Our tour of neighborhoods in the Roanoke Valley begins to the north, in Botetourt County, and then swings south and west into Roanoke City, Salem and beyond. Plus, meet some people who live there.
Why do we live where we do?
We love the house style. We want our children in specific schools. We want to recreate a cherished childhood setting. Or, we like walking to the movies or the convenience of the interstate highway nearby.
The reasons why we choose our homesites are as varied as our interests, and we are fortunate in the Roanoke Valley that there are many communities to satisfy any one and all of these yearnings.
Botetourt County
Botetourt County is an enviable mix of historic properties and new imposing structures that dot what used to be open farmland. The area of the county from Fincastle, its county seat, to the Roanoke city and county lines has become a bedroom community especially attractive to newcomers looking for a strong mix of nature and convenience.
Ashley Plantation and the Botetourt Golf and Swim Club have public golf courses. Health care facilities are rapidly expanding in the area with the new Carilion Clinic and a new LewisGale imaging center and physician practice at Daleville.
Among the county’s newest housing is the Daleville Town Center, a combination of a traditional neighborhood featuring EarthCraft-certified houses in what is to be a 300-unit residential village. Retail and office space are available in the village center and nearby are other developments that include a grocery and pharmacy. At least nine new home developments have taken place in the county since 2000.
The Daleville Town Center custom homes start at $350,000; model homes are priced in the upper $400,000s to around $700,000. At Santillane, also one of the newer developments, colonials and ranches sell at an average of $450,000. Ashley Plantation properties range from $250,000+.
Botetourt County also provides a wealth of outdoor opportunities from the 120 square miles of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests to the Appalachian Trail that travels through parts of the county and attracts hikers to the Troutville exit of I-81.
At its southern edge, near the line with Roanoke County and City, the Carvins Cove Natural Reserve includes an 800-acre lake for fishing and canoeing, plus 40 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding.
The James River is another attraction in the county as is the county’s new sports complex on 125 acres in Greenfield Recreation Park. The complex attracts sporting events from the valley and outside of it and includes a paved walking track and a one-mile accessible trail that connects to a five-mile cross country walking trail.
Interstate 81, with exits at Troutville, makes travel north and south convenient for residents. Also from Troutville, it is easy to move into north Roanoke County and City by way of U.S. 11 or connect to U.S. 460 at Blue Ridge by way of U.S. 220 alternate.
North & East Roanoke
Moving south from Botetourt County into North and East Roanoke County and North Roanoke City, there is a broad variety of housing, mostly low-density residential development since the 1960s and 1970s.
Nearby, Valley View Mall is a regional retail destination with scores of stores and restaurants. Carvins Cove Natural Reserve straddles the Botetourt County line and is the second largest municipal park in the U.S. at 12,700 acres and a primary regional recreation destination. Northwest Roanoke City is an area of commercial and residential development. Orange Avenue and Melrose Avenue form a major east-west corridor and are intersected by Peters Creek Parkway running north and south.
North Roanoke County begins north of Salem, meanders along Interstate 81 to Exit 150, then turns south along the U.S. 220 South extension to the Town of Vinton. This area is well developed with residential and business development. North county includes the North Lakes development with its older homes around $150,000 and at two newer developments, Greenridge Court bi-levels, ranches and colonials and Village Green townhomes start at $134,950. A villa project in the county, Cottages at Stonelyn, range from $240,000 upward. The Williamson Road Area leads from Botetourt County to Downtown Roanoke. Along its edges are several older neighborhoods with moderately-priced homes, often three bedrooms for under $100,000. The area is undergoing renovation in many locations. Both Valley View and Crossroads malls are within easy reach.
Southeast (including Vinton and Garden City and the Va. 116 Lake Corridor):
Garden City’s development began with the opening of the American Viscose Plant beside the Roanoke River in 1917; it was annexed by Roanoke City in 1949 and began to suburbanize. River scenery and an extensive greenway make for a serene atmosphere.
Modest older homes have been joined by newer developments, such as Loblolly Hills custom homes with lots starting at more than $100,000. A Va. 116 development near Roanoke, Windy Gap, has lots starting at $150,000.
The Town of Vinton has moderately-priced homes amid a small-town atmosphere with exceptional amenities nearby in Roanoke and the surrounding area. A sign of civic pride is the Vinton War Memorial, an event center that attracts groups from all over.
Along with Mt. Pleasant, these communities offer moderately-priced older homes ($75,000-$125,000) as well as newer developments with large lots in secluded settings outside Vinton (up to $250,000). Moving east from Roanoke toward Bedford County is plenty of open space with housing and lot prices at all sizes. Bedford County helps form the eastern border of Smith Mountain Lake.
A winding, well-maintained two-lane highway travels through a semi-rural landscape of varied topography from Roanoke City to Smith Mountain Lake. Working farmlands, small businesses and several subdivisions that provide a range of housing selections are along this route, with lots of room for more development. The lake, a pristine beauty with 500 miles of scenic shoreline, is considered a national treasure as a striped bass fishing hotspot. Lake development includes a variety of housing communities and condo projects along with retail centers.
At the lake as of November, some 1,900 properties were on the market with lots starting around $25,000 and properties, including waterfront homes and townhomes, ranging from under $100,000 to several million. Luxury townhomes at The Grande Villas at The Water’s Edge gated community were listed for from $1.45 million up.
South Roanoke/Southwest city
Annexed into Roanoke City in 1915, South Roanoke remains mostly intact as originally developed. It is an established bastion of large, quality housing on large lots with broad tree-shaded streets, an elementary school and access to community shopping, yet only minutes from downtown Roanoke. Smaller amounts of high-quality, upscale rental housing in new condominium and townhome projects, and older, meticulously maintained apartment buildings are found here. This is an affluent, long-established neighborhood and especially well-maintained.
The Coach Homes of Southwood, a newer development in South Roanoke, has homes that start in the mid-$500,000s.
Interstates 581 and 81 are easily reached from this part of the city. Nearby are the new Carilion Clinic, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and the Virginia Tech-Carilion School of Medicine & Research Institute. Adjacent to the hospital complexes is a quaint South Roanoke village center with restaurants and several shops, plenty of banking choices and instant access to the Roanoke River Greenway and River’s Edge Sports Complex. The city’s new trolley bus travels every 20 minutes from the hospital to Downtown Roanoke with its wealth of condominiums, apartments and the recently renovated Patrick Henry Hotel with its restaurants and residential living opportunities.
Extending from Downtown Roanoke to the west and southwest is Southwest City with its numerous city parks. Old Southwest, the city’s only designated historic neighborhood, connects directly to downtown and is home to the city’s only dog park. Many of its turn-of-the-century homes are shown off at an annual Christmas homes tour.
Nearby are bungalows, Tudors and American foursquare houses in the Raleigh Court and Grandin Court neighborhoods. Grandin Court homes are mostly in the $100,000 to $150,000 range with some higher. Raleigh Court houses generally run in the mid-$200,000s upward. Grandin Village in Raleigh Court is one of the city’s cultural and shopping favorites, boasting an excellent health store and food cooperative, a dozen restaurants, plus retail shops and the historic Grandin Theatre.
Further west are Windsor Hills and Deyerle with a mix of colonial, traditional and contemporary styles. At Maple Leaf Farms, a new development in southwest city, lots start at $135,000.
Southwest County
Moving southwest brings a visitor to Southwest County, with its many neighborhood developments found in every price range. Prominent is Hunting Hills, with long stretches of its golf course running along the quiet roads. A new county library with expansive computer and activities facilities was slated to open in January 2012 in the area, which is also accessible to U.S. 220 toward Franklin County and U.S. 221 toward Floyd County.
Shopping spots and restaurants continue to expand along the 419 corridor in Roanoke County from Tanglewood Mall to the intersection of U.S. 221 toward Bent Mountain. The 221 area has seen a tremendous amount of development of new large homes. Accessibility to the area is being improved with the widening of the road and two new bridges scheduled for completion in 2013.
Sugarloaf and Castle Rock are older, established communities enjoying popularity with properties in the low $100,000s to mid-$200,000s. Housing prices in such subdivisions as Hunting Hills, range from over $200,000 to over $1 million. At Strawberry Mountain, expansive homes range around $500,000. At Stoneridge on Bent Mountain, a five-bedroom home on three areas runs around $600,000; a lot of nearly seven acres has a listing price of $139,900.
Further south down U.S. 220 are Boones Mill and Rocky Mount in Franklin County. The county borders the western shore of Smith Mountain Lake. Here are many upscale developments and unlimited access to water activities, as well as some of the region’s best golf courses. For those who prefer solitude, Franklin County has an abundance of farms, settings of varied terrain and all the seclusion anyone could need.
Salem
Founded in 1802, Salem still proudly retains an old-fashioned small town community character. Its housing mix includes pre-Civil War homes and upscale recent developments. Residents have a strong commitment to the past with many preserved homes.
Commuting convenience to other parts of the Valley and to the New River Valley can be found in the several new housing developments near Interstate 81, such as The Fairways at Hanging Rock with its patio homes on and off the Hanging Rock Golf Course ($289,950+), traditional ranches in Russlyn Farms ($240,000+) and the custom two-story homes at Riverland Vineyards at Green Hill Park ($230,00 and up).
Salem has a reputation for high-quality schools, winning athletic programs and a sense of community. LewisGale Medical Center is a prominent Salem healthcare complex. The Salem Civic Center is one of the area’s busiest facilities, and its sports complex is the summer home for the Class A farm team of the Boston Red Sox. The city surrounds Roanoke College, another local institution with a national reputation for excellence in education. Salem is the focus of numerous baseball, basketball and football tournament final competitions held in its vast and numerous sports facilities.
The city long ago marked an 11.2-mile bike route that begins at City Hall. The community connects to Roanoke through a Roanoke River greenway section on West Riverside Drive. In addition, it has the Hanging Rock Battlefield Trail.
