THE HOTEL ROANOKE & CONFERENCE CENTER AND VIRGINIA TECH -
A HISTORICAL PARTNERSHIP
Ten Years of Excellence Defined
ROANOKE, Va. - In 2005, The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center and Virginia Tech celebrated the 10th year of their relationship. Borne out of a commitment to save a historic landmark, plus create a state-of-the-art meeting and learning facility, the relationship has proven to be a success.
The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center is a joint project of Hotel Roanoke L.L.C., the City of Roanoke and Virginia Tech. Over the last 10 years, the facility has created considerable economic impact to the community. Regarding jobs, 350 have been created, producing $15.9 million in tax revenues to the City of Roanoke. More than 720,000 people have met in the Conference Center, contributing over $144 million to the local economy. Virginia Tech has brought in an additional 275,000, to attend over 3,000 educational programs.
The Beginning
A historic landmark for over 100 years, by the late 1980s The Hotel Roanoke had fallen into disrepair. In 1989, with occupancy rates on the decline, and facing costly renovations, the hotel closed and its owner, the Norfolk Southern Railway, gifted the facility to the Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation. The railroad hoped that the foundation would be able to renovate the hotel, and the City of Roanoke would help build a conference center adjacent to it.
Yet there was a give-back clause associated with the gift: Virginia Tech had four years in which to assemble financing for the project, or the hotel would remit back to the railroad. There was no doubt what this would mean: the demolition of the historic structure.
Against the backdrop of the S&L collapse of the early 1990s, Virginia Tech was able to raise most of the needed funds in three years. These amounted to a $6 million HUD 108 loan, $7 million from the Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation, a $1.3 million loan from Doubletree Hotels (the hotel's subsequent management company), and a $6.5 million loan from a bank consortium. That left a $6 million gap, and one year to fill it.
Enter "Renew Roanoke"
Virginia Tech turned to the community for assistance. Working closely with the City of Roanoke, a community-based fundraising effort called "Renew Roanoke" was launched. With leadership provided by the Mayor, former Mayor and other local dignitaries, an aggressive public awareness campaign was implemented. The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Roanoke, Inc., and several civic organizations coordinated the placement of collection boxes throughout the city. Over 2,800 individuals and businesses gave or made pledges, ranging from pennies to $2 million. In six weeks, the $6 million was raised.
The City of Roanoke financed the $13 million needed to construct the conference center, as an economic development project geared towards attracting larger conventions and conferences to the area. Seventy-five percent of the contracts awarded for the hotel and conference center work went to local firms, 15% of which were minority or women-owned. The newly renovated and constructed facility opened its doors in 1995, with $100.3 million ultimately being invested in projects directly associated with and surrounding the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center project (including the expansion and upgrading of Wells Avenue and improvements for the adjacent Gainsboro community).
Currently, The Hotel Roanoke is privately owned by subsidiary corporations of the Virginia Tech Foundation. The conference center is owned by the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission (HRCCC), a public entity established by the Virginia General Assembly in 1991. The City and Virginia Tech equally share in the operational expenses and revenues of the conference center. The property is operated by Doubletree Hotels, a part of Hilton Hotels Corporation.
