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To Build or Not To Build?
The question has been relentless: “So Stuart, what do you think about the proposal to build a hotel on Mill Mountain – the ‘new’ Rockledge Inn?”
I guess I should assume that this is simply a topic of conversation on everybody’s lips these days, but being a member of the Roanoke Economic Development Authority and having run for City Council last year, I think I may get more than my fair share of “political policy” questions. Maybe the answer I give here will lower the rate at which they come. But then again, maybe not, as taking a position always alienates at least some segment of the population. But lucky me – I’m no politician.
First of all, hat’s off to the young “Valley Forward” group for taking the time and having the wherewithal to put forth a proposal with the intent of making good things happen for the Roanoke Valley. Inspired young business people are one of the best agents for positive change and growth that any community can hope for and these folks are to be commended for taking a stake in the future of our community.
Ironically, I met this group a little over a year ago on the very spot where the old Rockledge Inn stood. While riding my bike I spotted them at a picnic table beneath the towering old trees that once stood just outside the inn’s rambling porches. I know several of them, so after completing my bi-weekly climb to the Mill Mountain Star, I angled down the hill and across the large grassy clearing to say hello. They all looked like they had just swallowed a case of canaries.
Young men in suits and ties don’t just all hang out at such a place and they weren’t playing Parcheesi. Oddly no one was talking. The implied question of, “so, what’s up?” never got answered and after a minute or two of small talk, I said goodbye. It was a strange encounter, but looking back it makes all the sense in the world.
The interesting thing is that this is not a new idea, and most people probably have had a general feel for where they stand on the matter long before these young professionals propelled it back into the public eye. Of course, they’ve cemented in a few details and provided some nice sketches and talked positively about the projects benefits. Which brings up my first point of disagreement that, until recently, I thought was self evident:
Providing more “cool places” for young people to drink beer does not and will not impact economic development on any meaningful level.
Do I need to repeat that? That’s right up there with our Economic Development leaders (not the Authority) asking citizens to go online and vote at a website for Toyota (and others) to come to our region. It sounds real nice, and maybe its even fun for some, but when it comes to being relevant to the real process of attracting businesses to our region it’s misguided to the point of being a sad commentary on our efforts.
Think about it, you’re looking to expand your business or start a new one. Do you consider overall quality of life? Of course - it’s at the top of the list. Do you care about how many bars or “cool places” exist for your young managers to knock back a Heineken? Absolutely not, because if you’re a “real world” businessman you know that supply and demand has had that base covered since the end of prohibition. It simply isn’t part of the “infrastructure” you’re going to worry about.
The fact is, “coolness” (for example, the music and bar scene of Austin Texas) came after the University of Texas and Dell Computers – not before. You don’t “build coolness” and expect people to come – you play to your strengths (the greatest of which, ironically enough, happens to be our natural environment) and give business leaders good business reasons to come here. “Coolness” then comes in its own unique, authentic and self generating way.
As part of a five member management team for a Seventeen Million Dollar corporation responsible for developing three branches throughout the mid-Atlantic I can tell you unequivocally that “cool places to drink beer” did not factor into our decisions. Receptive business environments, created and run by people who bent over backwards to accommodate our very real needs, did. Frankly, I’m not sure we have that in Roanoke.
But that doesn’t mean that the Inn shouldn’t be built.
And it doesn’t necessarily mean it should be either.
After carefully considering the latest proposal I have come to the following conclusion:
If Roanoke could do it right – that is, build a smaller facility true to the original in scale and architectural character, and in doing so honor not only the past but the incredibly rare blessing that is such natural beauty sitting so comfortably astride an urban setting, then the “new” Rockledge Inn should be seriously considered. But the proposed “1970’s mini Ramada of stone” (as one person has called it), will provide none of the above, and it raises the only question that really needs to be asked:
Based on the incredible long term value of such a resource, is it worth the very real chance that Roanoke leaders will fail to get it right?
If recent history is any indicator, it’s hard to have a great deal of confidence.
So buckle up once again Roanoke, those who would offer “change” for all the wrong reasons are getting ready to ask you to once again put your future in their hands.
Feeling lucky?
I’m not.
- Stuart