ROANOKE, Va. – The Virginia Tech Foundation is exploring the possibility of selling the historic Hotel Roanoke, a landmark that has been in the city for over a century.
The potential sale comes after nearly three decades of partnership between Virginia Tech and the City of Roanoke in operating the property.
“We wanted to approach the City of Roanoke, along with the foundation, to talk about whether or not it would make sense to consider selling the Hotel Roanoke,” said Mark Owczarski, Virginia Tech spokesperson.
The timing of these exploratory discussions is strategic, according to Owczarski.
“The hotel is in really good shape. It’s on a solid foundation. It’s doing really well,” Owczarski explained. “We also have some opportunities where some operational and licensing contracts are set to expire, and so that might make the thought of acquiring the hotel maybe a little bit more attractive to a potential buyer.”
The ownership structure of the Hotel Roanoke involves multiple parties:
- The Virginia Tech Foundation, separate from the university, owns the hotel portion
- The Hilton Curio Collection handles daily operations
- The University and City of Roanoke jointly own and operate the attached conference center through the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission
While no deal is currently on the table, Owczarski emphasized that any potential sale would need to benefit all stakeholders.
“The idea is whatever happens, we want to make sure all the partners are on the same page,” Owczarski said. “From the University’s perspective, this could be an opportunity where we can further invest and engage with the city of Roanoke.”
The university sees this potential move as part of its broader investment strategy in Roanoke.
“When you look at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, when you look at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, for example, those are recent investments that the University has made that has really had a great and positive impact on the city of Roanoke,” Owczarski noted.
The Hotel Roanoke and its conference center have been “an incredible success story” over the past 30 years, according to Owczarski. He added, “What we’re looking to do is create new opportunities, find new ways to invest, to write new and exciting chapters for the city of Roanoke into the future.”
The Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission is scheduled to hold a closed session meeting on Thursday to discuss the property’s future.