Christiansburg Marketplace: What's Open and What's Still Planned

In 2020, the executive overseeing leasing at the Christiansburg Marketplace told WFXR, "We'd love to have a grocer, and they're in discussions with a few." That was Luke Puccinelli, senior vice president of operations for The Morgan Companies, describing the still-empty anchor space at the shopping center that faces Uptown Christiansburg across North Franklin Street and Peppers Ferry Road. Six years later, the most recent coverage of the project, from July 2026, still describes talks toward a grocery anchor.

If you've driven past the construction fencing on that stretch of Peppers Ferry Road and wondered about the project's status, it depends on which building you're looking at. Some parts opened years ago; others remain in the town's review process.

What Is Open at the Marketplace

The dining and fitness side of the Marketplace is real and has been for a while. When developer Bromont Investments relaunched the property in the late 2010s, the plan called for tearing down the old Arby's to make room for a new entrance connecting to Shoppers Way, then filling the rest of the frontage with new tenants. In 2020, Puccinelli said more than 15 leases had been signed, with Mission BBQ, Starbucks, Chipotle, Elegant Nails, Aspen Dental, Orange Theory, and Sandro's all named as incoming, alongside a rebuilt Arby's on the site of the old one. Harbor Freight was already there and stayed. Those openings were targeted for the back half of 2020, and the town's own shopping guide today lists Academy Sports, Mission BBQ, Sandro's Italian, Orange Theory Fitness, Starbucks, and First Watch Cafe as part of the corridor. That's the part of the story that's finished. If you want a burger bowl or a spin class, that half of the promise came true on schedule.

The grocery anchor has a different history from the businesses already open at the Marketplace.

The Grocery Anchor's Reported Status

In 2020, Earth Fare was identified as the planned anchor grocer. WFXR quoted Puccinelli calling Earth Fare "a great local, organic grocer"; he also described the lease as close to done. The town's current shopping page lists Earth Fare among the Marketplace's tenants, alongside Starbucks and Mission BBQ.

Recent reporting has not confirmed that a lease was signed. A Roanoke Times report from November 2025 described the Marketplace redevelopment as still happening in stages, "with some of the stores open for business while others are still under construction," and said Earth Fare's opening remained unclear. A July 2026 update added new detail. It described a portion of the property set aside for 150 to 350 apartments and said a hotel and a grocer remain part of the plan, with talks toward a grocery anchor continuing. Six years after a specific grocer was named, the reporting describes ongoing conversations and does not name a signed tenant.

The town's shopping page lists Earth Fare as a Marketplace tenant, while the November 2025 report described its opening as unclear and the July 2026 report described ongoing talks toward a grocery anchor.

The Residential Plan Over Time

The residential plan has remained within the same reported range over time. In May 2020, WDBJ7 reported that the redevelopment team planned 150 to 350 apartments and a hotel on roughly three acres in the northeast corner of the property, on the footprint of a building originally constructed for Walmart and later occupied by Books-A-Million and Tractor Supply. Walt Rector, the Bromont Investments principal leading the project, described the vision in a WDBJ7 report.

"We want to bring to Marketplace a high-level residential development with excellent amenities."

He suggested apartments could be ready to lease "as soon as 2021." That didn't happen. The November 2025 article confirmed the property was still awaiting town approval to add senior living units to the plan. Then the July 2026 update landed on the exact same range from five years earlier: 150 to 350 apartments, plus a hotel. The scale of the residential plan has stayed the same across those six years. Through the July 2026 reporting it remains in the planning stage, while the smaller retail pads around it have been built, leased, and opened.

Here's the timeline laid out plainly:

Recent Town Filings

The town of Christiansburg's plans-in-review listings show activity at the Marketplace: a Phase I redevelopment package and street improvements along the VDOT right-of-way are approved, with a Building B2 filing and new submittals for what the town labels Pad D and Pad H. A Real Life Dental office and a Summit Community Bank branch have both moved through the review process for sites on the property, and Academy Sports and Outdoors appears as an approved plan as well. Construction crews are still working this corridor. Recent reports continue to describe the grocery anchor and apartments as planned or under discussion.

Nearby Retail Updates

Across Peppers Ferry Road, Uptown Christiansburg, the enclosed mall on the other side of the intersection, lost Kirkland's as a tenant in 2026. The two properties have seen different retail activity: Marketplace has open businesses, while its grocery and apartment components remain in planning or discussion.

For longtime residents along North Franklin Street, these updates may be familiar. The timeline above summarizes project details reported through July 2026. The dining and fitness tenants are open. Earth Fare remains listed on the town's shopping page, while recent reporting describes ongoing grocery-anchor discussions. The apartment plan remains in the reported range of 150 to 350 units and was still in planning as of July 2026.

If you're weighing a move to this part of Christiansburg and want a clear read on which retail corridors are actually finished versus which are still filings, The Swanson Team can walk you through which businesses are open and which parts of the project remain planned. Reach out when you're ready to talk specifics.