Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 6, 1995 TAG: 9509060134
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Barton Wilner, spokesman for the organizers, said the effort to gain enough members to found the club will continue through this week. The organizers have a grace period that extends their option on buying the mansion for about a week.
The land is owned by Carilion Health System, which intends to sell it. Other proposed uses for the Carolina Avenue mansion and grounds are a nursing home, condominiums or town houses.
Wilner, who last week announced scaled-down plans and lower membership fees for the club, said Tuesday the changes triggered a major response during the long weekend. Organizers eliminated the indoor tennis courts, fitness center and locker rooms from the proposal. This leaves a pool, outdoor tennis courts and the mansion converted into a clubhouse for dining and other activities.
The price dropped from an initiation fee of $3,000 and dues of $200 a month to a new schedule of $1,000 initiation fee and $100 a month.
Wilner said about 60 families had signed up during the month before the changes were made. The number rose during the weekend to about 150 families, Wilner said.
The club needs a membership of about 400 families to launch the plans.
The project "is not a done deal," Wilner said, but the organizers are "very encouraged" that the membership goal can be achieved. If the weekend's momentum can be sustained, he said, "we've got an excellent shot."
Wilner noted that many people were on vacation or were away during the holiday weekend. And many people who joined are trying to enlist friends in the effort to save the mansion and establish the tennis-swimming-dining club.
The lower price, he said, "appears to have struck a chord" among local residents.
Wilner can be reached at 982-1959.
by CNB