Unanimous approval: Roanoke City Council greenlights Historic Gainsboro Hub Plan
Roanoke, Virginia – The concept plan for the Historic Gainsboro community hub has received unanimous approval from the Roanoke City Council, marking a significant step towards its realization.
Those community members who registered to voice their opinions during the council meeting supported the plan wholeheartedly. However, they emphasized that the benefits of this project should be experienced by those who suffered the repercussions of urban renewal.
Urban renewal, a widespread program enacted in the ’50s and ’60s, was intended to stimulate economic development by clearing neighborhoods across the United States. Gainsboro, once a thriving Black neighborhood, was adversely affected, causing the dispersal of its once close-knit community.
Meeting attendees reflected on the loss of thousands of homes, hundreds of businesses, and numerous churches and schools. They advocated for the newly approved plan to redress the losses experienced by those impacted by these changes.
Gainsboro Revisited Creator, Jordan Bell, expressed the sentiment, “That if the folks who lived in Gainsboro, who grew up in Gainsboro, who went to get their haircut, who went to Dr. Claytor and went to school and went to church in Gainsboro. If those folks do not benefit from the Gainsboro hub. If my generation doesn’t benefit from the Gainsboro hub then the idea of the Gainsboro really has no value to it.”
In addition to the already proposed plans, the Gainsboro community expressed a desire for further enhancements. These include the restoration of Henry Street as a vibrant African-American community, the creation of more green spaces, improved street lighting, and upgraded housing facilities.
The City Council assured continuous community engagement throughout the process. Councilmember Trish White-Boyd affirmed, “I want you to also know that you will still have opportunities if you haven’t had an opportunity to engage in the plan so far. I know that it’s a decent plan but I know there is some tweaking that needs to be done and I know that we will all work together to do that because I think we all want a positive outcome for the Gainsboro neighborhood.”
As the current Historic Gainsboro Community Hub Concept Plan provides a roadmap for the area’s development, City Council members expressed a keen desire to expedite the plan’s implementation to ensure community members witness the promised changes without undue delay.
