REAL ESTATE & INFRASTRUCTURE

Wing Aviation’s commercial drone delivery test location in Christiansburg, Virginia

WING BRINGS FIRST COMMERCIAL DRONE DELIVERY TO THE U.S. Wing Aviation, an Alphabet company, opened its first United States operation to launch the first commercial drone delivery in the United States. After working with Virginia Tech and the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) for several years, Wing decided to open a location in the U.S. to test what it had already been testing in Australia.

After working with the Department to select a location in Christiansburg - in the heart of Montgomery County’s retail network - Wing officially launched their delivery system in late October. As part of a beginning test phase, Wing has partnered with Walgreens, FedEx, and local merchant, Sugar Magnolia, to deliver goods to citizens living within a certain distance from the test site.

Part of this program’s plan is to deliver goods to citizens in a much shorter time than it would take for them to drive to the store and make the purchase themselves. This program will continue testing into 2020.

• Midtown Redevelopment (Blacksburg) - On the site of the Old Blacksburg Middle School, Midtown Redevelopment Partners LLC purchased the property in 2017 and are planning for a new mixed-use development. This project includes a hotel, upscale office and retail space, a new police department for the Town of Blacksburg, a new parking garage, outdoor space, and upscale townhomes and condos. Midtown received rezoning from the Town in 2019 and will begin construction soon. This project is estimated to cost over $100 million. • • Clifton Town Center (Christiansburg) - A proposed project by two separate developers will turn approximately 37 acres in Christiansburg into a mixed-use development. Blacksburg-based Stateson Homes is seeking a rezoning request for approximately 28 acres of land that will be home to townhomes, apartments, a shopping center, office space, and a hotel. An additional 9.1 acres of the property is being sought for rezoning by Roanoke-based Magnolia Point Community LLC to build 14 townhomes and 132 apartment units. Both projects were approved by the Town of Christiansburg’s Planning Commission in unanimous votes in 2019. In 2019, $82.9 million in road projects were either allocated or under construction. Two major projects under construction include: $82.9 MILLION IN ROAD PROJECTS UNDERWAY Midtown Redevelopment rendering Image Credit: MidtownBlacksburg.com

• New River Bridge I-81 exit 105 (Montgomery County) - Construction of this $48 million project began in winter 2016. The goal of this project is to replace the northbound bridge and widen the shoulders and approach to the bridge on Interstate 81 at the New River on the Montgomery County and Pulaski County line. The Route 232 overpass will also be reconstructed to accomodate widening the interstate, and the northbound deceleration lane lengths will be improved by adding an extended deceleration lane. Work on this project is expected to be finished in late 2020.

• Bridge Replacements I-81/Route 8 Exit 114 (Montgomery County) - VDOT allocated $34.9 million to replace the two Interstate 81 bridges over Route 8. In order to replace the two bridges, I-81 will be realigned, the exit 114 ramp will be adjusted, and the grade will be changed at the bridge approaches. This projet officially began construction in January 2019. Currently, the estimated completion date for the two new bridges is in the Fall 2021.

Project Area for the I-81/Route 8 Bridge Replacement Project Area for the I-81 New River Bridge Replacement Image Credit: VDOT Image Credit: VDOT