Ramblings: Apartments Planned for Old Bakery Building; Fralin Townhome Project Nears Start; Elmwood Park Trees To Be Axed

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What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another. We’re on the lookout for tidbits related to money in politics, data, business, civic engagement or interesting events. Think you know of something that could be a Rambling? Drop us a line at editor@roanokerambler.com and we may well write about it. Happy reading!

Developer Bill Chapman is planning to turn the former Kroger Bakery Building on Salem Avenue into a 33-unit apartment complex. PHOTO BY HENRI GENDREAU FOR THE ROANOKE RAMBLER

Apartments planned for old bakery building

Developer Bill Chapman is planning to turn the former Kroger Bakery Building on Salem Avenue into a 33-unit apartment complex 

The building, shuttered for more than three decades, opened in 1928 as the Roanoke Sunlight Bakery Building.

“‘I’ve taken on many buildings in the last 20 years,” Chapman said Tuesday. “This is by far the most challenging building that I have taken on. It’s structurally in very poor shape and it’s just been modified so many times, there are so many conditions on the interior, that it’s going to be like performing surgery.”

Sunlight Bakery Building LLC is proposing 33 market-rate apartments and 2,600 square feet of retail space at 501 Salem Avenue SW, catty-cornered from Golden Cactus Brewing.

The Roanoke Sunlight Bakery as seen ca. 1925. The caption reads, "The Roanoke Sunlight Bakery was located at 501 Salem Avenue. The building was also used by Kroger Bakery. It is now used as a warehouse." The building has been vacant for years. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VIRGINIA ROOM

The LLC paid $775,000 for the property in January, according to city records. Chapman, the LLC’s president, said a cost estimate for the project is yet to be determined.

The property, consisting of two buildings at the corner of Fifth and Salem, totals 30,000 square feet.

The developer has started a process to qualify for federal and state historic tax credits, according to plan documents. It will include new windows and storefronts in all original historic openings in the style of the original windows and garage doors. The project is expected to begin within six months and could be completed by the latter part of 2026, according to the documents.

For the project to proceed, the developer needs city approval to repeal three proffered conditions tied to former changes to the property. The city planning commission is scheduled to take up that matter in May.

Chapman’s past mixed-use projects in the city include over 300 residential and commercial units, many along Salem Avenue, including  The Lofts at West Station, Fulton Motor Lofts, Big Lick Brewing Company and Tuco’s Taqueria Garaje. 

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Start of Fralin’s Brandon Village project nears

A long-planned townhome project along a busy stretch of Brandon Avenue is expected to break ground soon, more than two years after approval from Roanoke City Council.

The project from developer Robert Fralin will create 29 townhomes at Brandon and Main Street Southwest.

Some neighbors of the 7.7-acre property have long resisted development of the woodlands, which lie at a convoluted intersection. Fralin first proposed building 54 apartments at the site back in 2017, but that and a second plan were shot down by Council members.

Council approved the townhome project from R.P. Fralin Inc. in December 2022. The wooded property has sat undisturbed since then but for a “Coming Soon” sign.

City leaders cited a dearth of housing options in approving the project.

The Brandon Village project asked for a land disturbance permit March 4, according to city records. City Manager Valmarie Turner told Council members on March 7 that the city was close to issuing the permit, but had not done so as of Tuesday.

In a report to Council, Turner described the development as an important component of the city’s efforts to provide additional housing options. 

The magnolia trees now covered in large pink blooms in Elmwood Park will be chopped down this year, having become badly deteriorated as a result of insect damage and other problems. PHOTO BY HENRI GENDREAU FOR THE ROANOKE RAMBLER

Elmwood Park trees to be removed

The magnolia trees now covered in large pink blooms in Elmwood Park will be chopped down this year, having become badly deteriorated as a result of insect damage and other problems.

“The first phase of removal will include approximately 25% of the trees along the walkway being removed,” City Manager Valmarie Turner said in a recent report to City Council.

Turner added that the “multi-stemmed architecture” of the trees proved a challenge and led to severe pruning and growth abnormalities. The decision to take out the trees — in phases by the end of the year — was made after years of diligent staff efforts to “preserve/save/treat” them, explained the city manager, who called the vegetation “beautiful.”

Vice Mayor Terry McGuire floated the idea of planting native trees in place of the magnolias “if it makes sense.” He noted native trees often do not need as much care or watering. Turner said city staff would look into that possibility.