The commission that oversees the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center is selling the facility to the Virginia Tech Foundation, which will then market the hotel and conference center to a third-party buyer.
The sale, which is set to close Thursday, marks the ends of one particular partnership between the city of Roanoke and Virginia Tech. The collaborative ownership of the facility dates back to the 1990s, when the two entities came together to reopen the 1880s-era hotel and build the conference center.
Court Rosen, who chairs the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission, says residents with fond memories of the Hotel Roanoke shouldn’t fret about its future.
“I mean, this is a marquee property," Rosen says. "It’s historic, it’s large, 330ish rooms, that’s a large hotel. So while the city loses control and say in some regards of the conference center, and Virginia Tech would lose say over what happens in the hotel, a buyer who’s going to pay what this hotel is worth is likely going to keep this a marquee hotel. It just wouldn’t make sense not to do that. So I think that ultimately this ends up being a centerpiece of the Roanoke Valley long into the future.”
The $14 million from the sale of the conference center will go to the city of Roanoke. No plans have been announced for the money.
