The retail market in the Roanoke region shows no signs of letting up from the recent record setting pace of development, according to Bob Copty, president of Copty & Co. Although the primary development has taken place in the suburbs, the downtown area has also experienced a renaissance. As the major retailers begin to see the primary metro areas become saturated, Roanoke and Western Virginia continue to offer in-fill opportunities.

The primary Roanoke development has been the southern expansion of the Valley View Mall retail area. Additional areas that have been receiving attention from retailers include the Kroger-anchored Botetourt Commons center in Daleville, the Home Depot- and Target-anchored Spradlin Farms development in Christiansburg and the Kroger-anchored Rocky Mount Market Place in Franklin County. "These new options in shopping, food, lodging and service reinforce the Roanoke region as a significant shopping hub and should add to our reputation as number one in retail sales per capita in the state of Virginia," says Copty.

The majority of development is taking place in three sectors of the Roanoke Valley: North of the city at Valley View Mall and along the Interstate 81 corridor, Southside within proximity of the suburban residential development and east of Roanoke, following the recent residential and industrial development. The Roanoke Valley and communities along I-81 have seen significant job growth in the past decade. Roanoke has the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Virginia, and retail development is beginning to catch up to this growth cycle.

In the past 18 months Roanoke has seen Home Depot, Staples, Gateway and Kroger open multiple new stores in the region. Target, PetsMart, Best Buy, Gateway, Michael's and Casual Male Big & Tall have made their first appearances in the area. The city has also seen considerable fast food, restaurant, motel, drug store and convenience store development.

New leases and expansions in the region include a 16-screen cinema, Valley View Grande, at Valley View Mall, and new Wal-Mart and Peebles developments south of the Valley near Rocky Mount. The retail vacancy rate is in the region is currently under 5 percent.

The entire region continues to see significant pressure for expansion. With the topographic challenges in the region and the slow-to-catch-up infrastructure, retail development will be interesting to watch, Copty notes. The growth in Roanoke Valley, both in population and industrially, will force innovation to solve the lack of land issue for retail development. We will see additional in-fill and redevelopment of strategic locations and creative site development that deals with the topographic and existing road systems. Additional growth will occur in the Christiansburg-Blacksburg, Rocky Mount-Smith Mountain Lake, Bedford County and Rockbridge County sectors.

"The Roanoke Valley and neighboring communities have seen a steady and healthy retail market growth for several decades and there is no indication that will change," says Copty. "Western Virginia has always been overshadowed by the Northern Virginia, Richmond and Tidewater areas, but retailers and developers who have made the decision to invest in this part of the state have reaped great rewards."

Bob Copty is president of Copty & Company.


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