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

DATE: FRIDAY, April 28, 1995                   TAG: 9504280041
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HOTEL IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR HISTORICAL STATUS

Hotel Roanoke likely will be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that could provide $2 million to $3 million in federal income tax credits to its owners.

Renew Roanoke and the Virginia Tech Real Estate Foundation Inc. make up a limited liability company that owns the hotel, said Ray Smoot, vice president of finance at Virginia Tech.

Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, on Thursday announced his support for the hotel's application to the register and said he would support it. Moe spoke during a tourism conference at the hotel. A decision is expected before the end of the year.

"I'd be surprised if it didn't make it," Moe said in a brief interview.

Moe's endorsement was seconded by Alex Wise, who directs the state Department of Historic Resources. The hotel has applied to be on the state's historic register, which is a prerequisite to getting on the national list.

"We think this will go through quite easily," Wise said.

The register is the nation's official list of historic and cultural sites worthy of preservation.

Placement on the register provides tax credits to the building's owner and valuable exposure for the property through the trust's promotions and advertising.

If the hotel is selected, its owners would be obligated to keep the hotel's English Tudor facade during any exterior modifications that are paid with federal funds.

It will be seven or eight years before the hotel company earns income from the hotel, but the one-time tax credit could be held until that time, Smoot said.

by CNB