Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 9, 1993 TAG: 9311090260
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Four years after the Hotel Roanoke closed, they came Monday to mark the beginning of work to reopen the landmark hotel in the spring of 1995.
The size of the crowd demonstrated Roanokers' affection for the 110-year-old hotel on the hill overlooking downtown.
Nearly 800 people gathered on the hotel grounds for music, cookies, peanuts and speeches on what the $40 million project will mean for the Roanoke Valley and Western Virginia.
Asbestos removal and interior demolition work began on the hotel several weeks ago, but Monday's events were designated as the groundbreaking ceremony for the joint project by the city and Virginia Tech.
Besides the scores of dignitaries in business suits, there were dozens of people who came because they have fond memories of dances, parties, reunions and other celebrations at the hotel.
City Manager Bob Herbert said the size of the crowd exceeded the city and Virginia Tech's expectations.
They came to pay tribute to those who have contributed time, effort and money to help renovate the hotel and construct a conference center.
Thousands of people deserve thanks for what they have done, said Councilman James Harvey, chairman of the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission.
"We know who are the real heroes of this project, and that is the people of Roanoke," Harvey said.
More than 2,800 individuals and businesses made donations in a fund-raising drive that netted more than $5 million.
Mayor David Bowers said there were many reasons the project might have failed: the economic recession; many hotels have fallen into bankruptcy; new hotel construction has halted; budget pressures on the city and Virginia Tech.
But the project will become a reality, he said, because the people of Roanoke saw the opportunity and took advantage of it.
The hotel will be owned by the Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation, and the conference center will be owned by the city.
Both facilities will be operated by Doubletree Hotels, which manages 57 hotels in North America.
"This a leading-edge project. Nowhere else in the country does a project involving a university, a city and a commercial hotel exist," Bowers said.
Paul Torgersen, interim president of Virginia Tech, said Monday's ceremonies were an echo of the financial donations and pledges for the project last winter.
He said the hotel and conference center can become a front door for Tech and an open door for other colleges and universities in the region.
Both Torgersen and Harvey paid special tribute to James McComas, former president of Tech, and the late Horace Fralin, a Roanoke builder and Tech graduate, for their roles in the project. They were described as major players.
Both McComas and Fralin have been stricken with cancer since work began on the project. Fralin died earlier this year, and McComas resigned because of his illness.
"The history of Virginia Tech's commitments to this valley is a reflection of the biographies and leadership of Horace Fralin and Jim McComas," Torgersen said.
The $40 million project is divided into two parts: A $27.5 million renovation of the hotel into 330 guest rooms; a $12.8 million, 86,000-square-foot conference center.
Gary W. Crizer, regional director of sales for Doubletree, has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. From Doubletree's Phoenix, N.M., headquarters, Crizer has already begun booking business and recruiting a sales staff.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, the speakers demonstrated some of the teleconferencing technology that will be available in the conference center. The crowd observed video and audio communication between the speakers and others at remote locations. In addition, the ceremony was broadcast live across the Virginia Tech campus cable television system and the Blacksburg cable system.
by CNB