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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 7, 1994                   TAG: 9412070132
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AUTHORITY TO BUILD, SELL 15 HOUSES

The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority is getting into real estate development next year, spending $1 million to build 15 houses that will be sold to first-time home buyers.

The authority's board of commissioners authorized the project Tuesday, agreeing to go ahead with grading 2 acres near Liberty Road in Northwest Roanoke, where nine of the homes will be built.

The authority hopes to build another six houses on property it owns along Madison, McDowell and Harrison avenues in the Gainsboro neighborhood.

"Our goal is to encourage self-sufficiency of public housing and [rent-subsidized] residents and other low- to moderate-income families of Roanoke by providing affordable and attractive home ownership opportunities to first-time home buyers," said Robert Glenn Jr., acting chairman of the board of commissioners.

The three- to four-bedroom homes will average 1,150 square feet and will be sold at cost for an estimated $50,000 to $60,000, said Linda Jilk, authority spokeswoman. The authority also will provide assistance with down payments and closing costs.

The homes will be designed by architect Hunter Greene and may be customized for the buyers. Each will have 11/2 bathrooms, washer and dryer hookups and landscaped yards.

The houses are designed to be energy efficient and easy to maintain. Several floor plans are available, as are options such as decks, basements, cabinet styles and carpeting.

Construction is slated to begin on the first home next spring and it should be finished in the summer, said Neva Smith, the authority's executive director. It will be one of nine built on Queens Avenue off Courtland Road near Liberty Road between Interstate 581 and Williamson Road.

A family's income must be at least $18,000 to qualify for the program and there also are maximum income guidelines. A family of four can make no more than $31,400 annually to qualify. A family of six can make no more than $36,950.

Money for the program came from sales in Highland Manor, an 81-home subdivision the authority built in 1969. Those houses were sold by lease-purchases.

by CNB