Our growth in the Roanoke community is an exciting opportunity not just to do work for our clients, but to invest in our community. Charles and Helen both grew up in Roanoke and have deep ties to the area and we all want to use our skills to make it an even better place to live work and play. Our firm philosophy is to use our design skills to build a stronger and more vibrant community with every project. We also love to give our time to organizations that share in this desire to do the work.
We continue to meet friends and allies in the community, and we are attending a lot of events to connect. Recently Claude and Helen attended the ribbon cutting of the Promissory Hotel and Exchange in Roanoke. The 1912 Beaux-Arts First National Exchange Bank building has been converted into a vibrant cultural destination. Architectural firm Glave & Holmes Architecture collaborated with Balzer and Associates to bring this building back to life. The hotel accommodates 27 unique boutique luxury rooms. The original bank lobby is now a 1,200 person capacity live music hall and event space curated by Across-the-way productions. The Spanish inspired restaurant and wine bar on the first floor, Suerte, offers tapas menu options. This is a perfect example of how design can celebrate the past while building a vibrant future.
Another project where the Roanoke community is investing in itself is the Center in the Square transformation. The recent “behind the scenes” Center in the Square dinner explained the new program coming soon. Helen, attending as a guest of Branch Group, got an inside peek. As a life-long local, Helen remembers school field trips to Center in the Square 30 years ago and as the next generation, her son has enjoyed summer camps, Kids Square and birthday parties at the center. It’s a legacy event space for Roanoke connecting people through play and fun across the valley. While it is sad that the science museum is relocating from the building, there are exciting plans to transform the 4th and 5th floors into a family fun zone, reinvesting in this vibrant downtown hub.
Both success stories reinforce the importance of building collaborative relationships between builders, developers and planners to deliver a profitable, economical and desirable outcome. We love to see others doing good work to build a stronger and more resilient community.
