The Bridges Nears Completion as Starbucks Arrives

Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill leads the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Starbucks.
Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill leads the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Starbucks.

The new Starbucks, on South Jefferson Street across from the Virginia Tech Carilion medical campus, has actually been open for several months but a symbolic ribbon cutting just took place recently. Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill, store employees and principals with The Bridges mixed-use development project, that also includes the South 16 apartment complex going up next store, were on hand. Starbucks and two other food-related retailers, that should move in soon, are located inside the 100-year-old building where historic tax credits were used to help pay for the renovations.

The Starbucks on Jefferson is one of the mega-chain’s “reserve” coffee houses – meaning there are special blends of coffee available there that cannot be found at some other Starbucks. The Bridges complex and the medical school/research institute right across the street are major reasons why Downtown Roanoke Inc. expanded its service boundaries beyond the traditional downtown core to include South Jefferson all the way to the Roanoke River.

DRI president Tina Workman said the goal is to see the corridor from downtown to South Jefferson fill in with living spaces and shops as time goes on – and The Bridges is an example of that taking place. “That makes a better connection to the core that is considered downtown. Things like [Starbucks] will help fill in that Jefferson corridor.”

DRI is also talking to Sponsor Hounds about marketing efforts. Sponsor Hounds will put up an entertainment stage on part of The Bridges property for summertime events that may draw thousands in some cases. “We’ve already incorporated this area into [overall marketing plans],” said Workman; “we want people to ride that [Star] Trolley down here, to enjoy the new event venue and the different commercial things that will fill in here.”

Next door to Starbucks the South 16 apartment complex has already leased about half of the 157 units that will be available starting in April. Rents run from $730 and up. Property manager Lisa Uhl said there is a “mix of tenants. We have some medical students, some [Carilion] Roanoke Memorial employees, [but] about half of our tenants are coming from out of state. People are relocating to Roanoke.” Filling in the South Jefferson corridor and developments like the Starbucks building next door to South 16 will make leasing those apartments easier, said Uhl.

Chris Morrill said South Jefferson is a “key corridor” that city officials want to see fill in. “That is a challenge – how do we fill in Jefferson so you feel like it is a continuation of downtown – not separate like when you think of downtown Atlanta and Buckhead – we don’t want that.” Morrill is pleased with what he sees so far: “it continues to come together.”

Aaron Ewert is project manager for The Bridges and WVS Companies. His father Bern Ewert – a former Roanoke City Manager – is another principal for The Bridges, which also includes some industrial buildings underneath the Walnut Avenue bridge that are currently being rehabbed for tenants. “Other retailers will follow,” said Aaron Ewert, noting that the Starbucks “stamp of approval” wouldn’t hurt.

Ewert said a national grab-n-go “fast casual” chain not currently in Roanoke would soon be taking over one of the empty spaces in the Starbucks building; the remaining space will be filled by a local eatery, more of a place for people to “come down and hangout.”

The retail space that debuted with Starbucks is bringing more attention to South 16, said Ewert. “All the traffic …people are seeing this new development, seeing the river, talking about the kayak launch we’re looking to put in …it’s bringing a lot of folks to our area.”

By Gene Marrano

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