🌱 New Kayak Park In Wasena Park + New Habitat For Humanity Partners

Happy July 2nd, neighbors! Here's what's happening in Roanoke this fine Saturday morning.

First, today's weather:

Afternoon thunderstorms likely.

High: 87 Low: 70.

🏡 Looking for more real estate leads in Roanoke? Let us help you reach prospective home buyers and stand out from the competition. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top five stories today in Roanoke:

1. The move out deadline for residents of a Roanoke apartment complex that was purchased by its new owners for its historic value has arrived. The English Gardens apartments on Memorial Avenue was purchased by Gardens at Grandin LLC. There are plans for heavy renovations and to list the property on both the Virginia and national historic sites registries, but a representative of the company said it will continue to work with remaining residents to find new places to live. "Renovations will not immediately begin on July 1. The number of residents that remain is difficult to pinpoint as move-outs have been occurring daily and some residents have not notified us of their departure. However, Hall Associates (the property managers) will continue to support those residents by sharing information on available apartments or rental homes in the local area," a company spokesperson said. (WSLS 10)
2. An in-river Kayak Park is coming to the Wasena Park area in Roanoke. A $2 million project is planned and funded. "[Parks] really proved [their] importance through the pandemic. As a result of that, we’re able to now reinvest in those spaces and in some cases like this, expand them," said Roanoke Director of Parks Michael Clark. The project is partially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and is set to be completed and operational by 2026. (WDBJ)
3. In a brand new partnership called Partners for Prosperity, Habitat for Humanity of the Roanoke Valley has been awarded $2.6 million from Roanoke City's pandemic era American Rescue Plan Act funding. The money will go towards 18 affordable and handicapped-accessible homes to be constructed and completed by December 2024. Fourteen of the 18 units will be made available for permanent homeownership and the remaining four will be used in collaboration with Family Promise of Greater Roanoke and Blue Ridge Independent Living Center to address the shortage of rental units. "On behalf of my organization, we are honored to have been awarded this transformational funding for our program," said Karen Mason, Habitat For Humanity's Executive Director. (The Roanoke Star)
4. After 30 years at the helm of Roanoke's Center in the Square, president and general manager Jim Sears is retiring. The center has been a major component of the downtown landscape since 1983 and Sears has been there almost as long, beginning his tenure in the early 90s during a transformational time for the organization. But he says it all feels like it was just yesterday when he arrived. "Now we have five buildings and more organizations and, you know, we’ve just done a lot for the area," he said in a recent interview. (WDBJ)
5. Local entrepreneur Sierra Sallah started an online jewelry store last Cyber Monday because she saw the need for the kind of jewelry she enjoyed and that fit her chaotic lifestyle. Now, her Southwest Native brand has opened as a brick and mortar women's boutique in Downtown Roanoke's Crafteria, a newly refreshed 1950s cafeteria that is now home to a makers market with small batch food and handmade goods from 60-plus craftspeople according to the website. "I am a mama to a seven-year-old and two pups. So, I am always on the go!” Sallah said. “I wanted jewelry that was affordable, stylish, and durable enough to handle my everyday chaos." You can learn more about the boutique at shopsouthwestnative.com. (Roanoker)

Help us make this newsletter better!

We’ve been getting so much positive feedback about the Roanoke Daily that we’re starting to get a big head. Want to bring us back down to earth with some constructive feedback? If so, take our simple — and quick! — reader survey. Your feedback will help us make sure we’re covering the kind of local news, events and scuttlebutt you really care about. And it will help us toward our goal of being an indispensable local resource and the last email you’d ever unsubscribe from.

We’d be so appreciative of your feedback that, if you take the survey, we’ll enter your email address in a drawing for a small mountain of Patch swag. You know you want that tote bag — so click the link and give it to us straight. Thank you!

Take the Survey 👉

Today in Roanoke:

• 2022 USA Cycling Amateur Road National Championships in Downtown Roanoke (7 a.m.)
• Downtown Food and Cultural Tour hosted by Tour Roanoke (11 a.m.)
• Kinnfolk Celtic Music Duo at Olde Salem Brewing Co. (3:30 p.m.)
• Live Music: Eyes of Silver at Daleville Town Center (5 p.m.)
• Night Lights Festival at 5 Points Music Sanctuary (6 p.m.)
• Live music: Five Dollar Shake at Big Lick Brewing Company (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "We've got lots of puppies available for adoption now and we know they will find homes fast, but please don't forget about the adult pets in our care. These adult dogs are amazing and deserve wonderful homes just as puppies do." (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Facebook)
• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "Country roads, take me home! Thanks to the work of our dedicated staff we have successfully returned over a dozen turtles back to the wild in the past month — a tall order given we get patients as far west as Lee County." (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Sheriff's Office: "RCSO would like to welcome our June new hires. This includes Deputies Parker Stultz, Charles Burnett, Lorraine Leombruni, Alexander Huffman and Gianni Brown." (Roanoke Sheriff's Office via Facebook)
• City of Roanoke Government: "Roanoke Solid Waste Management has completed all the routes from Wednesday and have begun on the Thursday routes. The most impacted routes are the automated routes. Please leave your containers out past their normal collection periods." (City of Roanoke via Facebook)

You're all caught up for today. I'll be back tomorrow morning with a new update!

— Ian

About me: Ian Graham is a novelist, screenwriter, and freelance contributing writer. His interests are in politics, history, and religion and the stories and characters he writes about are centered on the explosive conflicts created when the three intersect. He is a firm believer in being yourself… unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Roanoke Daily? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com