ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230049
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
Downtown Roanoke should give a consistent message "so that when you're here, you get it," according to the head of a team starting preparation of a new development plan for the central city.
Rob Robinson of Urban Design Associates of Pittsburgh said downtown is not isolated but part of the overall image and character of the city.
Robinson, who since Monday has talked to Roanoke Valley residents as the start of his planning process, said he has found that people like to live here because of the quality of life, "the scale and character of the city."
They enjoy downtown because its 19th century character is still pretty much intact," he said, and because downtown is near the outdoor life which is valued locally.
But for the visitor, downtown Roanoke lacks overt signs of any connection to that outdoor life, Robinson said. The planned system of greenways will help to solve that problem, he said.
Another problem is "a kind of invisibility to the outside world beyond the region," Robinson said as he concluded a series of meeting with community leaders, business people and the general public. He will return June 11 for a meeting, then conduct three days of public meetings starting July 16. The design team will also hold meetings here in September before presenting a plan in the fall.
People outside the region are not sure of Roanoke's character, Robinson said, because the city fails to project an image.
Yet its connection to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Roanoke River and the Appalachian Trail "ought to be celebrated" and become central to the city's message, he said.
Another problem that is "critical to its future" is the lack of downtown housing. Robinson said downtown has only a few scattered studio apartments and lofts on upper floors of some buildings.
Housing in Roanoke consists of single-family homes on suburban lots, Robinson said, when it also needs "urbane living" - a mix of housing such as town homes that are common in Richmond and parts of Charlottesville.
Housing is crucial to the growth of downtown outside the City Market, Robinson said, and the city must lead in this effort. The housing itself must be provided by a public and private partnership.
Robinson considers Gainsboro, Southeast and Old Southwest to be downtown neighborhoods. He said the city must consider how scattered industrial areas and fringe parking lots affect those neighborhoods.
Homes also line approaches to downtown, such as Second Street, Campbell Avenue and Patterson Avenue. Robinson said the city must consider ways to make the new Second Street "gateway," now under construction, a positive influence on the Gainsboro residential area.
Robinson said it will "take a very focused initiative to attract a lot of people downtown." The City Market has captured a niche market, he said, but further expansion of downtown is "bundled up with regional growth in general."
The quality of life is good here and the cost of living is low, Robinson said, but the challenge is to create enough high-wage jobs to attract people to the region and, thus, to downtown.
Roanoke must begin to tie together its assets, he said. These are that Roanoke is a beautiful city connected to a beautiful environment with a historical heritage. Roanoke, he said, is "the traditional American hometown" with the additional aspect of being a rail city.
Roanoke's plan for downtown must capture that heritage, he said, and develop "addresses" like Elmwood Park in other sections of downtown outside the City Market.
A native of Galax and a 1976 graduate of Virginia Tech, Robinson said he has been familiar with Roanoke all of his life.
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