Commercial Construction
Commercial construction is where the evolving Smith Mountain Lake market has taken us today.“Last year, the county approved over $1 billion in rezones, master-planned communities and permits,” says Scott Martin, Franklin County's director of commerce and leisure services, who adds that the total included permits for three helipads.
Most lake area residents live close to an hour's drive away from Roanoke or Lynchburg, but any feeling of economic isolation is fast fading as a result of a wave of recent commercial construction. There is no “downtown” Smith Mountain Lake yet, but commercial districts around the lake are in varying degrees of development. Leading the pack is the 140-acre Westlake Towne Center on Route 122 on the west side of the lake. Begun in 2001, it already has a Kroger grocery store, the lake's first movie theater, and many other retail tenants. Other large commercial complexes are being planned in the Westlake vicinity.
Future commercial centers are expected to emerge in other areas around the lake. Also on west side, in
Franklin County, are the well-established Hales Ford Bridge area and the emerging areas of Burnt Chimney
and Scruggs. Along the east side in Bedford County are the hamlets Moneta and White House. In the far
southern region, Union Hall in Franklin County is poised to be transformed with the planned Southlake
Towne Center (to be modeled after Westlake).Some say these new commercial centers will be a boom for neighboring residents. Because of the topography of the lake area (and the fact that no single road system goes around it), a drive to the grocery store can become a 30-mile round trip.
BDC is Licensed and Insured General Commercial & Residential Contractors for West Virginia and Virginia.
For more information on BDC custom home building or commercial construction services, please contact us at 540-537-6056. If you'd rather send us an email, you can use our online contact form to get in touch.
