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

DATE: TUESDAY, August 31, 1993                   TAG: 9308310097
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MOVING TO FRANKLIN ROAD

John Thompson, a spokesman for the General Services Administration in Philadelphia, said the agency signed a 10-year, $3.6 million lease with the building's owner, Faison Associates of Charlotte, N.C. Faison bought the building in 1991 from Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove as part of a contract to put the Roanoke law firm in Dominion Tower.

The lease calls on the federal government to pay Faison about $362,000 annually for the 21,200-square-foot space, or $17.12 per square foot per year.

The building will be renovated. "It will have to be refitted to meet our needs," said Morgan Scott, U.S. attorney until Bob Crouch, a Clinton appointee, takes office in September.

Department of Justice regulations require an alarm system and stronger door locks. Some exterior windows will to be blocked to ensure security for witnesses, prosecutors and employees, Scott said.

Stuart Meredith, director of leasing for Hall Associates in Roanoke, said the government often requires that the landlord pay renovation costs and normally negotiates a relatively flat yearly rate for the properties it rents.

Typical commercial leases call on business tenants to pay 3 or 4 percent annual increases over the initial square-foot cost of the lease.

The move is part of a GSA plan to relieve crowding at the Poff Building brought on by growth in the federal court system and the Veterans Affairs Department. A $3 million renovation of the Poff Building is expected to begin next spring.

The U.S. Postal Service also has been told to find a new downtown facility. A decision on a site is expected next month. Other agencies planning to move are the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, the Secret Service and the Office of Hearing and Appeals for Social Security.