ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601110142
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
Roanoke Valley builders are anticipating a year that will look to them very much like 1995.
"Modest to strong" is how Jack Avis of Roanoke's Avis Construction Co. described last year and assessed the new year. "We anticipate [business] will remain at current levels."
Prices in construction have been keeping up with the rate of inflation, Avis said.
Industrial and institution building is, like the overall market, modest to strong, he said, but work for commercial structures is slow and "we expect it to stay that way."
"We're not looking for any changes," reported Lee Wilhelm of J.M. Turner & Co. Inc. in Roanoke.
Over the past two years, he said, the construction industry has rebounded from a fairly low point. On the other hand, he doesn't see a great deal of increase in activity: "It will be about the same as '95 - active, but not overly active.''
Wilhelm said economic development specialists are showing valley sites to a large number of prospective industries right now, but added that there is heavy competition with other communities for landing these businesses. That's a way of saying, he noted, that a tour by an industrial prospect doesn't necessarily translate into new construction business.
He knows of no major projects in the planning stages for construction in the new year.
Richard S. Whitney Jr. of Fralin & Waldron Inc., outgoing president of the Roanoke Regional Home Builders Association, also sees "a similar year to 1995'' in residential development.
Last year was a good year in home construction, he said, although not quite as good as 1994. The situation should continue, according to Whitney, because interest rates are low, making mortgages affordable for more buyers, and housing prices have not escalated.
Robert H. Fetzer of Building Specialists Inc., a past president of the association, is projecting a strong demand this year for renovations and upgrading of both residential and commercial properties. Restoration of older structures is his company's speciality.
He based his prediction on low interest rates this year.
People are tending to live longer in their homes before they move, Fetzer said. That creates a strong demand for bathroom and kitchen remodeling.
He said he is finding a little more interest in renovation of buildings in downtown Roanoke, spurred by a new study called Design Showcase. That project is intended to spark interest in restoring older buildings for residential as well as commercial uses.
This is creating more willingness by owners to renovate second- and third-story space into apartments. With low interest rates and the opportunity for improvements, Fetzer said, more downtown property owners are likely to move forward with these plans.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: chart - 1995 Roanoke Building Permits staffby CNB