The goings on at Radford
So much has happened in the town and university of Radford that it seemed good to give a shoutout.
The City of Radford unveiled a new logo. A year after the rebranding process began, the city recently unveiled a new logo that they say is evocative of the people and history of the area. In the foreground is Ingles Mountain with the stylized rapids of the New River in front. According to Mayor David Horton, the logo will eventually be added to the signs when entering the City and on the City owned vehicles and buildings. Changes to the website and social media accounts are already underway.
Radford University unveiled plans to build a $20 million hotel. Radford University Foundation will be taking on building a hotel at the corner of Calhoun St and Tyler Ave, near campus.
The hotel will have 125 room, rooftop restaurant, a conference center and onsite parking. Time will tell how it stacks up to the Inn at Virginia Tech, but it certainly seems to be taking a page from their playbook. The hotel is slated to be open by 2023, but Covid may change that.
RU is also planning on developing the riverfront. Like beloved waterfronts around the world, the New in Radford is getting a boardwalk and retail/recreation development. It'll include an amphitheater, zip line, and restaurant space. No estimates on completion dates right now.
The "Bridge to RU" program between RU and NRCC has been established. The program will allow select high school students who didn't earn admission to RU to enroll at NRCC while working with mentors at RU to lay out a plan for eventual enrollment while still being an active part of RU campus.
Bridge students are considered RU students for financial aid purposes, but the cost is about $3000 less than the cheapest plan at RU, since the courses are at NRCC. After the first year, successful students become full time RU students.
City of Radford named a new police chief. Jeffrey Dodson Jr. will serve as the
next Police Chief. He's Law Enforcement Certified and a Crime Prevention Specialist and has worked his way up from Patrol Officer to Police Lieutenant in Culpeper County before being offered the position in Radford after a three month interview process.
With all the great things on the horizon at Radford, it's going to add even more to the New River Valley and a lot to look forward to in the post-Covid world..
Sources: https://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/news/releases/2019/october/hotel-announcement.html https://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/radford-ready-to-unveil-new-logo/article_a9e983be-3ea3-510a-8ae7-1d8d88f7462c.html?fbclid=IwAR3UBQCZwvYS8RhJpHvbHUCaD2ZYo4RPlWey2WrJWzCn8cbttbo3_RcaMP4 https://wset.com/news/local/radford-university-announces-plans-for-hotel-near-campus https://www.wdbj7.com/content/news/Radford-University-to-build-world-class-hotel-develop-along-citys-riverfront-563825331.html https://www.wsls.com/news/2019/10/25/radford-university-announces-plans-for-full-service-hotel-huge-riverfront-entertainment-area/ https://www.roanoke.com/news/education/radford-university-nrcc-to-provide-bridge-to-selected-students/article_d84a0284-3c4c-56ca-b58b-65fc631b9738.html https://wset.com/news/local/radford-names-new-police-chief