Riverdale Fire Destroys Prime Business Building Developer Says Is 'Not Possible' To Rebuild
Though Noke Van initially said the fire left 20 employees without jobs, the company said they plan to keep everyone employed.
A three-alarm fire that gutted a Roanoke business in the nascent Riverdale development destroyed what developer Ed Walker called “probably the best” building on the site.
Noke Van Co., which builds and rents camper vans, said the fire, which broke out late Friday, leveled its space. Friends of the business owners have started a fundraiser with a $100,000 goal, which as of late Tuesday had taken in more than $31,000.
Walker said it was not possible to rebuild the 34,000-square-foot brick building off 9th Street Southeast.
“It’s been heartbreaking,” Walker said in an email. “We’ll focus on supporting Noke Vans to come back better than ever, and we’ll keep making consistent progress at Riverdale.”
Walker’s Riverdale development has heralded Noke Van as an exemplar of “current innovators” that occupy the campus, alongside furniture maker Txtur and the Star City School of Ballet. Walker has pledged to invest at least $50 million into transforming the former American Viscose Plant into a thriving community of residences, shops, a hotel and more.
At least for Riverdale as a whole, Walker described the fire as a “temporary setback” and said developers are moving forward with planned projects. Crews are preparing to break ground on a 267-apartment complex.
Noke Van was founded in 2022 by Josh and Jen Yerton and Justin and Kari VanBlaricom.
The vanBlaricoms are also in the midst of restoring a 19th-century cottage in Fishburn Park to become a coffee shop. The city’s decision in 2022 to sell the cottage and acre of parkland to the vanBlaricoms sparked fierce neighborhood debate.
The Noke Van. Co. building in Riverdale as seen before the fire, left, and after. BEFORE PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID HUNGATE; AFTER BY DAVID HUNGATE FOR THE ROANOKE RAMBLER
The vanBlaricoms said Monday that they’re trying to determine a plan for Noke Van going forward. They said Walker is trying to find a new space for the business.
Though Noke Van initially said the fire left its 20 employees without jobs, the vanBlaricoms said they plan to keep everyone employed thanks to community support.
Roanoke Fire-EMS said Wednesday that the fire was accidental and involved electrical components. They estimated damages at $4.25 million.
Chris’s Coffee & Custard, a popular shop at Riverdale that doubles as a training center for people with disabilities, announced that it had lost its truck in the fire.
“Plans to rebuild another Chris’s truck will be discussed in the upcoming weeks,” the business said in a statement posted on social media.
Chris’s Custard said Johnson Orthodontics has launched a $20,000 matching fundraiser for a new truck, which it uses for community outreach.