Throughout Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea’s State of the City address Thursday, he used the opportunity to stress “the good things” the city has accomplished over the last year.
And he did that while saying: “Like so many other communities, the need for affordable housing, the opiate epidemic, the need for improved infrastructure and the continued presence of violence within our beloved city.”
Hundreds gathered at Hotel Roanoke to hear Lea give the annual speech.
The event was organized by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual public policy program of work sponsors, Mountain Valley Pipeline, RGC Resources and Lionberger Construction.
Lea started by recognizing city and school employees for their service and acknowledged the challenges the Roanoke community faces.
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The city is wrapping up one of its most violent summers on record, with gun-related deaths and injuries throughout June, July and August.
Lea went on to discuss a number of city-led infrastructure and economic development projects aimed at addressing some of those problems.
On the housing front, Roanoke is expecting a few large apartment complexes to be completed in the next several years and recently announced a private-sector project to build affordable housing near the new Third Street bus station.
The city also launched a down payment assistance program to help first time buyers own a home in areas of the city that have historically had issues, including being red-lined.
The city’s Homeless Assistance Team continues to be extremely effective, having helped rehouse 219 people experiencing un-sheltered homelessness, Lea said.
“So the tons of calls I get almost every day about, ‘What are you going to do with the homeless?’ We’re doing some positive things and we’re going to do more and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve thus far,” Lea said.
Meanwhile, the city and Roanoke Valley Collective Response have received millions of dollars to address the opiate epidemic and substance use disorders.
New businesses opened in the renovated historic Fire Station #1 this year and in January the city and a private developer announced the Riverdale redevelopment project of the former Viscose plant area.
“A multi-year planned series of redevelopment projects in southeast Roanoke ... phase one alone is a $60 million investment that is estimated to generate more than $300 million in economic impact to our city and support 2,000 jobs in the process,” Lea said.
In northwest Roanoke, the Melrose Plaza project made possible by Goodwill and the city will place a grocery store in one of the community’s food deserts.
There’s also the biotech lab project on Jefferson Street near downtown Roanoke. The city, Carilion Clinic, Virginia Tech, Virginia Western Community College, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and others are collaborating to bring the lab — a business incubator — to town in the next couple years.
Roanoke also recently surpassed 100 miles of trails in the city.
“As we move forward, we must celebrate the positive aspects of our city while acknowledging the work that still must be done ... and when we are faced with adversity, it becomes more important than ever that we pull together as a community and stand by one another in kindness,” Lea said.
Other sponsors of Thursday’s event included Appalachian Power Co., Branch Group, Virginia 811, the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority, First Citizens Bank, Gentry Locke, Marsh McLennan Agency and Poe & Cronk.