ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605220034
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
Roanoke-Salem Plaza was sold Tuesday, one day after Roanoke City Council changed the zoning of the shopping center.
Bob Copty of Copty & Co. of Roanoke, which handled the transaction, said the seller was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The 245,000-square-foot complex was purchased by Roanoke-Salem Business Center L.L.C.
John Lipscomb, one of the new owners, said the buyers are working with Roanoke's planning department to create the area's first Industrial Planned Unit Development.
He identified the other partners as David McCray and Roy Creasy, both of Roanoke, and Creasy's brother, Richard Creasy of Winchester.
Roanoke City Council approved rezoning for the Industrial Planned Unit Development. Nobody spoke against the change from general commercial zoning.
The new classification permits a variety of commercial uses, such as retail, offices and light industry, in a planned development.
"We are excited about acquiring the property and plan to expand the marketing options for the available space," Lipscomb said.
"We intend to aggressively pursue office and some light industrial uses along with the existing traditional retail applications," he said. "With the new Peters Creek Road extension and the ideal design for a mix of uses, we are most optimistic about the success of our leasing efforts."
Copty estimated that the center, built in 1961, is 35 percent to 40 percent leased, but he said several businesses are interested in moving there now that the center has been rezoned.
He said a lab and an indoor storage facility are examples of uses that were barred under the old zoning but permitted in an Industrial Planned Unit Development. No outdoor storage is planned, he said, and the center will be unobtrusive to the neighborhood.
The shopping center's tract is 28 acres, Copty said, but the center and parking lot cover most of the property. That means the majority of the new developments will take place inside the center.
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