VINTON (WSLS 10) There will soon be more options for downtown living in the town of Vinton.
As you may remember, developers bought the historic Roland E. Cook Elementary School more than a year ago. They're using the building to create loft apartments.
The project is expected to be complete by early summer. To help preserve some of the rich history of the school, developers are keeping the old auditorium intact to use it as a common gathering place for residents to hang out.
From layout plans on sheets of paper to an almost finished product, the Roland E. Cook Lofts will bring history to the present.
"A building like this is just well-built. There's no point in tearing it down," said Seth Wilkinson, leasing agent for Roland E. Cook Lofts
Built in 1915, the former elementary school is being turned into a 21-unit loft apartment building. It's a move the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors voted on in August 2015. Vinton's town manager says they were on board with the project from the beginning.
"It's a historic property for the town as well so getting it back into public use and having some new residence in town is exciting. Second of all, having the new downtown leaving provides us with foot traffic in town to hopefully patronize our downtown businesses," said Richard Peters, Vinton's assistant town manager.
"I think Vinton is becoming a big community. We have public transit going up and down that leaves to downtown Roanoke. I think you will see higher-end apartments and housing in Vinton in the coming years," said Wilkinson.
The lofts start at $750 a month, but Peters said he believes they can market them to the right renters.
"We feel that the success of the downtown apartment living in Roanoke is spilling out in other communities. We are more than happy to take advantage of the popularity of these type of apartments. And really marketing these apartments for the people who want a walkable community," said Peters.
The project is scheduled to be completed in May.
The assistant town manager also said crews will soon start the process of transforming the old William Byrd High School into downtown apartments.