Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 10, 1990 TAG: 9004100535
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Herbert McBride, executive director of the city's Redevelopment and Housing Authority, said Monday that engineers are trying to finish the plans as quickly as possible.
Construction of the garage, next to the city's Fire Station No. 1, is linked to Norfolk Southern's plans to construct an office building at Franklin and Williamson roads in the Downtown East urban renewal area.
The site for NS' new building is a parking lot used by tenants in the Crestar Bank building.
The Church Avenue garage would provide 266 parking spaces for tenants in the Crestar building. The garage also is likely to provide additional parking for NS and the public, city officials said.
The authority has a legal commitment to provide the 266 parking spaces for the Crestar building (formerly Colonial American Bank) under the terms of the sale of the land, which was part of the Downtown East project.
A preliminary proposal for the Church Avenue garage called for five floors for parking with more 400 spaces.
The city hopes to persuade a private housing developer to build several floors of condominiums on the top of the garage.
"The idea is to make it look like a building - not a parking garage. The facade would be different than a garage," said Wesley White, land planning director for the city's Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
City officials have been seeking more downtown housing for several years, saying it is the missing element in downtown revitalization.
by CNB