Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 11, 1990                   TAG: 9004110322
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DWAYNE YANCEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EXPLORE TO START DRAWING UP LEASES FOR SHOP OWNERS

The state board in charge of the state park gave the go-ahead for the staff to start drawing up leases for people who want to run shops in the proposed Blue Ridge Town that would be the tourist attraction's commercial heart.

So far, there aren't any specific businesses ready to sign leases, said project engineer Richard Burrow.

However, Explore has gotten enough inquiries - mostly from people who make arts and crafts - that the project needs to develop a policy on leases, Burrow said.

For instance, there are three ways the state park could handle the leasing of the buildings in the re-created frontier town that would house shops, museums and living-history enactments.

In all three cases, Explore will own the land and building. However:

Explore could build the building (or reassemble one, in the case of the 18th and 19th century structures it's obtaining) and finish the interior, then lease it to the merchant who will run the shop.

Explore could build the building, but have the merchant who leases it finish the interior.

Or the merchant could build the building to Explore's specifications and finish the interior as well.

The Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority, the 13-member state board that runs Explore, directed the staff to draw up generic leases for all three methods and report back.

In other action, the Explore board also bought 3.2 acres with a house in Roanoke County. Explore paid Gertie Dickerson $50,000 for the property, which is where Rutrough Road dead-ends near the Roanoke River.

That brought the amount of land Explore owns to 1,285 acres.