What do you LOVE/HATE bout your town? (Newport News, Hampton: real estate market, high crime)

[seanpecor]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

Also, the movers and shakers here are not concentrating on downtown's potential and the local governments don't actively seek out new employers(the reason the young leave here).

My friend Stuart Mease is working on changing some misconceptions, including this one. He's in charge of Roanoke City's campaign to attract and retain young professionals. The issue as I understand it isn't so much employment; the reality is that there are plentiful jobs available relative to the size of the metro area. The challenge is educating young folks on what _is_ available with respect to nightlife, culture and entertainment.

Another issue is compensation. A new I.T. graduate might get offered a $60K starting salary in Roanoke. He then might get offered a $70K starting salary in Atlanta or Alexandria. In these cases, the cost of living increase in those major metro areas eats up the additional pay, particularly when you factor in personal time lost in a major metro area w/ longer commutes. But it's a temptation that few folks pass up. Still, there are many success stories involving young professionals who sought out and located great jobs in the Roanoke area. To paraphrase a Roanoke area engineering firm's COO from a recent public radio interview, keeping young engineers here in the valley is easy. Getting them here is the challenge. I believe we're moving in the right direction and if we keep working on ways to leverage the Web to educate current and future Roanokers then we'll enjoy some really positive results.

There is much effort being concentrated on Roanoke's downtown now. There are a growing number of downtown apartments in renovated historic buildings (http://www.theroanoker.com/favoritearticles/downtownliving_so06/index.cfm (broken link)). Believe it or not, the downtown population in 1996 was only 40. Today it exceeds 400 and the number is growing. Once it breaks 2,000 or so, you'll have a customer base that will help open up some more shops and serve as core customers for existing shops. That will ensure that Roanoke's awesome little downtown continues to grow and thrive.

Sean

[j1n]

we are on the verge (i hope) of making a move into the greater Roanoke area. i've visited, driven the towns, etc. i'd really appreciate hearing more "hates"...someone willing to play devil's advocate and not pull any punches when it comes to that area (Roanoke, Vinton, Salem, etc). in the interest of really seeing the big picture. thanks!

[seanpecor]

Wearing my Devil's Advocate hat. I don't "hate" much except perhaps the slow pace of urban renewal in some of Roanoke City's more troubled areas. During the winter, there aren't enough 4WD snow plows to go around, so there isn't enough salting/plowing on important/steep roads when a real snowstorm or icestorm hits. Which is rare but nonetheless frustrating. We have more snow days in the Roanoke area w/ 22" of annual snowfall then we had in Vermont with 100+" of annual snowfall. But I'm sure this is a problem shared by all southern states with rare snowfall events.

My most controversial "hate" is the Roanoke Civic Center, but it has been partly solved by market pressures. We had a new hockey team (Roanoke Vipers) that came and went very quickly. Then there was a basketball team. The problem I had personally with both teams was that the civic center and the performing arts theatre shared the same parking lot and midway. So we'd have experiences like, walking out with our young girls from a ballet at the same time the basketball game was letting out. There would be chaos caused by teenage punks and cops would be everywhere. Fights would break out, you name it. The stupidity of this situation was amazing. Thankfully (and my apologies in advance for sports fans in Roanoke) attendance for both teams was terrible so they've vaporized. Please, please, Roanoke, no more sports teams

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of sports. But there isn't enough interest here for the minor league stuff. And in contrast, there is tremendous interest in music concerts and events, so the civic center should concentrate more on those. Every Roanoke Symphony Orchestra is packed, almost every adult contemporary artist, rock band or country star packs them in also.

The unsolved problem with the civic center is the lack of parking. They need a massive parking garage. When two popular events happen simultaneously in both the civic center and the theatre, the parking lot fills up. Then you have to park downtown and get bussed to the center and back again afterwards. It's inconvenient and can be frustrating.

There, that's about it for me

Sean

[j1n]

thanks sean...always a nicely put and well thought out response from you. the things that i personally was disappointed with was the way that every view, mountain top, etc seemed cluttered by a powerline "clearcut" or radio tower! but i'm not a local. yet.
i'd like to hear more from anyone in that greater roanoke area...
what really aggravates you about the area.

[seanpecor]

There are still plenty of mountains that do not have hardly any nor will they have hardly any doo-dads on top of them:

http://extranet.digitalspinner.com:8180/cc/2007-05-24/2007-05-24%2009-18-01.jpg (broken link)

This is Cahas Mountain on the Franklin/Roanoke County line. The ridge has been conserved (thanks to the fine folks at Western Virginia Land Trust, and others). There are many others. I think with respect to the mountains you saw, you were in the SW County and Salem area, or the Botetourt/Cloverdale area. Both of which do have right of ways and towers dotting the mountains. If you head north into the Craig County area, or south into Franklin County you won't run into that hardly at all.

If you want to see true destruction of mountain tops and mountain sides, you should visit Asheville *shakes head* that place is a shame.

Sean

[roanoker 4]

It is encouraging that downtown Roanoke is attracting more unique housing. I agree this is essential to attract the young. I guess I get so frustrated when I see the great potential of downtown Roanoke but yet I see no movement to build mixed-use type developments(hotel/condo/retail) or new construction. I think if Blacksburg can build something, why not Roanoke?
I see a beautiful world-class art museum going up(nicer than the Disney Performance Hall in L.A.) but yet I see homeless people around the corner and only one Hotel for the many visitors that are expected to come here.
I am also concerned about the transportation problems in our state and especially Roanoke. Can anyone imagine if Roanoke does become a visitor magent and the traffic gets even worse on I-581? Anyway, every place has its problems, so I would suggest Roanoke is currently a very nice place to be. We just need to stay awake and look to the future!

[seanpecor]

I hear ya. But every Cosmopolitan city in the world has a homeless problem. How we mitigate it in Roanoke is a different matter that's worthy of discussion.

There is one major hotel downtown and that's as it should be. The small downtown isn't designed for major traffic patterns. Further, technically, Hotel Roanoke isn't downtown, it's on the other side of the tracks, and it's an easy shot off of I-581. People who fly in have an enormous number of choices around the airport.

Keep in mind that Blacksburg's downtown is not in good shape. There are ALOT of closed shops. Blacksburg's main street further south is growing but that's not really it's downtown. It's more of a strip, very similar, but very much nowhere near the level of new commercial growth you see on Route 419 in south Roanoke.

As far as I-581 goes, it's going to get worse. It's nothing like major metro areas now though. And in 10 years we may even see I-73 annexing I-581 and reducing exits and adding lanes.

Sean

[CAKASK]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

Alexandria (current residence)ros: low crime, good schools, close to dc, metro system
cons: traffic being south of dc, outrageous housing prices, very segreated housing(excluding delray)

Well I am from another state and have a little apartment in Del Ray - Alexandria, while I work here - but I still go home regularly. While I can agree with some of your post I have a "little" concern about the "low crime" - I guess compared to DC - but it is by no means crime free.
In November (?) 2006, my car was parked on the street and someone smashed my driver's side rear window damaging the frame/body just a little: cost (although covered by insurance) was around $1,800.

A couple months later my car was broken into and my camera stolen from the truck.

Another few months and my car was broken into again - this time just loose change was taken.

On a more serious note, there was a murder at Commonwealth and Mt.Vernon with a women shot in her car- although it was reported that she was a witness against a violent gang I think this was fall/winter 2006-2007. and then the day after the VT rampage, 2 men were found dead in the street on Route 1 between Delray and Old Town. (This made 3 people in a few months about 2 miles apart.)

Some of the homes in Delray are GORGEOUS. . but it is dis-heartening that almost everything is $600,000 and up - and your gorgeous craftsman or art deco house can be next to a dump with the "sofa" on the porch.

[roanoker 4]

Remember, the City of Roanoke's economic development plans include more
entertainment venues, hotels, living spaces. Since the City is land-locked by adjacent jurisdictions, the City must look to its downtown for future growth.
I have been impressed with the work of the City recently in promoting growth of new businesses. Hotel Roanoke is linked to downtown by a glass-enclosed "skybridge" that is easily reached by visitors. It is a nice place to stay but getting a room there can be a challenge. I am hoping the homeless issue downtown does not become a signature issue when the new art museum opens to very particular art critics visiting Roanoke. By the way, Blacksburg seems to be having its own set of unique problems these days.
It seems the City of Roanoke is turning a corner and I'm hoping more "movers and shakers" will see its potential.

[BayBreeze]

My hometown (Hampton) loves- Buckroe Beach, actual sidewalks and street lights for walking and bike-riding, great fishing, diversity, all the friendly people you meet, tons to do and places to eat (Smitty's!!!)..

Hates- Crime, the way the old neighborhoods have gone downhill, all the UNfriendly people you meet, there can be a lot of traffic (but it's still not as bad as NoVa), making friends just to watch them leave (military)..

My present location (Aylett) loves- Most of the scenery is gorgeous, lots of nice people, you feel safe walking around your neighborhood/outside the store, there's new development-a few new places to eat, shop, more jobs and opportunities..it's easy to keep track of your kids and what they're up to in a small town..

Hates- Sometimes things aren't quite tolerant and open-minded enough for my comfort, not enough entertainment, the new development is on the verge of exploding and soon this little bitty town is going to be the next Mechanicsville (360/295 side)..it's already sending home/land prices sky-high (compared to what they were even a few years ago), and yet while we have the new development going on, there is still only a Food Lion unless you drive into Mechanicsville for a Kroger-and then you have to drive farther still to get to Ukrops for all the stuff that even Kroger doesn't carry-and if THEY don't have it, you have to cart all the way to the West End to hit Fresh Market, etc..Arg!

If I do loves/hates for every place in Virginia I've lived, I'll be here for an hour, so I'll spare everybody..lol..