2009.11.08
Strother: Mill Mountain's future
Time to gather mountain views
By Elizabeth Strother
Strother is an editorial writer for The Roanoke Times.
Come February, it will be three years since Valley Forward first pitched a proposal for an inn and restaurant with a grand view atop Mill Mountain.
The loosely organized group of young professionals didn't want to build the complex or operate it, didn't want to make a dime off of it. Members just wanted to be able to go there -- a cool place, distinctive to Roanoke, that might entice more of their peers to make the Roanoke Valley their home.
I do not mean to reignite the ensuing controversy between proponents, who argued their vision was for an eco-friendly development amid an already built environment, and green opponents who wanted nothing more built at all. The idea, even the quickly scaled-back version minus the inn, is moribund and may well be dead. But -- this is classic Roanoke -- nobody really knows.
RSS feed 