Joe Kennedy

Joe Kennedy is routinely named the region's best writer by readers of The Roanoker magazine.

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When I walk on Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke and see the original facade of the old Grand Piano building emerging from its blanket of bricks, pleasure washes over me.

When I look at the former Leggett department store in its new coat of many colors farther up the street, a similar sensation takes place.

Even when I contemplate the new Art Museum of Western Virginia, which some compare to a flying saucer, I feel its potential to improve our cultural life.

I've lived in these parts for 36 years. More projects are going on now than at any time I can recall.

They include downtown apartments and condominiums that cost as much as $1 million.

And a controversial plan to redesign the City Market.

And another controversial plan to erect an amphitheater on the former site of Victory Stadium.

And, still, talk of putting an inn atop Mill Mountain. And now, trolleys.

It's dizzying, and it makes me nervous.

I can recall the sleepy years, when the railroad was dominant and jobs felt secure. The hookers standing under the Meat Market sign across the street from Billy's Ritz made for good stories but drove visitors away.

Now, the smell of money is in the air. I hope that some of that money, in the form of tax revenues, reaches other things that need sprucing -- the schools, especially.

And the parks. Cultural organizations besides the new museum. The neighborhoods. Organizations that help kids' health and provide them with productive ways to burn off energy.

To me, that's the point: Develop attractions, generate visitors, increase revenues and then do good with them.

It doesn't always happen. My hometown, Baltimore, revived the waterfront areas near its downtown but you'd never know it if you toured some nearby neighborhoods.

Homicides are up, the schools are in shambles and even the Orioles aren't winning.

Don't laugh -- the team's record affects attendance, hotels, restaurants, museums and other businesses near the ballpark.

I hope Roanoke has a detailed plan for directing any windfalls from the new development toward the city's social infrastructure.

Without that, we're just creating a carnival.

If, indeed, Roanoke becomes the much-vaunted Destination Attraction its promoters pray for, it will have to be safe, with educated residents and well-tended neighborhoods.

They will be the signs of the city's true progress.

Joe Kennedy's column runs Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.