ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 23, 1996 TAG: 9611250150
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
A landlord will reconstruct a Rocky Mount apartment building that partially collapsed after a heavy rain storm in August, forcing more than a dozen tenants to scramble to find a place to live.
A Franklin County judge's ruling Friday gives the building's owner, William Bratton of Roanoke, 60 days to begin the work.
Bratton said he's talking with a company about the project and hopes to start work in about 30 days.
"I want this building to enhance the community," he said. "That's what I've said all along since this happened. I don't understand why [the town] gave me such a hard time. I really don't."
Town officials - agitated about the structure's condition before it collapsed and concerned about it as a public safety hazard afterward - asked for a court order requiring demolition of the building, located on Greenmeadow Lane and known by locals by its address - the "707" apartments.
But Circuit Judge B.A. Davis III, after listening to testimony at Friday's hearing, decided to give Bratton time to fix the building, said town attorney John Boitnott.
Bratton, a minister who also owns rental property in Roanoke, said several weeks ago that he decided to rebuild after determining it would be cheaper to repair the building than to tear it down.
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines KEYWORDS: 2DAby CNB