Thursday, August 16th, 2012 at 11:20 am
The revitalization of Downtown Roanoke continues to get attention from outside the city. The latest group to take notice is
Smart Growth America, a national advocacy organization for people who want to live and work in great neighborhoods.
ROANOKE, Va. (Aug. 16, 2012) -- Located along the Roanoke River in a valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains, Roanoke in many ways embodies the idyllic beauty of southern Virginia.
Now, new investments and redevelopment of former brownfields are part of a robust revitalization effort downtown. Roanoke is changing and people are noticing.
“Ten years ago, 11 people lived in Downtown Roanoke,” says City Manager Chris Morrill. “Now 1,200 do. Even two and a half years ago, people were talking about what Roanoke wasn’t, what it could have been if it had something else. Now people are taking pride in their communities, getting out more, making connections to downtown, going out to the farmer’s markets, and they love the greenways. There’s a definite sense of optimism, that we’re going in the right direction and creating the type of place where people want to live.”
New downtown apartments are filling up quickly, with many developments being completely pre-leased before they open. To complement the increasing number of downtown residents, the city has strategically invested in parks, better pedestrian and bicycle access, neighborhood libraries, two village centers, and multiple greenways connecting the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods, something that Morrill says people can’t get enough of.
Read more about Roanoke's rebirth from Smart Growth America >>>
