Local real estate developer Ed Walker has purchased The Patrick Henry Hotel on Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke. “The goal is to take a building that has become a community weakness and turn it into a community strength,” said Walker earlier this week.
Walker, joined by a team of local development experts, plans to completely renovate and refit The Patrick Henry into a commercial and residential mixed-use complex, featuring offices, retail, restaurant and event spaces. Commercial opportunities will include professional offices from 2,500 to 10,000 square feet, a coffee shop, an upscale restaurant and bar, retail spaces from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet and document storage space of 22,000 square feet.
“The Patrick Henry will be at the forefront of the city’s continued revitalization and is poised to begin a new era of service to the region. There is no better moment than right now for this restoration to succeed,” said Walker.
Many of the items currently housed in the building are of historical significance and will be used in the renovation; however a substantial amount of furniture, fixtures, and equipment will be sold to the public in a multi-day sale in late 2009. After the public disposition sale, the remaining items will be sold at auction. The projected completion date of The Patrick Henry is May of 2011.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]
