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

DATE: THURSDAY, June 7, 1990                   TAG: 9006070112
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NS BUILDING PLAN ADVANCES

The commission approved the comprehensive site plan after being told that architects have revised the plans to help address some of the concerns raised earlier by city planners.

Construction is expected to begin by October on the 220,000-square-foot building at Franklin and Williamson roads.

Architect Bill Reynolds said the NS building will be situated on the 65,000-square-foot site so that a second office building, parking garage or retail structure could be constructed.

NS is buying the site - now a parking lot - from the city Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Both NS and city officials wanted to "maximize the site for future development," Reynolds said. The parcel is bounded by Franklin Road, Williamson Road and Church Avenue.

The building will be located only 10 feet from the west property line that abuts a pedestrian walkway between Franklin and Church that links Elmwood Park with the City Market area.

City planners have been concerned that the structure could encroach on the view from the park to the City Market area.

But Reynolds said the building won't detract from the view. The width of the walkway and the landscaping will help protect it, he said.

Reynolds said the location and width of the building's service entrance on Church Avenue have been changed to help reduce the visual impact on the market area. Landscaping will be provided on the Church Avenue side to help screen the service entrance, he said.

"The appearance from the historic market district will be pleasing," he said.

John Marlles, city chief of community planning, recommended that the commission approve the site plan. He said NS has addressed most of the issues, and has indicated it is willing to work with the city on the others.

City Manager Robert Herbert said he does not think the location will detract from the view of the pedestrian walkway.

"With the landscaping and changes that will be made on the other side [of the walkway], we will have a fine pedestrian walkway," Herbert said.

The city plans to redesign the area to help redefine the view when it constructs a parking garage on Church Avenue next to the city's Fire Station No. 1.

Herbert said he was pleased with the revisions in plans for the building, which he predicted will become a landmark in downtown.

The parking garage would provide 266 spaces for tenants in the nearby Crestar Bank building that will be taken when NS constructs its building.

The authority has a legal commitment to provide 266 parking spaces for the Crestar Bank building (formerly Colonial American Bank) under the terms of the original sale of the land, which was part of the Downtown East project.

The garage also would provide parking for other businesses and the public in addition to the bank, city officials said.