ROANOKE, Va. – A historic building in the heart of downtown Roanoke is being given new life.
The old Liberty Trust building at the corner of Jefferson and Salem will become a new boutique hotel.
Construction began in December 2019, but was put on pause during the coronavirus pandemic. As of January, they’re back in full swing as construction resumed.
It was originally built in 1910 as a bank headquarters.
Vishal Savani, the managing director of Savara Hospitality and the hotel’s developer and operator, said the new hotel will include 54 luxury hotel rooms, dining, social areas and a meeting room.
“It’s such a gem of a building whether it comes from its history or its architecture, from all of those angles,” said Savani, “And it’s in a fantastic location too, right in the middle of downtown, so that doesn’t hurt either.”
Visit Virginia’s Blue ridge President Landon Howard said it’s a convenient spot right by the Amtrak station.
“Downtown Roanoke is like the heartbeat of the whole region,” said Howard. “Certainly our restaurants will see more business. Our shops will experience more foot traffic. Because of that, we’ll see a great economic impact for our region.”
Marc Nelson, Roanoke City’s economic development manager, said the hotel is just the latest in a cluster of new restaurants, breweries and stores.
“There’s just a lot of things that have come from the ground up, that have come from the community,” said Nelson. “The ideas that people who are already here have brought to the forefront and then that’s attracted people from other areas to invest their money, as well.”
That growth is a key reason why Savara chose the Star City
“We look for markets that are small, emerging, have a lot of exciting things going on whether it be new development, new attractions, new travelers coming in,” said Savani. “And Roanoke has a little bit of all of that.”
As more and more companies look to invest and build, leaders in the Star City say their doors are always open.
“I think it’s great. I definitely think that the community embraces these things,” said Nelson.