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

DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990                   TAG: 9006260458
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TAP PREFERS HENRY STREET FOR NEW HEADQUARTERS

Total Action Against Poverty prefers that its new headquarters be in the Henry Street revival area, but is willing to consider other locations in Roanoke if the conditions are right, the president of the agency's board of directors said Monday.

"Over the long term of a 25-year perspective, in my opinion, the best investment would be on Henry Street," Cabell Brand told City Council.

Brand said he thinks TAP could help spur the Henry Street renewal by relocating its headquarters there. The anti-poverty agency lost its headquarters on Shenandoah Avenue Northwest to a fire Dec. 23.

The estimated cost for a new building is $3.6 million, but the agency is willing to try to raise the money if the city is willing to make an investment in the streets, parking and other facilities in the Henry Street area, he said.

Brand said TAP obtained an option on the old Stone Printing Co. building across from Hotel Roanoke after it became clear that some people were not enthusiastic about the Henry Street site.i

If the city rules out Henry Street as a site, Brand said TAP would be willing to consider moving into the city school administration building - the old Booker T. Washington School on Douglas Avenue near Interstate 581 and Orange Avenue - if certain conditions are met.

Brand said TAP "would look favorably" at the school administration building if the property was deeded as a gift and the city would remove asbestos, fix the roof and provide additional parking.

All decisions concerning the school building should be made before TAP's option on the Stone Printing building expires July 20, and TAP should be allowed to occupy the building as soon as possible, he said.

At Brand's request, council agreed to appoint three of its members - David Bowers, Elizabeth Bowles and Howard Musser - to work with TAP officials and City Manager Robert Herbert to evaluate the alternatives before the option on the Stone Printing building expires.

TAP won't do anything to interfere with Roanoke's plans for a convention and trade center and related development around Hotel Roanoke, Brand said.

Some city officials fear that plans for a convention and trade center could be hampered if TAP moves into the Stone Printing building.

"We told them [TAP] that we prefer not be landlocked if the convention center is on the NS buildings' site," Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. said recently.

The Stone Printing building, now occupied by Frame One, a wholesale framing business, is next to Norfolk Southern Corp.'s old office buildings, the recommended site for a convention center.

Brand raised the possibility that TAP could use the Stone Printing building as a temporary headquarters until a new building is constructed on Henry Street or another permanent location is chosen.

NS plans to construct a new office building at Williamson Road and Church Avenue in the Downtown East urban renewal area and presumably will vacate its old buildings near Hotel Roanoke.

The city has not made a final decision on the site for a convention center.

At this point, city officials do not know whether the recommended site will be available because they have not negotiated a deal with NS, but they want to retain flexibility if the site is acquired.

Officials said the Stone Printing building might be needed for future expansion of a convention center even if it's not required now.

by CNB