Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990 TAG: 9006010068
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
More than 30,000 watts of lighting will be directed on the building, said E. Clifton, a project manager of G.J. Hopkins Inc., the Roanoke mechanical and electrical contractor, which on May 1 signed on as one of the building's first subcontractors.
With a copper dome on top of the building and the planned lighting, the traveling public should be able to see the tower from far north on Intersate 581.
The prime contractor for the 20-story building - which will house a parking garage, retail and office space - is F.N. Thompson, Inc. of Charlotte, N.C. The developer is Faison Associates of Charlotte.
In April, after Thompson was announced as the building's contractor, building and construction unions in Roanoke went to City Council, complaining that the North Carolina contractor would bring out-of-state workers in for the job. City officials, at that time, told the unions that they understood some subcontractors would be hired locally.
Bob Schneider, who is supervising the construction for Thompson, indicated that eight subcontractors have been hired so far, in addition to Hopkins.
Two others are from Roanoke.
Branch Construction of Roanoke was hired to demolish the Hunter Viaduct to make way for the building at the corner of Salem Avenue and Jefferson Street and also was contracted to do the excavation. Concrete Ready Mixed Corp. of Roanoke will be the concrete subcontractor on the job.
Other subcontractors already hired are from the Richmond and Greensboro, N.C., areas. Schneider indicated that when more subcontractors are hired some will probably be from Roanoke.
Construction on the building is going well, with the foundation under excavation and a lot of it already poured in concrete, Schneider said. The building is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 1991.
Hopkins, which employs 200 people and has projects under way in several Virginia localities, won the building's electrical and communications contract after bidding through six construction planning stages, beginning last October. Included in the contract will be installations of the building's emergency alarm and card-reader security systems.
The building will contain more than 80 miles of electrical wiring, Clifton said. The company estimates 50,000 man-hours will be required to complete the electrical systems in the building.
The proximity card-reader security system will be the first of its type in the Roanoke Valley. Clifton explained it will not be necessary to insert a card in a slot, only hold it near the reader.
The security system will allow limited access to card-holders, providing high security for each floor, as well as each tenant in the building.
Dominion Bankshares Corp. will be the major tenant in the $40 million, 320-foot-high building. Dominion will rent 90,000 of the building's 205,868 square feet of office space.
Rumors that there will be a restaurant on the top floor of the building are untrue, according to the developer. Nor will there be a public viewing area on the floor, which will be totally occupied by the bank, the developer said.
by CNB