In the years following
World War I, Roanoke continued to develop as a
boomtown due to the growth of the
Norfolk and Western Railway, and as such, the city needed additional lodging options for persons traveling to the city. In 1923, local business leader William Wise Boxley chartered
The Hotel Corporation to serve as the developer of the Patrick Henry. Later in the year, Boxley selected William Lee Stoddart as the project architect with James Stewart & Company of
New York selected as the
general contractor. At the time of its opening, the Patrick Henry was operated by the
hotel management firm of Meyer Hotels of
Birmingham,
Alabama; Meyer operated the hotel through 1954. After several attempts to
foreclose on the property, by the late 1990s, Affirmative Equities was considering options on converting the hotel into
senior living units. With the final resident having moved out by 2005, the hotel closed its doors in 2007 and the structure was subsequently
condemned as it was non-compliant with
fire code. After being foreclosed on in 2009 for failing to pay back taxes, the property was purchased by Potomac Realty Capital of
Boston for $2 million and subsequently resold to Roanoke developer Ed Walker the following October. Its transformation into apartments began in late 2009. In December 2010, the
Jefferson College of Health Sciences announced they would reserve 56 of the units for use by their students. The $20 million renovation was completed in June 2011 and includes 134 apartment units, a restaurant, and retail/office space. ==References==