Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408230063
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE TENNIS BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
DATELINE: MEADOWVIEW LENGTH: Medium
So in July, Crookshank did something about it.
Four buildings in downtown Meadowview, off Interstate 81, have stood rotting and decaying for decades. All the buildings belong to different owners.
This summer, the 45-year-old Crookshank approached the buildings' owners and got approval to give the downtown strip of this Washington County ghost town a makeover. Crookshank is paying for paint, labor, wood and windows - all out of his own pocket.
And if he can get a bank loan approved, Crookshank wants to buy the buildings, get the town listed on Virginia's historic register and make Meadowview a tourist attraction.
He envisions bustling little shops. He also wants to build an outdoor stage and bring back the Saturday night concerts that, half a decade ago, had folks cruising in from miles around to dance at Meadowview's town square.
``I reckon I am crazy, 100 percent pure crazy,'' Crookshank said.
``It's totally different, just totally unorthodox the way I've gone about it,'' he said. ``But it seems to be working.''
For help, Crookshank hired unemployed teens and a few handicapped adults - ``people that society, that the job market, overlooks,'' he said.
The mixed lot is now a labor force of ``wonderful workers.'' Crookshank said. ``That's the beautiful part.''
Once the project is complete, Crookshank wants to re-incorporate Meadowview with its own town council.
``We can make this happen,'' he said.
And if not?
``If the banks back out on us,'' Crookshank said, ``then I'll just say, `This is your gift, Meadowview.'''
Crookshank said he has a proven track record on revitalizing old structures.
In nearby Emory, he guided a plan to remake a decaying, century-old building that once housed a post office into a trendy, uptown restaurant called Addison & Co. It now draws customers from as far as Wytheville and northeastern North Carolina.
Crookshank, a native of Washington County, runs a marketing research firm from a brick building on the town square. Hayters Gap resident Raymon Grace, 49, became a partner a couple of months ago.
Along the way, the former block mason joined Crookshank's downtown Meadowview reclamation project.
Grace said he thought Crook-shank was crazy when he came up with the idea to fix up Meadowview. ``Certainly. I thought he was crazy trying to fix up Addison's. But it worked.''
Said Crookshank: ``All my life I'd heard, `I wish somebody would fix those old buildings up.'
``Everybody looks at Meadowview and says it will take millions and millions and millions of dollars to fix it up. And that's not true.''
Once, old-timers will tell you, Meadowview was filled on Saturday nights with dances in the town square, now a faded plot of cracked asphalt where truckers park tractor-trailers.
A personal touch is what he wants to leave in downtown Meadowview.
``All we have to do is clean it up and sell it to tourists,'' he said. ``We can make this the cutest tourist attraction this side of Abingdon.''
by CNB