A community meeting was organized and held by the CofR Chief of the Department of Building, Planning and Development last night from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at The Claude Moore Culinary Center on Henry Street. No food or beverages were provided.

The purpose of the meeting is to provide stakeholders and the community an opportunity to provide input on the development of a 0.64 acre tract bounded by Henry Street, Loudon Avenue, Gainsboro Road and Wells Avenue NW.
The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority agreed to donate this land to the Roanoke Neighborhood Development Corporation (RNDC) contingent upon the RNDC meeting with stakeholders and the community to obtain their input regarding development. Representatives of the RNDC will be present at the meeting to hear this input, which will also be shared with the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the City of Roanoke.
From 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. maps of the area, the current neighborhood plan for Henry Street and past development suggestions will be on display, and city staff will be available to take comments and answer questions in an informal setting. From 7:00 to 8:00 there will be a meeting where those present will be asked to give their input on what types of uses would be most desirable and economically viable for the development of this tract.

Those attending may also comment on the development of other public properties in the Henry Street area. Forms for submitting written comments and suggestions will also be available at the meeting.




Two perfectly restored vehicles; a 1930 sedan and a 1948 Tucker Torpedo have been brought to the pavilion that represents an old service station that stood in the same spot nearly 60 years ago! They were brought for the Henry Street Festival in the recently completed park area.


Development of the area continues as excavations for the new HealthCare Forum building are underway behind the trees and adjacent to the new Higher Education Plaza.


The steel silhouette of the two men talking might be talking about the new developments in the area. But, no, the plaque at their base indicates that this silhouette honors Oscar Micheaux and Oliver Hill. (What do you think the older Micheaux might have been saying to the much younger Hill?) There are four or five other silhouette monuments placed along Henry Street honoring outstanding contributors from the Gainesborough neighborhood.


After last night's meeting, the City administration was not prepared to enlighten anyone who attended the meeting with information regarding any further City or Housing Authority activity regarding the fate of the Henry Street District and further Community involvement. No further process was revealed.

INTRODUCTION

• This journey that we as a human race are currently pressing on toward has a destination that we may be able to foresee as the center of the 21st Century. We’ll consider the beginning at the start of the Second Industrial Revolution, when the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generation. More locally, this time of beginning coincides fairly well with reconstruction after the Civil War and the emergence of the City of Roanoke.

REEVALUATING & RESTRUCTURING THE URBAN DESIGN PROCESS FOR POSTERITY

Unlimited talent and resources are opening up to analyze our current community, envision and define corrections to stale land use conditions; identify, evaluate and implement corrections within a rigorous review process that is endorsed by the affected community. “The Heart of Roanoke” is the harbinger of a major shift in our approach to guiding ourselves into a sustainable future. What course corrections can we and should we implement within our current fiscal means and within the Centerpiece of our urban environment, Downtown Roanoke?



And how can this adventure serve as a model for sustainable neighborhood development in the future within the scope of our community resources?



Over 40 years of experience in the field of Building, Architecture, Design, & Planning have molded my perception of our built environment and its impact upon our lives. Over many years, I sought professional association with those who achieved stature within my profession, hoping I could learn from their “success.” I found that I could also learn from their failures. Even more importantly, I learned from their experiences along with my own.



I have conducted “planning and design processes” for communities over a 30 year period. I’ve learned that the most successful projects that I have been engaged in have been those with “transparent” participation of the users of those projects. Achieving such participation leads to identification of and celebration of our heritage and our future.



Thirty years ago, the celebration created around our “city market area” produced a model for urban renewal nationwide. We were led to the idea of celebrating who we are, as compared with our longing to “keep up with the Joneses.” Roanoke needs to be happy being Roanoke; not longing to model our community and ourselves after another community.



I am committed to the idea that we need to discover and celebrate who we are to achieve happiness. The political strategy of polarization over issues creates toxic pools of stagnation and threatens our existence. At the very least we should eliminate partisan politics and clarify our expectations of our governmental representatives in local issues. We must be the model for our dreams.

We Get Wiser (Punctuation Marks Optional)


1. Communicate change, one step, at a time.
2. Collaborate instead of Compete.
3. Avoid "hosing down" with too much information.
4. Preserve and grow value in my community.
5. Remember that what I think that someone else thinks of me is not my business.

I think David Trinkle's idea of providing assistance to displaced vendors in the City Market Building is well worth  consideration by Council. Perhaps, the same consideration should be given to those businesses along Wall & Market Streets along the East & West sides of the Market Building.

Surely,  some time must be taken to understand the real cost of moving these businesses to wherever, including upfit requirements in temporary(?) space, and reestablishing the vendors in the Market Building a year later.  Was planning building systems items for renovation/replacement such as water, sewer, electrical undertaken with detailed input from the eventual building vendors?

How would that cost compare to conducting renovations to the City Market Building incrementally? What might the increments be? Half the building at a time, one quarter at a time, upstairs/downstairs, vendor-by-vendor?
With Twists & Turns and Claire V's expression of intent to leave the market due to Center-in-the Square's intent to sell the building next summer to reduce expenses and raise money to allow the beginning of their major renovation; thoughtful consideration must be given to the implementation of these "most public" of projects in an open design lab atmosphere (as compared to another "Town Hall" format).

The problem is arising from an obscure & archaic planning process.  It is no one's fault!

The confluence of an economy in a tailspin and increasing divisiveness/partisanship in our society demands change in our approach to designing, planning and building our future.

The process needs to be transparent, flexible and quickly responsive. Think monumentally; act incrementally. Think globally; act locally.

Think for The Heart of Roanoke: A forum for discussion of issues like these.

If Construction is scheduled to begin 8-12 months away,  the architects & engineers of the project are not so far along in the creation of construction documents and specifications that a review of the project's implementation would create a problem. In fact, such review or reconsideration of projects in this stage is normal in my experience.

Eldon L Karr-Architect