Despite the unstable condition of today’s economy,
Wytheville’s Main Street
is seeing resurgence in downtown business. Renovations and relocations seem to
indicate a return to a once-thriving area.
One of Wytheville’s oldest downtown businesses, Counts Drug Co., is in the
middle of an expansion project. A staple at 289 West Main St. since 1953, the locally
owned pharmacy is doubling its size after acquiring the former Nautilus
building next door.
“It gets so crowded in here we run over each other,” remarked Bill Weisiger,
co-owner/pharmacist. “Customers have to stand in line, too, because of the lack
of room.”
Expanding into the adjoining building, Weisiger said, will add twice the space
to the existing business. The addition will house the new drug store/pharmacy
with a computer and health-related information to be located in the original
section of the building, according to Weisiger.
Asked why he and the other partners decided to keep the business downtown,
Weisiger replied, “It’s always been a good location for us at the corner of
Fourth and Main. We talked about being
somewhere else but we enjoy being downtown.”
He added, “We have customers that have been here since we opened. For some
reason, our downtown has held up better than many other small towns. I don’t
know why but I’m glad we’ve been able to do it.”
No target date for opening the new store has been set. It is expected to be
operating after the first of the new year, most likely in February 2009.
The Virginia Housing Development Authority also is investing heavily in
Wytheville’s downtown. The agency is a public, not-for-profit organization
providing home loan programs to low- and moderate-income Virginians.
Having rented office space since it first came to Wytheville in August 1998,
the VHDA wanted to find a place of its own. Two years ago the agency bought the
former Wytheville Post Office building from Dallas and Velma Reed who operated
an upscale retail furniture store in the 1914 building they renovated
extensively.
The VHDA is remodeling the 12,000 square-foot three-story structure with full
basement at 106 East Main St.
to meet its needs. The new Southwest
Virginia Housing
Center will house a
variety of offices with rooms for meetings and training.
While the Wytheville location covers all of Virginia,
it primarily serves the seven coal mining counties and city of Norton
in far Southwest Virginia. The VHDA’s mobile
van will operate from the new offices, too.
“It’s centrally located to our service area,” noted Cliff L. Millirons,
regional loan development manager for VHDA’s Wytheville office. “We’re a good
fit for the building. We’ve been here 20 some years and VHDA is about as permanent
as you can get.”
Art Bowen, managing director of finances and administration for the VHDA
Richmond office, added, “Wytheville is a great location for us. It’s connected
to two interstates and we wanted to maintain our downtown location.”
VHDA’s Wytheville offices are now located on the second floor of the National
Bank on East Main Street.
Since there is no elevator in the building, employees meet with handicapped
clients in the bank’s conference room on the first floor.
According to Millirons, the new center is expected to open in the fall of 2009.
New businesses are also moving in downtown.
Vital Supply opened three weeks ago at 290 West Main St. It carries a full line
of clothing for health care professionals, steel-toed boots and shoes for men
and women, and medical supplies.
“There are a lot of health care professionals here,” said Leigh Ann Richardson
of Elk Creek, who owns and operates the business with her sister, Sara Roop of
Fries. “Gatorade and Pepsi also require their employees to wear steel-toed
boots. So we feel like the business is here. Plus, the town is so neat and nice
looking.”
Two attorneys also have located offices in downtown Wytheville. Wythe County
native Tom Jackson who has a law practice in Hillsville and Richlands lawyer
Shea Cook are part of the Main
Street scene.
“I had intended to come back to my home county for years,” Jackson commented. “When I was in the General
Assembly, I represented the people here and I’ve done work for people in Wythe County
for years. It’s a nice fit.”
According to him, he and the two other attorneys in his Carroll County
firm, Joey Haynes and Brad Dalton, plan to rotate hours each week at the
Wytheville office. The Hillsville office will remain open.
He also reported longtime legal secretary Della Russell will staff the
Wytheville location, too. Jackson said Russell
had returned to Wythe County from Louisiana
to be near her family.
Jackson is
leasing space at 266 West Main St.
from Jamie Smith. He opened his office after renovating the exterior of the
building and refurbishing the interior.
“I think Wythe County
has immense potential for growth,” noted Jackson.
Cook also said he believes in the future of Wytheville. He lived in the area
when he was younger and his mother lives here now.
“I was in Iraq
in June of last year to February of this year,” said the Virginia National
Guard reservist and Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG) officer. “I had plenty
of time to think about what I wanted to do. I’ve lived in Southwest Virginia
all my life and I couldn’t think of any town in Southwest
Virginia with a better future. I’m looking forward to it.”
Cook plans to open his office at 275
West Main St. in December. He owns the building
and is leasing part of it to another business, which he plans to announce
later.
“Wytheville still has a vibrant downtown,” Cook said. “It’s a high traffic
area. So many little towns in Southwest Virginia have been lost in Virginia. Wytheville is
unique in that it’s a crossroads. I feel so confident in the future of Wytheville
that I want to invest in it.”
Wayne Quesenberry can be reached at 228-6611 or
.
