now boast signs for Art at the Market, an event at the farmers market July 18.

If renters do not take over these spaces soon, the committee will keep filling the fronts with new posters and decorations. "It's an ongoing project," Anderson said.

Local developer Bob Pack suggested the idea to the Downtown Revitalization Committee -- a group of 20 members representing the town council, town staff, residential neighborhoods, business owners, the Arts Initiative and others -- about a year ago and brought it up again this spring. The committee got started right away and finished its first project in May and its second earlier this month.

Anderson said the project is funded by "our own energy." The five or six people who cleaned up the empty building last week brought their own cleaning supplies.

Steve Miller at the Mish Mish printing and craft store, across the street from Art Pannonia and the former tattoo parlor, prints posters for the committee at no cost.

The enthusiasm and cooperation of the people involved drives the project, Anderson said.

"It's just a great crew of people on this committee," she said. "We are all strong-willed people and very opinionated people, but we get along."

The committee has had a positive response from property owners so far, members said.

"[They] have been very willing," Newman said. "We were glad."

Judy Garbera, owner of Art Pannonia and the empty building being revitalized, allowed the committee to put a few paintings from her gallery in the store's windows.

Garbera said she supports the project's goal of beautifying the downtown area by sprucing up the otherwise drab, vacant storefronts.

"It's pretty sad that those empty stores looked like missing teeth," she said.

She added that she is not discouraged by the vacant buildings that line the streets downtown. Businesses may be closing in the struggling economy, but people constantly want to start new businesses too, she said.

In fact, she may already have a new tenant lined up for her building. The former Blacksburg Tattoo may soon be a new sandwich shop.

Only one property owner did not wish to participate in the project, said Anderson, and she is optimistic that people will notice the fresh looks of nearby storefronts and decide they want to be part of it.

Shop owners, residents and visitors stop by when the committee is at work on a store, and Anderson thinks this is a sign of the progress being made.

Nearby business owners are also excited about the revitalization.

Lana Juarez -- owner of Matrix Gallery, which sells handmade jewelry, pottery and other crafts -- said she appreciates the effort to brighten up the downtown district. She said it creates the feeling that a certain location might seem "empty, but it's not dead."

She also hopes the project lures entrepreneurs who are willing to take a risk on opening a new business.

Anderson said the committee hopes to work on four or five more storefronts this summer, and two are already being planned.