The story below is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
See our Season 2 Episode 2 podcast segment with John Garland as we discuss his passion for historical renovation, family legacy and much more:
One of Roanoke’s premier re-builders has his eye on community, neighborhood, the old days.
Dan Smith
John Garland: “There were about two people living downtown. Now we’re well over 2,000.”
It is a small, but easily-recognizable fraternity and, of it, John Garland says, “Roanoke is blessed with community-minded developers.” He should know. He’s right there at the top of the short list, which includes Ed Walker, Lucas Thornton, Brent Cochran, Bill Chapman (of Richmond) and Corbin Prydwen.
These men are responsible for a spate of visionary redevelopment projects that include buildings as big as the Higher Education Center and as small as single-family homes, mostly in the City of Roanoke. They stand out not only because they are of high quality, but also because they follow a vision of Roanoke that focuses on historic preservation, efficiency and love of community.
Garland who has seen a long career at the head of his own companies (John Garland Associates, Spectrum Engineers, Spectrum Design) evolve into Garland Properties, which he operates with his two sons, Aaron and Mark, in what many would consider his retirement years.
His renovation totals, he estimates, run to 15 buildings and 200 apartments in Roanoke alone.
Garland is a Roanoke native, one of three children of Marie and Graham Garland and father of Anna and Rebecca, in addition to the boys. He and Maria have been married for 46 years. Aaron manages Garland Properties and Mark owns Redux, a design-build company. Garland has a master’s and bachelor’s from Virginia Tech.
Garland Properties, the newest iteration of the family business, owns and operates “around 40 properties,” Garland estimates, and in recent years, as Roanoke properties became scarce and expensive, has branched out to Danville, Martinsville/Henry County and Pulaski.
Keith Holland, community development director of Martinsville, has worked over the years on a number of projects with Garland in several localities and when a need for his type of expertise arose recently, Holland called. Garland immediately “made a footprint here,” says Holland. The projects “have had a significant impact” on Martinsville because Garland “has a keen sense of what is needed and what will jell.”
One of Garland’s newest salvages is in the Wasena neighborhood where a group of buildings was being used for storage of old, rotting furniture and was in line to be torn down. It is now, with Garland’s touch, a thriving commercial stretch in a solid and growing residential neighborhood. It is the kind of project—one that nobody else wants—where Garland excels.
His and Spectrum Design’s most spectacular and widely admired project was the conversion of the old Norfolk & Western office building into the Roanoke Higher Education Center. It was a project where “the city showed developers how [historic redevelopment] is done.” But the Center is far from his favorite.
He prefers smaller projects that impact neighborhoods in a notable way. His fraternity of redevelopers is primarily responsible for creating downtown homes for Roanokers. “When we started,” he says, “there were about two people living downtown. Now we’re well over 2,000.” He points to considerable work being done on the West End, several abandoned or neglected businesses in decline, and bringing back forgotten homes.
His fave? 2049 Windsor Avenue in Roanoke, a 1920s English Tudor. “It was the first building I did with my sons,” he says. “We worked closely in all facets, a family project.” He has a nostalgic tie to the renovation of the old S&W Cafeteria downtown into 16 West, a group of businesses occupying the space now. “We’ve never made any money with this,” he says, “but I like it because of its history.” Likewise, the former Leggett department store, which is now mostly apartments, has a personal history for him.
His apartment projects have been notable for their affordability in most cases. “I never thought he looked at profit the way others do,” says Holland. “And his projects have significant impact.” The renovation of the old Electra Buick dealership downtown features some apartments for $795 a month, considered a steal these days. Historic tax credits help defray costs and Garland has learned well how to play the money game, getting the maximum support for his renovations. The goal with these projects, he insists, is “to benefit the entire community.”
Projects that result in mixed use, architect Chris Venable says, are reminiscent of the 1950s-1970s, but that “fell out of favor to suburbs. Density defined the old neighborhoods, but it became an automobile-dominated market. Mixed use is good for the neighborhoods.”
Garland “sees the old and unoccupied and imagines. He follows through.”
Architect Lenore Weiss of Spectrum Design sees Garland as “the ultimate entrepreneur. Everything he works on tends to be a success. He cares about the history of these buildings. He seeks to make the place better.”
Garland’s most recent project has been the resurrection of the old Colonial Elementary School in Troutville, which a group bought from the county for $10. Garland has put considerable work into the school and managed to land two truckloads of furniture for it when a bank moved and wanted to get rid of its old furniture.
Garland’s career has been marked with projects that benefit people. “He is socially conscious,” says Holland. “I find him to be a good human being and I don’t know how he gets by with the fantastic [rental] rates” he charges.
Says Weiss, simply: “He is one of the best people I’ve ever known.”
The story above is from our January/February 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!