What is happening on the OBMS?
The Town of Blacksburg and Montgomery County have held a series of public meetings for input on the development of a Master Plan for the 20 acre Old Blacksburg Middle School property. Tripp Muldrow from the firm of Arnett Muldrow and Associates and Tom McGilloway with the firm of Mahan Rykiel Associates worked together with the community to develop mixed use master plan concepts for the site. Rob Wolcheski from The Eisen Group is providing financial analysis. A list of the principles that the Town would like to see incorporated into the mixed use design plan are included below. Modea, a local technology company, has entered into an agreement with Montgomery County to purchase six acres of the property fronting Main Street. They are also part of the Master Planning process. The process has been completed and the final report adopted by the Blacksburg Town Council is available.
Where can I see the most recent information?
Adopted OMBS Final Report and Resolution 6-K-11
Revised Exhibit 2 1 OBMS Site Flexibility Diagram 06-27-11 (153 kb pdf)
Resloution 6-K-11 (16 kb pdf)
Information for June 28th Town Council Meeting
6-24-11 memo to TC and BOS (1.07 mb pdf)
6-24-11 Revised OBMS Master Plan Final Report (1.31 mb pdf)
Attachment A Flex Diagram (653 kb pdf)
Illustrative Exhibits B C and D (2.2 mb pdf)
Attachment E Model Views (2.32 mb pdf)
Exhibit F Precedent Images (3.91 mb pdf)
Want to view previous graphics and documents?
Resolution Approving a Master Plan for the Development of the OBMS Property (1.4kb pdf)
Color Graphics of Master Plan (2kb pdf)
OBMS Master Plan Report June 15 2011 (1.16 mb pdf)
Exhibit Site Flexibility Diagram (145 kb pdf)
Exhibits Illustrative Exhibits (2.2 mb pdf)
Exhibits Illustrative Model Views (1.97 mb pdf)
Exhibits Precedent Images (3.84 mb pdf)
April 19, 2011 Joint Work Session with Blacksburg Town Council, Blacksburg Planning Commission and Montgomery County Board of Supervisors
Joint Work Session presentation May 17, 2011 (4.67 mb pdf)
OBMS Presentation from 5-10-11 Open House (5.38 mb pdf)
Master Plan Synopsis May 6, 2011 (179 kb pdf)
Master Plan Graphics May 6, 2011 (2.86 mb pdf)
Old Blacksburg Middle School Master Plan Presentation (8 mb pdf)
Priorities Exercise (300 kb pdf)
Responses to the April 5 Design Workshop (143 kb pdf)
Master Plan Concept A (529 kb pdf)
Master Plan Concept B (403 kb pdf)
April 5, 2011 Design Workshop
April 5, 2011 presentation to the Blacksburg Town Council (2.56 mb pdf)
These documents were based on public input at an open house on Sunday, April 3, 2011, from 4-6 pm at the Community Center, 725 Patrick Henry Drive and the open design workshop on Monday, April 4, 2011, 8 am – noon at the Blacksburg Motor Company, 400 South Main Street.
Mixed Use Design Principles
Work together to make the rezoning process successful with a thoughtful and detailed rezoning application reflecting a sound master plan.
Expect a high quality design with strong architectural elements, street presence, downtown streetscape components, and unique sense of place.
Involve the community.
Be an urban infill project that makes use of valuable urban land that is served by transit and is walkable to employment and services.
Add to the economic base of the County and the Town.
Involve a genuine mixing of use types as opposed to separate components with no integration. Vertical integration is preferred but with a parcel of this size integration could be achieved through other means.
Be sensitive in the transition to the abutting single family neighborhoods.
Include open space and connections to greenways and trails.
Orient more intense project components toward Main Street and Clay Street.
Have a residential component and work with the Town, using local and regional affordable housing programs, to see if there is an opportunity to provide affordable housing in the project in addition to market rate housing. Housing, in general, would be best if designed to serve young professionals and/or retirees whose housing needs are currently unmet in the Town. Housing should not be targeted toward the high occupancy student market.
Have a civic component. This could be achieved in any number of ways.
Include some ground floor retail space to encourage pedestrian activity.
Be encouraged to use low impact design principles, including the daylighting of creeks where feasible, and green building techniques.
Honor the property’s historic aspects, including the original African-American school, the history of the high school and the interface with the original 16 Squares of Blacksburg.