ROANOKE, Va. – With gentle strokes of a paintbrush, people from all walks of life have gathered over the past few months at Melrose Plaza to add their own personal touches to a community mural that stretches across the exterior of Market on Melrose. This vibrant and colorful artwork, displaying symbols of unity, camaraderie, and joy, serves as a mirror reflecting what it hopes to evoke in both viewers and artists alike, as the many hands of our community continue to shape the masterpiece.
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The mural, titled Rooted in Joy, is part of a broader community initiative, the Melrose Plaza, which is set to officially open its doors next Thursday, July 31, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Esteemed local artist Bryce Cobbs, whose work garners national attention, designed the mural. While he has led numerous public art projects in Roanoke, such as the design for the Henrietta Lacks statue in the heart of downtown, he explained this project was unlike any before. It marks the first time he has worked side-by-side with community members to complete a piece.
“I grew up going past this building and seeing all the different things that the building has been in the past, and then kind of having this impact where I get a chance to kind of put my own footprint in the community through this art piece, it’s just humbling,” said Cobbs. “It’s amazing to see and to experience, and I’m thankful that the community has accepted my gifts, and we’ve all teamed up together to kind of take on such a beautiful thing.”
He continued, “I’m hoping that it can kind of amplify the beauty that’s already here. I’ve grown up here, and it’s always been a beautiful place to me, and I’m thinking that it will kind of give people that pride, and they can see that where they live is nice and that it’s beautiful.”
Much like the mural, Melrose Plaza began as a blank canvas, a seed of an idea blossoming into a powerful symbol of hope in Northwest Roanoke. It strives to foster meaningful connections and relationships, instill hometown pride, and highlight the region’s rich Black historical roots. The plaza also aims to revitalize the community by offering vital services within walking distance of several nearby neighborhoods. Among the many resources the community hub will offer are:
- Wellness on Melrose, a health and wellness center
- Henrietta’s Café, an extension of Market on Melrose
- Market on Melrose, which opened in November to address Northwest Roanoke’s food desert
- The Excel Center, Virginia’s first adult high school, offering free childcare and transportation to remove barriers for adult learners, officially opening in August 2025
- Bank of Botetourt, which opened its Melrose Plaza branch in May 2025, expanding financial access
- Roanoke Public Library – Melrose Branch, serving as a cultural and educational anchor since 2019
Senior Director of Community Impact at Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, Kelley Weems, described witnessing Melrose Plaza’s transformation as deeply emotional. Having roots in Southeast Roanoke from childhood, the project holds a special place in her heart.
It’s a tear-jerker to note that the impact that we’ll have here has actually already started. So, to see the students starting to enroll with the Excel Center, to see the folks at the Market who are there working, and to be able to, at one point, step into the building and see literally through to all the way to the other side and it was just an open building, to now being able to see all of the different elements that are available–so having the library, the Market, the bank, having all of those piece operational–just makes it really exciting to know that the other pieces are just around the corner.
Senior Director of Community Impact Kelley Weems
She added, “The relationships that I’ve had the opportunity to cultivate, getting to know the folks through the different group meetings that we’ve had, like with our Melrose Plaza Advisory council meetings, the planning meets, the brainstorming meetings, all of those different things where I had an opportunity to really hear the voices and hear the needs and the wants. When you hear that angst in someone’s voice, that they just want to be seen as a person and not forgotten, that’s enough motivation for whatever you need in a position to make it happen.”
The design of Melrose Plaza carries intentional messages of hope, as well. Nestled in the lobby ceiling is the Sankofa bird, a West African symbol representing the importance of learning from the past to inspire hope and build a better future.
“This symbolism is woven into the very fabric of Melrose Plaza – a catalyst for change that is transforming Northwest Roanoke and bringing Goodwill’s mission to eliminate poverty to life,” said Richmond Vincent, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Valleys.
The bird also appears in the mural along with daisies, which Cobbs chose to symbolize growth, mirroring the themes of Melrose Plaza.
It kind of forces us to make sure that we’re aware of where we came from and all the things that happened in the past that would make the appropriate steps to correct it or to do better in the future. Whenever I do a public art piece, my goal is to inspire and allow people to take pride in where they came from and know that everything that happened in the past happened for a reason, and it’s our duty to correct and to keep moving forward.
Local artist Bryce Cobbs
In addition to reflecting on the past to build a better future, Melrose Plaza will celebrate the present with the Living Legends exhibit, honoring seven influential community members: Richard Chubb, Doris Ennis, Sherman Lea Sr., Peter Lewis, Peggy Sue Mason, Reginald Shareef, and Claudia Whitworth. Their biographies will adorn the space, and the exhibit will serve as an extension of the Melrose Plaza History Wall, with new influential figures added each year.
Weems described the Plaza as a ‘community hub of hope.’
“I think because several of the cultural elements that we’ve been intentional with bringing into the Plaza, I think it is a prime reminder that everyone matters and that the community here is not forgotten,” Weems said.