Virginia Tech and Carilion’s plans for a health sciences and technology innovation district in Roanoke represent greater fruition of years of preparing the earth for the sprouting of the 21st-century economy.
The plans also present Roanoke with a new task: how to evolve its economic development efforts to nurture and receive the tech and health sector people the district is supposed to attract and the businesses it’s supposed to create. “This is the future. This is 21st-century economic development,” said Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill.