Does anybody else think that there is a lot of empty buildings here in Martinsburg? It seems that there are more here than in most other moderatly sized towns. For example when Loews moved across the street a few years ago, and just left that empty building, or the old Martins on Raleigh St.

Yeah there are. Some downtown too.I guess it's cheaper to build new instead of renovating?

It's not cost effective to renovate downtown because it's unfortunately more profitable to move towards the edge of town. Downtown isn't very user-friendly, especially when it comes to parking and traffic patterns. And there isn't a lot to do, so it's not highly attractive to tourists. Martinsburg is thriving, but it's just kind of a pit stop between Harrisburg and Roanoke, or, even worse, Hagerstown and Winchester. Hopefully this will change and these buildings will start filling up again, because there certainly is a lot more to this town than meets the eye. And it for sure deserves more respect than it gets.

It can get hard to find a parking space unless ya want to get your daily walk in at the same time.

Why is it that every time I've tried to go to Antionette's(the bakery) it's always closed?

Maybe the cosmos is tryin to tell me something!

I went to Antionette's for the first time back in August, and the coffee was good. Then I got a pastry, and it was stale. The four other people I was with said the same thing. Has it changed?

I also have another question about the empty buildings. What is the difference between the old Lowes and the new one because I can't tell much difference. I guess it's just bigger. I never understood why they had to move accross the street, but then again I think the same thing happened in Hagerstown.

It happened twice in Hagerstown! 1st.-maryland ave. to weasel blvd,2nd.-weasel blvd to across weasel blvd!Figure that one out!? Must be nice to have $$ to burn like that.


I haven't been able to get into Antionettes!They're always closed.I've tried different times of the day and also different days.

The old Lowe's in Martinsburg isn't empty. Royce Hosiery leases it as a warehouse.

SEE! Ya learn somethin new every day! Cool

Really, I had no idea. I really didn't know that there was a such thing as Royce Hosiery! There are still many empty building throughout Martinsburg, in my opinion.

There wouldn't be any parking problems in downtown
Martinsburg if they took the time to level all of those
old factories....so what if they once played a role in
the cities past, today they're ugly, their windows are
all broken, the large water towers look like they could
blow over....what is the point in hanging on to these
hollow structures ?

I guess the City Planners are pack rats!You know,"we might need these some day".
They're probably hoping that somebody with money they don't know what to do with will come along and renovate them like Moncure did the old Factory.

I don't think the factories look that bad. People are complaining that there isn't enough office space in Martinsburg, but couldn't they convert some of the mills into office space like they did with the outlets a while back (The ones Hagerstown stole). Also, does the city own the mills, or does an individual or company.

You are right though if they are just going to sit vacant for another 40 years, why bother keeping them anymore.

Sorry to keep adding a new reply, but I think of something else to say after I post it. I think the city can't tear down those factories because they're historic. I'm all for historic preservation, in fact in the Hagerstown section I was against tearing down buildings downtown for parking, but I do think some of these buildings have serious structural damage. I mean some of these closed down after WWII! The thing is if we did tear them down, what would take it's place?

Let me clear up my last post then, if they do have damage beyond repair I think we should tear them down. I don't mean thear them all down because they're ugly. I hope that clears up my last post.

Well, I'm all for history and stuff, but if they're going
to let them stand there until some investor comes
along like someone else said, they're wasting their
time and ours....who would want to relocate to
Martinsburg?

I like what they're doing with the Roundhouse, but
that's a whole 'nuther story...alot more interest in
that structure by folks who don't even live here...

And look at the fight they're having in Charles Town
over the old jail....sure, it's a great looking building
in a fabulous location, but because of the techniques
used in building it, retrofitting it is all but impossible,
yet you have people wanting to preserve it...

If the people in Charlestown are so keen to preserve the old jail,then they need to buy the thing and shut up already!
But they won't.They'll just keep boo-hooing.
As for who would want to relocate to Martinsburg..it'd be nice to have people come back "home" and start their businesses.

I could see a lot of businesses wanting to relocate here. There are more companies here than there are in most of West Virginia! Great rail and interstate access as well.

That may be true, but all the new ones I see are building their
own facilities to suit, not inhabitating the older core of the city...

A lot of the businesses aren't even within the city limits. DuPont is considered to be in Falling Waters, and Corning was in the southern part of the county. I think that many of these factories will never return to the core of the city, but I remember hearing from somewhere that the county is strapped for office space. In fact what was Tanger Outlets, is now an office complex albeit Reebok. Those old factories would make great doctors offices, law firms, and accounting offices. As well as other types offices that don't really sell goods. They just need to remodel them. The Blue Ridge Outlets worked out great in the old factories, and the other ones would work just as well. The only problem is that the shape that they are in, I mean they some of them closed right after WWII! But if the city would offer a tax incinitive to relocate to those buildings, or even downtown, it might work.

Well, I thought renovation was being done at the
former Blue Ridge Outlet Center to consolidate
some of the downtown offices there...makes too
much sense to me, since parking is ample and
there's lots of room.....money(or the lack thereof)
drives everything these days...as cash strapped
as the city/county/state are right now, don't look
for any major movements anytime soon...

I thought somebody already had plans to either
buy or move into the Tanger Outlets.

As far as the vacant sites now, what's going to happen
to them? Why is there no tenant at the County Market
location yet? I think a Best Buy or Circuit City would
work great there...the old Lowes location is an eyesore,
even if someone is leasing the space, you wouldn't
know it...and the old Martin's has been empty for years.
I often wonder how CVS stays in business over there...

You know, I totally agree with you. A Circuit City or Best Buy would be great in that location. Just about every business that is built along that strip does great business, and being right off the interstate would allow out of town people to come and buy electronics easily. I had also heard at one time that Khols was looking at buying the old Lowes, but I think that was just a rumor.

I'm surprised that that CVS/Pharmacy is still in that location. When Martins closed I was sure that they would move, and you never see anyone in the parking lot. That drug store has been there forever, in fact it opened up as a People's Drug Store, right? One thing I do like about that CVS is that I can get in and out of there really quick.

I just read where they are turning the old Interwoven Mills into apartments, and buisness space. So I guess the city has finally found a way to use the old buildings.

The Blue Ridge Outlet Center is being renovated into a Judicial(?) Center.Both State and County Courts will be there along with holding cells(seperate ones for both sexes),judges quarters,States Attorney's office and I can't remember all the other stuff going in over there.I remember Pam Neely saying as how she couldn't decide on the carpet color when we were sitting and waiting for the judge to come back from lunch to unlock the court room door.
I'm not too sure the time limit for completion.It sounds like it's gonna be real nice.

Just to answer one of your questions -- the gigantic old Interwoven complex on West King and the old National Fruit warehouse by the underpass are both owned by Hagerstown multi-millionaire Vincent Groh.

Vincent is a nice, well-intentioned person who loves old buildings, but he has absolutely no business sense. (He inherited his money, I believe.) The buildings will sit idle (or else occasionally have a wall knocked out accidentally -- check out the wall of the Interwoven building that sits right behind the Pottery) until either the city condemns them and takes them away from Groh, or he passes on and his estate sells them to an investor with vision.

As much grief as some people gave Moncure (and Lord knows he can be cold and prickly), he was a visionary and a doer.

What will the current courthouse be used for then if they're moving everything to the old outlets? I had heard that a lot of county/city offices were being moved there, but not the courts.

Well, according to todays Journal, CVS won't be there much longer (next to the old Martins). And why are they building a new CVS across from Old Courthouse Square? Whats wrong with the current one next to the new Food Lion?

I've noticed a trend lately where most drug stores
are building standalone facilities with their own
parking, etc. Food Lion has only been open for
what, a month ? I bet CVS was afraid that more
vacancies are in the cards for the tenants at Old
Courthouse Square, perhaps taking away some of
their 'walkup' business. It took Food Lion how long
to renovate Food4Less ? I'm sure CVS lost some
business while the grocery store was closed.

Frankly, I don't know how CVS and Rite Aid can
compete with the Wal-mart pharmacy, aside
from convenience...

The pharmacy at CVS is open later than at most Wal-Mart stores, and the wait isn't as long. I know from experience that you can wait for quite a while at the Wal-Mart pharmacy while you're the only one there. I tend to go to Patterson's anyway because that's where my parents and grandparents went, plus it's nice to walk in and the druggist knows you and your family.

The new CVS store has a drive up window!! Next time ya drive by take a look.It'll be on the right hand side."Want fries with that?" Where's Rite-aid moving to?It's been there forever.It's the only competition Patterson's has for the downtown area.Its good to have a choice. Ah,the soda fountain at Patterson's! They make great milkshakes there!

Well, I'm never the one that needs anything from
the pharmacy...besides, when was the last time
you didn't spend an hour at Wal-mart ? Heck, it
takes a half hour just to find a place to park!!

I didn't mean to imply that Rite Aid was going
anywhere....there is a Patterson's in Inwood
also, I think...and the South Berkeley Pharmacy,
too...

My medicine comes in 12 ounce containers that
are available at any Sheetz or 7-11 ...

That store sucks so bad, if I may sound juvinile. The parking lot is so jam-packed it looks like something out of a movie. Every day is like the day after Christmas. Unorginized a good bit of the time. Poor service. Long lines. Never enough registers open. Kids with no shoes everywhere! And parents with no teeth! (of course, I'm kidding.....) The bathroom is always disgusting. I wouldn't sit on those toilets for anything under twenty bucks! The entire store is like a big hog's trough, with slop flying here and there. Yet I continue to go back. Maybe they're throwing out subliminal advertising to everyone who walks through the doors. "Come back again, you fool." Then again, Wal-Mart is Martinsburg's big fat mama - like a big, fat, sopping teat that the whole town sucks on to stay alive. If Wal-Mart closed, 97% of the population would almost immediately die off, and the other 3% would continue shopping at K-Mart.

Target sure is a nice store.

I feel your pain.....

Wal-mart is as you describe....insanity personified.

Half the fun of going there is people watching...

Despite all of it's quirks, we too continue to shop
there, especially for groceries...one thing you can
say about them, they do have the cheapest prices
around. I opt out to K-mart whenever I can, though.

Target is nice...so is Kohls. As soon as the Inwood Mall
is built, we'll have both of those stores anchoring it !!!

I have to agree with you guys about Walmart. By the time I find a parking place I don't even feel like going into the place. I live in Charles Town, and I vowed to only go to the Charles Town Walmart on weekday mornings before 11am. Anytime after that the place is a MADHOUSE. Theres not really anywhere else to shop in Charles Town, so the place is always like that. I really wish we could get more shopping places and eateries here. With the population growing here in Jefferson County and the racetrack traffic, surely we could support it. But nooooooo, all they wanna do is build houses on every piece of available land that is left around this county.

I started shopping back at Kmart, and like it a lot better. There products are better than Wal-Mart's and you don't have people running you over to get a parking space.