Target 7: What’s happening with Evans Spring?

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - The future of the largest piece of undeveloped land in the city of Roanoke remains uncertain, with private landowners holding the key to what ultimately happens to Evans Spring.

The 150-acre property, a mix of wilderness and wetlands, has been at the center of a years-long debate over development versus conservation.

Two years ago, Roanoke City Council narrowly approved a master plan that designated Evans Spring as a site for large-scale retail and residential development. The decision drew significant opposition from nearby residents.

“It’s just a beautiful sight to see nature at its best, and just the thought of it being disassembled because somebody thinks redeveloping the area and putting up brick and mortar and all this other craziness is a great idea, it’s very upsetting,” said Dorothy Owsley, who lived next to Evans Spring, in a late 2023 interview.

In the two years since the master plan passed, no development occurred, and no contracts were signed. In May of this year, the current city council amended the plan, eliminating a proposed connection between Evans Spring and Interstate 581. The council also changed the property’s designation from large-scale retail to a mix of uses, including education, commercial development, parks and open space. The amended plan was met with applause.

Cobb said the original master plan had always included a baseline of 70 acres designated for preserved land, covering the wetlands and stream restoration areas. He said one of the most significant changes in the amended plan was formally allowing for the possibility of conservation.

“One of the essential changes that we made was to allow for this, if the opportunity presented itself, for this land to be conserved,” Cobb said.

The removal of a proposed interchange connecting Evans Spring to Interstate 581 was among the most debated elements of the amended plan. Cobb said the access question has not been permanently resolved.

“I think it’s still an important question to consider, regardless of the outcome of what ends up being utilized on this property,” he said.

Blue Ridge Land Conservancy Executive Director David Perry said the interchange would have been a major obstacle to any development. He said the cost estimate that circulated was approximately $50 million, and likely more by the time construction was complete.

“By the time these things get built, you may as well double that,” Perry said.

Cobb said any major transportation project of that scale would likely involve the Virginia Department of Transportation and potentially U.S. Department of Transportation funding, depending on the nature of the effort.

The city owns approximately 30 acres of Evans Spring, including a retention pond. The remaining 120 acres are held by several private owners. Any development or conservation plan requires approval from all parties.

Perry said the properties the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy is focused on are held by a couple of LLCs and a family trust, all local to the Roanoke Valley.

“The family trust has roots in that property going back many generations. It’s the same folks that owned Valley View Mall when it was the Huff farm,” Perry said. “They understand the community, understand local interests and local needs.”

Perry said there are potentially upward of 10 different landowners if all individual LLCs and separate lots are counted, including residents who own homes on Evans Spring parcels. He said the conservancy is primarily in discussions with two or three landowners whose properties hold the most ecological value.

The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy is working with the Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit, to purchase as much of Evans Spring as possible to preserve the land and potentially create a publicly accessible park.

Perry described the Conservation Fund’s role as a financial bridge, able to step in and purchase property from a willing seller while the conservancy secures grant funding to complete the transaction.

“The Conservation Fund might be able to step in as our partner and purchase the property. And then we would secure grants to purchase the land from the Conservation Fund,” Perry said.

He said the conservancy would work with the Conservation Fund on a window of roughly 18 months to two years to assemble state and federal grant funding specifically designated for land conservation acquisitions.

Talks with landowners have been ongoing, Perry said, though no contracts have been signed.

“No one has said, we’re never going to sell the land to you. Don’t come back and don’t talk to us anymore. But you know, we’re not yet to the point where there is a sales contract ready to be signed and that sort of thing. So just positive discussions, I think, heading in a great direction,” Perry said.

As for a timeline, Perry said the conservancy is prepared to wait.

“It takes two people to make a real estate transaction work. We’re ready and willing, probably sooner than later. But it’s going to be up to those private landowners. It could be next week, it could be a few years. When you’re saving land forever, you’re prepared to wait a little while,” he said.

Perry said if the conservancy can acquire the land, the resulting park would be publicly accessible but privately owned, not a city park. He said the conservancy would work with the surrounding community to shape the amenities.

“We would work with the community to come up with a plan that would say these are the kinds of amenities that we want. We want nature trails. We want some benches. We want some elevated boardwalks over the wetlands. We want educational opportunities for school kids and maybe some school bus parking and that sort of thing,” Perry said.

Perry said the conservancy would not dictate the outcome to the neighborhood.

“We’re not going to come in and tell the residents of that neighborhood, this is what you’re going to get,” he said.

Perry said commercial developer interest in Evans Spring has been limited. He said previous proposals were ultimately not feasible due to cost and community opposition.

“Developers have looked at it. They’ve looked at the fact that a lot of its wetlands, a lot of its streams, it’s right there surrounded by an established neighborhood. And they just haven’t felt that the numbers or the community feedback has been positive,” Perry said.

Roanoke Mayor Joe Cobb said he is not aware of any recent inquiries from commercial developers. He said the original master plan process was triggered by a large development proposal that was ultimately rejected by the community, which led the city to create a framework for potential future proposals.

Cobb said all properties at Evans Spring remain agriculturally zoned, meaning any use change requires city approval. He also said access to the property is an issue that must be addressed regardless of what is built.

“The goal all along has been to create public access to this property. And whenever you create public access, you need to have ways for people to get there that aren’t completely disruptive to the surrounding neighborhoods,” Cobb said.

Cobb said the city is landlocked and must think holistically about economic growth and green space.

“We have to think holistically about where we can continue to grow economically, how we can increase our tax base, but at the same time enhance our green spaces and maybe think of some creative ways to combine those efforts. And I think Evans Spring presents itself as that sort of an opportunity,” Cobb said.

He said long-term questions about who would maintain the property, whether the conservancy or the city, would also need to be resolved, noting the city already manages a significant parks infrastructure.

Cobb said a village center with some residential component remains a possibility alongside conservation.

“Having some type of village center there, with some increased residential, is still a consideration. So I think we just need to be open to that and see. A lot of it’s going to depend on how interested the current property owners are in a full conservation area,” Cobb said.

Cobb said Evans Spring is still a meaningful part of the city’s long-term planning.

“Council’s ultimate hope is that whatever’s done here is going to be beneficial to the surrounding neighbors, beneficial to the city, beneficial to people who want to visit Roanoke,” he said.

Perry said the conservancy’s approach to the landowners is straightforward.

“We’re not going to make them out to be good guys or bad guys. We’re just simply trying to work with them to see if a deal can be struck. And whatever happens, happens,” Perry said.

Of the Evans Spring property owners, the only one reached was the Allegheny Construction Company, whose owners did not respond to a request for comment.

No contracts have been signed, and the land remains untouched.