PRESS RELEASE
Residents and visitors will have opportunity to see the progress of revitalization efforts underway in the West End Target Area.
Contact: Christy Dutilly 540-797-4378 or Corbin Prydwen 540-717-5976
Roanoke, Virginia, October 25, 2014 – West End 360, a local investment group and other homeowners of the neighborhood invite visitors to tour renovated, historic properties on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 1-4 p.m. Several homes will be open to the public to showcase the results of rehabilitation and its positive impact on the community. A map of participating homes will be available at 1210 Chapman Avenue during the free event.
“Our neighborhood tour offers a chance for people to get inside some of The West End Villages beautiful historic homes that have been recently renovated and to see what some new homeowners have done to bring back original charm with all the modern conveniences,” said Christy Dutilly of West End 360, LLC and a local investor working to revitalize the neighborhood. “Homes here are very affordable, and several have been renovated or are undergoing renovations. It’s a fantastic and potentially profitable time to invest here in the West End. We invite people curious or interested to see what the before and after can look like.”
The neighborhood’s housing consists predominantly of two-story American Foursquares, along with Queen Annes and even the occasional bungalow. A renovation movement is in full swing, and prices and conditions run the gamut. If you’re low on cash and high on motivation, a two-story handyman special can be scored for about $30,000 to 40,000. Renovated options run between $100,000 and $200,000, and feature preserved original details, such as pocket doors, ceramic tile, and custom woodwork by turn-of-the-century master craftsmen.
Mountain View/Hurt Park and West End Village are part of the City of Roanoke’s target area for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) investment, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). West End Target Area activities started in July 2012. The previous year, Mountain View was selected by This Old House magazine as Virginia’s “Best Old House Neighborhood” in its annual list of “North America’s most timeless neighborhoods—places where lovingly crafted old houses have extraordinary pasts and unarguably promising futures.”
That promising future is taking shape at an accelerated rate in the West End Village. In recent months, the neighborhood has experienced many positive developments:
Renovations to the Fishburn Mansion were completed. The Georgian Revival mansion built in 1907 is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Freedom First Credit Union opened this year as a full-service branch located adjacent to the West End Center on Patterson Avenue in Mountain View.
Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley has built more than a dozen homes in the West End Target Area over the last two years. The new homes are being built in an architectural style consistent with the area’s historic homes.
Black Dog Salvage has its own television series. Located ideally at one of Mountain View’s gateways, the business is adjacent to Vic Thomas Park and the Roanoke River Greenway.
The Roanoke Community Garden Association was awarded a $70,000 grant to develop the Mountain View Community Garden; at the corner of Cleveland and 13th Street, SW.
A Farmers Market is now active and well attended on Tuesday afternoons at the Freedom First Credit Union on Patterson.
“Streetscaping” including new signs welcoming visitors to the neighborhood, lighting, parking, covered bus stops and more will begin on the 13th Street corridor as part of the CDBG grant in 2015.
After years of blight and neglect, “West End Village is on the cusp of becoming Roanoke’s next great neighborhood just like it was at the turn of the century” said Corbin Prydwen a homeowner and active investor intent on revitalizing his neighborhood.
The featured homes available to tour will be located on Chapman, Patterson, Campbell and Marshall.