They are called “Urban Development Areas” and the Town of Vinton in eastern Roanoke County wants to include them in its planning arsenal. That is, UDA’s may feature more clustered housing and retail/office spaces, better connectivity to walking paths, bike lanes and mass transit options including bus service.
With apartment complexes set to come on line soon at the former Roland E. Cook and at the old William Byrd High School, town leaders, including planning and zoning director Anita McMillan, says UDA’s may help attract the younger demographic not set yet on the house with white picket fence and the yard. Perhaps stealing a bit of thunder from its much bigger neighbor Roanoke City, which has seen a rebirth of its own downtown area with clustered developed in the form of remade properties.
“That’s what we are hoping for with the former Roland E. Cook School … its only two blocks from the downtown area and two blocks from the [new] library. We just had the Macado’s rezoning [the former county library will be converted into a restaurant by Richard Macher],” says McMillan.
She envisions about eight Urban Development Areas spread throughout Vinton, not all of them in the downtown corridor. Having them clearly defined with plans in place may also make it easier to qualify for funding from the Commonwealth Transportation Board under the new HB2 scoring system passed by the General Assembly that places priorities on projects, McMillan said.
Money for bike lanes, extension of greenways into Vinton (like the Glade Creek greenway that will connect to the Tinker Creek greenway and ultimately to the Roanoke River greenway) is one possibility, says McMillan. Of course putting those UFD’s in place, then attracting the younger demographic – or any other age group that wants to live in Vinton – is the next step.
Gene Marrano
