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Welcome to e-Town
Related
stories:
• The Roanoke Valley Plans
for the Future
• The
New Century Region Leads the Technology Charge
• Business
Technology Parks Enhance Local Universities
•
Carilion
Expansion
Conveniently located on the northern
end of downtown Roanoke lies historic Warehouse Row.
It straddles railroad tracks that brought new commerce
and trade to early 19th century Roanoke Valley. This
burgeoning hub of turn-of-the-century activity facilitated
the building of a long row of warehouses constructed
of heavy timber trusses, oversized brick work and ample
steel beams. The Row was Roanoke's window to the world,
serving as a conduit for goods and services traveling
in and out of the Valley.
One hundred years later Warehouse Row is again emerging
as a center for Roanoke's economic expansion. Although
they may not rely on the railroad to reach the outside
world, these historic structures are being transformed
into a 21st century business park accessing the world
markets through fiber optic cables and the World Wide
Web.
With more than 100,000 square feet of newly renovated
high-tech space, Warehouse Row is being transformed
into a new anchor for the downtown business community.
In fact, the Row is rapidly becoming the Valley's newest
high-tech address with some very cool office space that
includes fiber optic redundancy, flexible leases and
a community of available techies.
The new Row got its start in 1999 when a Canadian-based
firm, Insystems Technologies, purchased and renovated
one of the warehouses for their U.S. headquarters. Insystems,
a company engaged in automation software for the insurance
industry, renovated the building in an open floor layout
that exposed most of the original brick, wood and steel.
Last year, the city of Roanoke purchased two adjoining
warehouses to develop for further clustering of technology
companies. Recently the city announced plans to lease
these buildings to a newly formed partnership between
the Roanoke Valley Development Corporation and Carilion
Health System. In the next few months, the partnership
will invest approximately $1.7 million to renovate the
two warehouses into one 26,000-square-foot facility.
The entire renovation will be done with an eye toward
attracting new technology companies and will be enhanced
by the designation of this area as a technology zone
and enterprise zone, which brings an array of financial
incentives to encourage technology business growth.
Businesses along the Row are connected by a bicycle/pedestrian
bridge, linking the facility to Hotel Roanoke and Conference
Center, new loft apartments at Eight Jefferson Place
and the Roanoke Higher Education Center. Eventually,
high-tech professionals will be able to live in the
historic apartment complex, work in Warehouse Row and
complete advanced tech training at the Higher Education
Center.
This revitalized area will offer a hassle-free
environment where inhabitants can live, work and play
in an historic urban setting. And the new Railside Linear
Greenway and pedestrian-friendly streets directly link
this area to restaurants, shops and museums in Roanoke's
historic Market District.
To learn more about e-Town contact the
Roanoke Department of Economic Development at (540)
853-2715.
Return to Virginia Business -October 2002
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