Affordable living, walkability and the small-town feel make Vinton the perfect place to call home.
Pete Peters knows Vinton just about as well as anybody can. He grew up there and is now its Town Manager.
So, when he says, “We’re a working class town” he knows what he is talking about. And that, precisely, means clean, safe neighborhoods where residents know each other and care about the families in their part of town. The people take pride in the town and suggest improvements regularly.
The Vinton community includes numerous neighborhoods that include Dillion Woods, Falling Creek, Briarcliff, Lindenwood, Bali Hai, GladeTown, Midway, Jefferson, Cleveland, Montgomery Village, and Stonebridge just to name a few. Jason Boothe of Mountain View Real Estate, based in Vinton, grew up in the town and his children are doing the same. His parents live there, as well. His daughter is married to a military man stationed in Georgia, “but I expect her back as soon as that can be arranged,” he says.
“I think Vinton’s a good place to raise a family,” says Boothe. “I was raised here and had no desire to leave. The schools are great. That makes it easy to raise kids. It’s a small town where people take care of each other. Our kids are starting to have kids and they will want to live here.”
When homes become available for sale, they “fly off the market,” says Boothe. “When you get a listing in Vinton you’ll get multiple offers and if it lasts more than three or four days on the market, it’s shocking. It’s definitely a challenge because I’ve got to get my clients in very early to be in the ball game.
“We are a built out community in large part and there is not much land left in the town for development, aside from a few single vacant lots scattered about, although recently a couple of new homes are going up in Midway. There are sites in Roanoke County, but because the price of building supplies are out of hand (pandemic related) there just isn’t much new building activity.”
Boothe says that he and Peters “went to high school together and he has been the best thing to happen to Vinton in the last five or six years. He is a big reason we’ve done what we’ve done (with business) and he’s surrounded himself with great people. The Chamber of Commerce second to none. We have a lot of good people and good places. If you bring a business to Vinton and get involved, you get your name out there.”
The incorporated Town of Vinton has 8,000 population in 3.14 square miles. By way of comparison Cave Spring has 26,000 people and Hollins has 14,000. Neither is a town, but both are in Roanoke County.
The typical home value in Vinton is $189,247, up nearly 10% over 2020 values. Cave Spring’s value, by comparison, is $240,710, up 8.5%. Hollins’ homes are valued at $121,597, up a whopping 24.5% in the past year.
Peters stresses that much of the town’s initiative these days is concentrated on “improving walkability” with the goal of making every part of it accessible by foot. That includes installing some lights that allow easy crossing of some busy streets and completing the Roanoke Valley Greenway trails in the town.
Sidewalks will also get a good bit of attention, as will bike paths. Peters hopes to make the perimeter Vinton neighborhoods accessible by walking to downtown Vinton.
Real estate has become white-hot in recent months, says Peters. “The town is built out, so the real estate that is available is selling quickly.
Like most Virginia small towns, “there are a lot of ranch houses, split levels and a few new homes,” says Peters. “Downtown you get some four-squares, a few Craftsman homes and some 1980s duplexes.”
There are two new apartment complexes in Vinton, both repurposed schools. Billy Byrd, with 94 units, rests in the former William Byrd Middle School and the former Roland E. Cook School with 21 units is 100% leased.
Living in Vinton these days is desirable. Finding a place to live is the challenge.
