Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408190070
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Publications like Rand McNally's Retirement Places Rated and Your Money magazine have called it the top retirement spot in Virginia and one of the top 20 in the nation. They also predict it could become even more popular.
Local politicians talk about it. The town will hire a part-time senior services coordinator and is thinking about building a senior center. Next summer, it will hold a "Retire Blacksburg" exposition.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal wrote that more and more retirees are avoiding Florida and settling in college towns, where they can find cultural events, good health care facilities, low crime and traffic; or in places where they can lead active, outdoor lifestyles closer to nature. While the article didn't mention Blacksburg specifically, the descriptions fit.
Blacksburg - and the New River Valley as a whole - with Virginia Tech, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Trail, available health care and a relatively low cost of living, has more than its share of attractions.
The backers of a proposed 300-acre retirement community in Blacksburg and Montgomery County are conducting a marketing study through Virginia Tech to figure out what retirees are looking for and if they might be interested in settling in their community.
"It will draw people into Blacksburg," said William Wendell, project manager for the proposed community.
Warm Hearth Village Retirement Community, which continues to build on 220 acres in south Blacksburg, will watch what develops on the other side of town, but its operators don't seem worried about possible competition.
"We recognize Blacksburg's rating as a great retirement destination," said David Murray, director of development marketing with Warm Hearth. "The demographics of the growth in senior population is such that it should not create a saturation point."
"The country is not prepared," for the coming growth of elderly people, Murray said. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 33 million Americans are 65 or over; by the year 2030, there will be 70 million.
Warm Hearth, which has been housing the elderly since 1982, now is home to 325 residents in three neighborhoods built on just 40 acres, Murray said. It has 55 town homes, 73 apartments in its assisted-living center and 144 apartments in three complexes. Over the course of its 100-year building plan (which could be closer to 50) it will build 1,500 units.
The proposed community on the northern end of Blacksburg and Montgomery County would also be 1,500 units, comprising town homes, apartments and single-family homes, built over 10-15 years, said Bob Rogers, an architect with Architectural Alternatives Inc. in Blacksburg. It plans to offer itself to younger, active retirees as "more of your independent living type of retirement community," he said.
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