Roanoke’s long-debated Evans Spring property is the subject of yet another plan.
This time, the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy — using a $50,000 grant — will work with Roanoke-based Hill Studio to create a community land trust model. The conservancy’s hope is that this plan is the one that sticks, ending in a sale of the property by its owners.
Stephen Niamke said that in his mind, the upcoming plan isn’t the third that’s been created, but the first — because it’s the first time when he believes residents’ input will be the priority, he said.
Niamke is the founder of the Friends of Evans Spring group, which advocates for the conservation of the property, a 150-acre undeveloped tract in predominantly Black Northwest Roanoke, across Interstate 581 from Valley View Mall. He said over 100 Roanokers are on the group’s mailing list, but that the organization has less than a dozen active members.
For years, the future use of Evans Springs has been in debate, caught between a community that’s still distrustful of the city after urban renewal and the possible residential and commercial use of the land, one of the largest of its kind left in Roanoke. Two previous development plans are on the shelf at this point, including one developed after the city decided to oversee that process to try to find a solution. The city, landowners and the Economic Development Authority agreed to pay over $220,000 to Land Planning Design and Associates for that work, according to a contract obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
In May, the city council voted to adopt amendments to that plan that make conservation an acceptable use — something that multiple residents urged the council to do before the vote. The council also threw out a mandatory interstate connection in Evans Spring with that vote.
At that point, the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy had already stepped in to team up with the Friends group. The conservancy received the $50,000 grant from The Conservation Fund in September to create a professionally designed plan and “community vision” for the property. The Conservation Fund is a nonprofit that has worked to protect more than nine million acres of land across the country.
Conservancy Director David Perry said Hill Studio will be working this fall and winter to gather public input “through a variety of ways.” He said he hopes a document will be ready by the end of winter or early spring to present to the public.
Hill Studio has worked on numerous higher-profile city projects over the years, including the Elmwood Park Amphitheatre.
“You know, a landowner could tell the Conservation Fund tomorrow that they’re ready to sell, and that would be great,” Perry said. “But sort of the next step that’s in our control is getting this plan completed and having that made available for the public and landowners.”
The conservancy protects over 22,000 acres of land on nearly 80 properties, including Carvins Cove Natural Reserve and Mill Mountain Park.
“We’re presenting what I believe will be a vision that shows how we can continue to market and promote our natural resources and amenities to make Roanoke the most excellent, outstanding place to live, and have that be a real drawing card for the kinds of businesses we want to get here in the valley,” Perry said of the Evans Spring project.
Perry said that the Friends of Evans Spring group is the “moral compass” for the project moving forward. The conservancy got involved with Evans Spring, Perry said, because of the natural values on the property as well as the social and environmental justice issues there.
“We’re not in this to produce some result that is not what the community wants,” Perry said in a recent phone call.
Perry said The Conservation Fund is taking the lead on negotiations with the property owners for the sale of the land. If property owners were to sell to the fund, the conservancy would buy back that land over time using state and federal grants, Perry said.
He said conversations are continuing and that property owner feedback has been positive so far. Four property owners control Evans Spring: Ed Laios, a Washington investor who owns parcels through Heritage Acres LLC; Anderson Wade Douthat IV through firms affiliated with Allegheny Construction Co.; the trust of Katherine Huff, whose family used to operate a dairy farm along the highway; and Joe Walker Ramsey, whose family grew vegetables on 19 acres off Hershberger Road.
None of the property owners have made public comments about the situation.
What might a new plan look like?
The current development plan says that about 50% of the Evans Spring land will remain in conservation.
Perry said that most of that land is unusable and in a floodplain, and couldn’t provide amenities to the public.
He said the conservancy is interested in a nature park with boardwalks over the wetlands, where schools could bring groups of students out for hands-on education, or where people could walk their dogs.
“Those are the sort of things people are looking for when they come to a community,” Perry said. “They aren’t necessarily looking for, oh, you’ve got one more big box store that every other place has.”
Conservation of the land doesn’t just mean leaving it untouched, Perry said, but engaging in restoration projects, too — invasive species have taken over some of the greenery, and there are some streams that are eroded and need restoration. The conservancy’s mission is environmental protection and, jointly, sustainable economic development, he said.
A community land trust based around some strategically placed affordable housing is something else the organization is looking into, Perry said. With that model, homeowners purchase a home, and the underlying property belongs to the trust.
“From what I’ve heard, there is openness to some level of development that is in keeping with the character of the community and neighborhoods that are already there,” Perry said.
Niamke said that before he’s comfortable with agreeing to more housing in Evans Spring, he needs to see what that might mean — both in terms of pricing and impacts on the environment. One person’s definition of affordability is completely different from someone else’s, he said.
Perry said, to his understanding, the landowners are fine with a new plan being written up, even though they contributed thousands of dollars to the consultant work for the last plan.
Niamke said an ideal plan, in his eyes, would look something like Cranberry Glades Botanical Area in West Virginia — a 750-acre area of protected bogs with a half-mile boardwalk that is constructed through two of four bogs.
Perry noted that maintaining this large tree canopy in Northwest Roanoke is also an important consideration in the project.
In 2020, Roanoke was one of 13 cities selected for a national study of the urban heat island effect, which is when an urban area sees higher temperatures than nearby rural areas, the Environmental Protection Agency says. An interactive heat island map is posted on the city’s website.
On that map, Northwest Roanoke is a “sea of red,” Perry said, meaning it’s a very hot part of the city. Evans Spring provides tree cover that can help lower temperatures in that area.
“It’s so important to preserve that tree cover because there’s so little of it left in the city of Roanoke,” Perry said. There has been an over 20% tree canopy reduction in Roanoke over the last 10 years.
Niamke said it’s too early to give details on what community engagement will look like, but encourages anyone interested in updates to follow the Friends of Evans Spring Facebook page. He said the plan will focus on input from two residents who live within Evans Spring, himself, and one other resident who lives right on the outskirts of the property.
“These are private landowners, and they can do whatever zoning and the economic realities of development in Roanoke in 2026 will allow,” Perry said. “And if they go a different route, as far as I’m concerned, they’re not going to be bad guys.”
