The Block

Aggieville has matured. Imagine a dense and activated Corridor, engaging all who call Manhattan home. This is truly the heartbeat of our city.

Long ago, there was a grocery store in Aggieville where students could grab a sandwich on their way to class, and nearby residents could pick up supplies for the week’s meals. It wasn’t the fl ashiest store in the shopping district, and seldom was it spoken of, which is why it faded from memory when Aggieville became a lively entertainment district and then, for a time, fi lled with rowdy bars. Today the district is still quite entertaining, but it’s matured a bit, with families living in the nearby neighborhoods and young professionals living in the apartments that line the Manhattan Corridor along Bluemont. There are nearby offices in the district and the dining spaces fill with workers grabbing breakfast, lunch, and after-work drinks.

After so many years, a grocery store sits on the corner again. It’s an unassuming keystone for the Corridor, but if you just wait outside and watch, you’ll see students grabbing sandwiches on the way to class again, a worker leaving with a bag of groceries and a baguette, an older couple sipping coffee before shopping, and then something so slight you might overlook it: a collision of neighbors who recognize one another with waves and smiles. Buildings make a district, but only the humble grocery store can nourish the community