By Matt de Simone
A group of Fincastle community members, town leadership, and county officials spent last Wednesday and Thursday going over some ideas that better improve the town utilizing grants for its maximum capabilities.
Wednesday evening was spent looking at the big picture during a “pin-up” session that reviewed the first day of designs. This session took into account current and future grant opportunities, and developing a number of ideas that could increase visitation, improve town traffic, and ultimately giving the town a “facelift” incorporating modern and historic aspects which would heighten attention northward in the county.
The town gave input and received feedback and designs from a group of consultants that included David Hill, Greg Webster, Maria Saxton, Fred Esenwein, and Carter Smith of Hill Studios; Aaron Arnett and Shawn Terpack of Arnett Muldrow & Associates; representatives from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission, and the Town of Fincastle.
Thursday afternoon brought forth a brief presentation/walkthrough that condensed the ideas developed at the Wednesday meeting and gave the community members in attendance a chance to visually absorb the ideas and work put into the designs. Later that day, the group presented a further condensed the earlier presentation prior to the Town Council meeting later that evening.
The town received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to help with their revitalization process. Over the last two years, town leadership have been diligent in putting together how and where to implement the grant.
Some of the ideas that derived from last week’s meetings included:
- Preserving the history of the town while modernizing Main and Roanoke Streets to better draw in visitors passing by with new signage focusing on historical aspects of Fincastle
- A possible roundabout system at both ends of Roanoke Street connecting to Route 220
- More foliage along Roanoke Street
- A possible entrance to the Botetourt County Courthouse from Roanoke Street that would be included in the ongoing refurbishing project
- A potential seven-mile bike trail that would connect the town to Daleville
Ultimately, the meetings were designed merely for community input so that county staff, architects, and community planners could get an idea of what citizens want to see to better the town. No designs were finalized as this idea process will continue, but several considerations are now on the table for the town to decide where to spend their dollars in the future. These meetings focused on members of the town offering input to better improve the county seat.
