ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City Council voted Monday to approve a multiyear project that will see a major change to the downtown transportation infrastructure.
The council voted on an agreement to authorize the purchase of property at Salem Avenue and 3rd Street, currently Brandon Parking, for $2.185 million to build what it's calling a modern transit transfer facility for Roanoke.
The vote paves the way for portions of downtown Roanoke to be revamped.
The purchase is part of a larger initiative which City Council breaks down into three components:
The city feels that the current bus hub on Campbell Avenue has outlived its usefulness to meet the demands of modern-day bus service.
Upon its completion, this multifaceted project will allow for a new transit transfer facility, a redevelopment of the property that is currently the transit transfer facility and construction of an actual train station for Amtrak riders, not just the current platform.
The city will close on the Salem Avenue property on June 30 and begin design/engineering by the fall. Construction will take place in 2020 and 2021.
Once Hist:Re Partners has acquired the Campbell Avenue building, which is expected this year, it will begin redeveloping the property into a minimum $25 million mixed-use project.