Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990 TAG: 9004050002
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Kim Sunderland
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Long
Within the past few years, officials have taken drastic measures to save the downtown and have begun an overall face lift to give area businesses a boost.
The biggest project is the Main Street Radford program, an architectural and economic revitalization effort developed by the National Main Street Center, an affiliate of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
"The economy isn't hurting us, but our image is," said Cindy Stone, director of the program. "We want to fill up empty spaces to help that situation and we'll do it by mass marketing."
There are eight vacant stores to fill in downtown Radford. Some of the stores relocated in New River Valley Mall; some couldn't make it and closed; still others did not like the crumbling facades around them.
That is beginning to change.
Plans of Main Street Radford, one of 15 such programs in the state, are sprucing up the downtown with paint, signs, landscaping and street lights. The program also is creating a sense of commitment among business owners and the community to downtown improvement.
After selection by the national center, Radford was required to commit local funds to hire a full-time project manager and support the administration of the program for three years. The town also must form a downtown revitalization organization with members from both business and government.
Stone is positive Radford will survive. "This town can't die. If it looks like people care, other businesses will want to come here."
And it seems to be working. Ten new businesses have opened since the program began, including two book stores, a video store, a music store, a service station and a law office. David Ridpath, director of economic development, said about 37 new jobs were created.
Town officials and local business people say the New River Valley Mall has not drastically affected Radford because of the city's stabilized economy.
However, when Leggett's closed downtown and went to the mall, Radford's annual gross receipts plunged from almost $55 million in 1986 to about $44 million in 1987, according to Ridpath.
He said five new businesses were gained in 1988, bringing receipts back up to $52.6 million. Although accurate year-end figures are still unavailable, Ridpath said it looked as though the city's retail revenues for 1989 would exceed 1988's.
In one downtown store, owner Diane Lepchitz said the mall hasn't hurt her retail sales overall, since she has an unusual operation.
"We're geared toward students," said Lepchitz of her Felix Books & Gifts shop across from Radford University on Tyler Avenue. "We have university clothing and books, so we have a particular market we target."
However, the two-year-old store also has a music department that Lepchitz said has suffered because two music stores at the mall offer larger selections for the serious shopper.
And although there is an indefinite cap on Radford University enrollment at 9,000, public relations director Deborah Brown said it won't hurt retail.
"There's such a tremendous market here that it shouldn't hurt at all," Brown said.
At Simple Pleasures, a gift store that features baskets, food and wine, owner Sharon Waite said there has been little effect from the mall.
She said business at the two-year-old store has been steady and sales this year doubled last year's.
"Customers say things are starting to happen here," Waite said. "We've had to fight the image that downtown Radford is dead, because it's not."
The revitalization program began in March 1989 and will run until March 1992.
Another initiative to increase economic development in Radford is enrollment in the state's business certification program. Certified locations are put at the top of the list of prospective business sites. Ridpath said a 50-acre park on Interstate 81 may be a potential site for future industry.
And plans for the old Leggett building should also help encourage downtown retailing, according to Ken Bondurant, president of Bondurant Realty, owners of the property.
Bondurant disclosed plans for the old building as a "pedestrian center for the east Radford business district."
Proposals indicate that the 30,000-square-foot building will be renovated as a multiuse complex, with the front lower level as two retail units. The rear would become a conference room and ball room. The front entry way, which would have 14-foot ceilings, would be designed with a gallery theme to display local artists' work. The 5,500 square feet upstairs may be used by the Council for Community Enrichment, a non-profit organization that brings the arts to area children.
The building also could house office space. Bondurant said plans should be completed by August.
"These are rather extensive renovations," Bondurant said. "We're real excited and have lots of bucks poured into this. It would add more permanence to the area.
"And the building will be perceived as an indicator of where things ought to be in development."
Bondurant said it's important to fill the building because an empty facade is a quick turn-off to pedestrians. "And the downtown's success relies on that pedestrian traffic."
Lower rental rates in Radford also should attract new businesses, according to Ridpath. Rates here run from $3 to $7 per square foot; the mall runs $18 to $25 per square foot and offers percentage rental rates.
With the additional effort being put into the local retail business, officials say Radford will survive the economic crunches it has experienced. They don't feel defeated, only that the downtown needs modernization to keep up.
The stabilized gross receipt figures indicate that Radford is operating in line with national averages, which, too, have been slow rising yet stable.
At least the numbers are not going down.
"The New River Valley Mall has a centralized focus and has everything in one building," said Ridpath. "But Radford has good lease space and a decent market. And Radford will do well because of that."
by CNB