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

DATE: FRIDAY, August 20, 1993                   TAG: 9308200258
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

DEVELOPERS, TECH DIFFER ON LAND PLAN

Local developer Ray Chisholm has teamed up with a group of Charlottesville investors and bought a tiny parcel of land in the middle of Virginia Tech's campus that university officials have been eyeing for decades.

Chisholm and his partners formed Brantner Land Trust and paid $500,000 for the two-thirds of an acre between Turner and Barger streets - about two blocks from Tech's Drill Field.

The purchase sets the stage for a possible zoning battle between Chisholm, who has talked about building a graduate-student dorm on the site, and Tech, which has an engineering building penciled in there on the university's master plan.

Both parties, however, were hesitant to talk Wednesday about their plans for the pricey parcel.

"It's fair to say that the university has long-range interest in that property, but we have no immediate plans," said Larry Hincker, director of university relations. "It's their property now, and I guess they have to decide what to do with it."

The new owners, however, might not be able to do much without Tech's approval.

Because the land is surrounded by Tech property, town planners in the mid-1970s put it in the university zoning district, which basically means nothing can be built without Tech's approval.

Chisholm said Wednesday that the group has no definite plans for the property. "We haven't decided yet what we are going to do with it," he said. "We're keeping our options open, and we're in no big hurry."

by CNB