A controversial idea to bring a casino to Roanoke’s Berglund Center as part of an entertainment district is on city council’s agenda for Monday.
The city council is set to hear a presentation at its 7 p.m. meeting about the casino and entertainment district proposal, the current status of the Berglund Center and feedback from a focus group that met for several months earlier this year to discuss the issue, according to a 59-slide presentation attached to the online agenda.
The Berglund Center was built in 1971 and its hulking presence between Interstate 581 and Williamson Road is a reminder of urban renewal, when the city demolished hundreds of Black-owned homes, businesses and churches in the Gainsboro neighborhood to build it and the highway, among other developments.
