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

DATE: THURSDAY, June 21, 1990                   TAG: 9006210363
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A14   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHERE SHOULD TAP GO?

That seems a little like what has happened between Roanoke City officials and Total Action Against Poverty.

The anti-poverty organization recently acquired an option to buy the old Stone Printing building on North Jefferson Street near the Hotel Roanoke.

City officials' response was to worry aloud that TAP's moving there could hamper plans for a convention center next to the site.

The impression left was of TAP and the city, if not exactly colliding, at least moving at cross-purposes. They're not doing that, of course. But the issue at hand - a new home for TAP - does seem entangled with a host of other agendas, uncertainties and grievances.

It's clear TAP needs a new headquarters. The community-action agency was burned out of its former home last December. Everything else, however, remains unsettled - partly because so much is up in the air these days with both the city and TAP.

Roanoke officials like the idea of a convention center where Norfolk Southern's old office buildings now stand, across from the hotel and next to the structure TAP has an option to buy. But the city has yet to complete a convention-center study, it has not negotiated with NS about the property, and Virginia Tech is still studying how the hotel it was given can be made profitable.

TAP isn't much surer of its path. As state and federal funding continues to leave big gaps to fill, TAP is seeking increased support from the local business community. TAP seems to want closer ties to downtown, to Roanoke's business establishment.

It also wants to be part of the proposed revitalization of Henry Street, on the same side of the railroad tracks as the hotel. It's been suggested that TAP's new headquarters be built there, with the Stone Printing site as possibly interim quarters. But neither TAP nor buckets of government money are likely to revitalize Henry Street anytime soon without market demand created by a thriving hotel and convention center.

Local businesses, with good cause, are newly receptive to the idea that TAP's programs can help produce a better work force for Roanoke's future. But a new identity and a new building aren't necessarily synonymous. Raising money now for a headquarters, as opposed to ongoing TAP programs, would be difficult, given other public and private projects competing for funds.

It is a little odd that city officials should warn TAP that the Stone Printing building may be needed for future expansion of a convention center - while stressing that the convention center itself isn't close to being a done deal.

Presumably the Stone Printing building's current owner would sell it to someone else if TAP doesn't buy it. One wonders if the city is suggesting that TAP would give more trouble than other conceivable owners, and would demand more money for being bought out if the building were needed for the convention center. TAP officials are probably wondering if the city wants to hide their programs and clients from outsiders.

On the other hand, would it occur to any consultant drawing up plans for a trade-center complex to include an anti-poverty agency in the package? Not likely. It simply isn't a good fit.

TAP does need to consolidate its offices at least somewhat, so that clients won't get lost searching for facilities scattered through the city. But headquarters sites other than across from the hotel ought to be examined as well - including the building that now houses the city schools' administrative offices.

As the juggling of options begins, it's important not to lose sight of three things.

First, TAP is one of the pre-eminent organizations of its kind in the country, and one of Roanoke's major assets. It helps many in this community, mostly with funds collected from outside the valley, and it deserves the community's support.

Second, any fire-insurance money as well as other funds, if spared from building costs, would be available more directly for TAP's programs and clients - a desirable result.

Finally, TAP and the city depend on each other more than each probably realizes. Working together, without butting heads, is the best way to find TAP a new home.