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

DATE: SATURDAY, October 7, 1995                   TAG: 9510110024
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FOR SALE, A FACTORY FOR ALL REASONS

WITH A GRAVEL FLOOR and only minimal lighting, this shell building can be finished to suit the buyer.

Construction crews next week will complete a generic factory building in EastPark Commerce Center in Botetourt County which business and government officials say holds the promise of future jobs.

A shortage of available industrial buildings has hampered business recruitment efforts in the Roanoke Valley, economic developers have said. The new building adds one large property with a number of possible users to the inventory of business sites.

Directors of the Roanoke Valley Development Foundation, which paid the $1.4 million in construction costs, hope it won't stay vacant for long after its dedication on Wednesday. The foundation, which invests in land and building projects to spur economic growth, has plans to launch a similar project once it recovers its investment, said secretary John Stroud, who also is president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

But the foundation might hold any offers it receives to ensure the greatest chance the buyer is a manufacturer paying good wages. Though precise wage criteria were not set, the foundation probably would not sell the property to a firm in the relatively low-paying distribution industry, Stroud said.

The building was left incomplete - with gravel floors and temporary low-level lights - so it could be finished to suit the widest number of users. The buyer of the so-called shell building will finish construction to suit its needs.

"We tried to leave the slate as blank as possible," said Jeff Wood, project manager and a principal in Rife & Wood architects in Roanoke, which designed the building. J.M. Turner Inc. was the contractor.

In its search for a buyer, the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership several months ago mailed out a two-sided flier describing the building to 2,000 prospective users and corporate consultants. Three to five potential buyers have inspected it, said Ned McElwaine, assistant Botetourt County administrator, and many more are believed to have driven by.

The building is for sale for $1.46 million, but the price can be reduced by $150,000 for a company willing to hire at least 125 people.

by CNB