Any bog-box retail establishment will only hurt the independent retail community. Furthermore, it will hurt those owners and employees that have set Blacksburg apart from many other towns, such as Christiansburg. Let's not forgot the "small town" appeal, which has already withstood enough damage by development.
I think would be pointless to build another Wal-Mart when we have one so close. Besides that, people are arguing that it will help Blacksburg's economy, but if you look at the big picture, it will also hurt Christiansburg's. There will be considerably less business going to the Wal-Mart there, meaning some employees will lose their jobs.
Another Wal-Mart is 10 minutes down the road. If we really want a "big-box" store to come in, at least have it be something new like a Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Circuit City.
Not even getting into the fact that we already have a Wal-Mart in Christiansburg, Wal-Mart is the single worst company ever and the worst thing that could happen to Blacksburg. One of the nicest things about Blacksburg is that it’s this small town with mostly mom and pop stores and it’s such a close community. All of that Wal-Mart will destroy. To have all of these nice businesses destroyed because a big company that treats its employees terribly will lower the quality of life here and even have an effect on VT. Not as many people will want to go to a school where instead of a nice, small, close community, we have a Wal-Mart and only a Wal-Mart.
This can only lead to a loss of jobs and business for Blacksburg (well, yeah... I guess there will be some new under-paid, under-staffed and under-benefited jobs). There is a Walmart 5 minutes away and plenty of other space already for lease in Blacksburg for the smaller business spaces. Downtown is too much of a ghost town as it is... it doesn't need to get any worse.
I am a student at Virginia Tech, and my hometown is Fredericksburg, Virginia. I have no issues with wal-mart, but we already have two in this area, my hometown started out small and comfortable like blacksburg and it's scary to me to watch the overdevelopment that is happening there now. As someone who is just hoping that blacksburg does not fall into the same trap of allowing this deterioration of the community to make a profit, I would like to encourage you to rethink the actual need for this facility
We can drive 3 miles to C'burg to get this stuff plus some of our family friends own bussinesses like flower shops this wouldkill off all local bussinesses! O,O
o Down with walmart
Imagine standing in, or near, the parking lot at the Christiansburg Walmart, wishing you were anywhere else. Imagine driving along 460 near the Home Depot exchange, creeping along, stopping every two feet. Imagine the view from the Huckleberry as you look towards Christiansburg on a moonless night, and see the 24-hour glow of artificial light. Now imagine all that in your own backyard...
From a customer standpoint, a walmart in the proposed location does not add any new options because it overlaps with the Kroger right in front of it and with the Walmart 5 miles from it. Meanwhile, the site behind the rugby field where the Walmart and its large parking lot would go currently has a wetlands that hosts many plants and peeper frogs in the spring, and that acts as a buffer for Cedar Run (along Ellet Road) during heavy rains.
It is going to put local businesses out of business. Not to mention major competition with Kroger. We DO NOT NEED A WAL MART IN OUR SMALL TOWN!! we are doing fine on our own, thanks.
There is no need for a Walmart in Blacksburg. There are so many Walmarts in this area that are so close together. We need to preserve the small town stores and protect the land that they're trying to destroy.
The is a walmart within 10 mins. of Blacksburg. 2 of these atrocities is a waste. Walmarts destroy small towns. Just look at Culpeper, Va. Preserve the small town environment we all love!
The reason bburg is considering it is because of tax revenue. They would rather get alot of tax $$ from one big source, than a little from many sources. NO WALMART
