Downtown Roanoke is a very  intact downtown with much of its historic fabric and buildings still standing. The City also managed to keep its historic market, which has become a wonderful catalyst for the revitalization of the Downtown area. Many non-food related stores (boutiques, clothing, and specialty retail) have opened within or near the historic market. Outside of the Market District other parts of Dwtn are experiencing revitalization including Campbell St., Jefferson St.,  and the West Station Conversion. Just north of Downtown is the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, a historic hotel built by the Norfolk & Western railroad company next to their large station. This is a reminder that Roanoke used to be a major railroad town.

The Western and southern edges of Downtown are pretty underutilized but promise hope for additional revitalization efforts Dwtn. Fortunately there are still plenty of historic buildings in these areas that can help spark revitalization efforts before the market is ready for new construction.

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Very intact historic fabric.
* Vibrant historic market and district in the heart of Dwtn. In addition to restaurants & food stores there are plenty of boutiques and unique stores in the market district.
* Lots of recent renovations and rebirth Dwtn.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Pretty limited skyline.
* Decent number of surface parking lots in the SW quadrant of Dwtn.
* So  density Downtown. Could certainly use a larger population to support important retail amenities like a supermarket.