ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601220058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE AND BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITERS
A 400-acre cattle farm at the foot of Catawba Mountain in Roanoke County is on a list of state properties that Gov. George Allen wants to sell to fund the 1994-96 state budget, according to a list released Friday.
The Allen administration estimates that the Catawba farm, which Virginia Tech used for cattle research, would bring $1.2 million on the open market.
If the scenic Tech land were sold, Roanoke County could face additional pressure to amend its policy of discouraging high-density residential development north of Catawba Mountain. The county has sought to focus demand for schools, police and other services in central areas ringing the cities of Salem and Roanoke.
Charlie Stott, spokesman for Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said the university keeps a small herd of beef cattle on the farm for reproduction research. Because of budget cuts in recent years, the school has been transferring the operation to a farm on the New River in the Whitethorne section of Montgomery County.
"We just don't have the people or the money to maintain it there."
Stott said he would like to see some of the proceeds from the sale returned to Tech. The governor's plan calls for the money to be used for higher education projects.
Other surplus property identified in Western Virginia includes:
490 rugged acres on Catawba Hospital property, although not the hospital itself. The mountainous land, in western Roanoke County, was valued at $910,000.
307 acres in Franklin County that Virginia Western Community College uses for biology and horticulture classes. It is valued at $598,000.
A parcel identified only as a "chemical storage lot" in Montgomery County, valued at $10,000.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff. KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB