ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 25, 1996 TAG: 9606250096
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
Salem City Council closed one deal with Roanoke College but denied another Monday night.
The city will give its school administration building and pay a difference of $1.7 million to the college for about 52 1/2 acres of the college's Elizabeth Campus and the YMCA building.
But in an unrelated action, council denied a request from the college to grant it the title to a section of High Street that runs through its main campus. Council did, however, promise to work with the college to satisfy a needs list the college has for High Street.
After about 15 minutes of closed executive session, City Council changed nothing in the proposed land swap and then voted to approve the deal that Mayor Jim Taliaferro and T.D. Steele, chairman of the college's Executive Committee, worked out after two years of negotiating.
Salem will pay the principal of $1.7 million over five years at payments of $342,000 plus 5 percent interest.
Salem is hoping the 521/2 acres it has acquired across from the Civic Center property will fulfill a need the city has for future commercial and industrial land within its landlocked borders.
The city has talked about using the land for a hotel and restaurant combination; as many as three industrial sites; or extra space for Civic Center events.
Salem currently uses some of that land for overflow parking during the Salem Fair and other events.
"We know it will do a lot of different things, but we don't yet know exactly what we want it to do," said City Manager Randy Smith.
Taliaferro, who served his last council meeting Monday night as mayor, said this deal will prove to be a valuable investment for the city.
"Obviously, we can't annex any land," he said.
Salem also acquires four acres of land off Indiana Street in the deal.
Roanoke College's negotiator, Steele, said the acquisition of the school administration building will allow the college to vacate an office wing it built behind the old Roanoke County courthouse. The college plans to move the offices from that wing across the street into the school administration building. Then it will tear down the wing to better landscape the entrance to the college, Steele said.
The city's school offices will move into the building on College Avenue that used to house the Roanoke County Health Department. In the agreement, the school administration has a year to complete its move.
The college was not as successful Monday in its request that the city grant it a section of High Street that runs through its campus.
This is the third time the college has made such a request, with the previous two times under the condition that the college would close the highly used public street.
The college withdrew its first two requests, bowing to opposition from High Street residents who live north of the campus.
But this time the college expressed to residents that it had no plans to close the street. In fact, college administrators admitted that leaving the street open was advantageous because of wide public use of several college buildings along the street, particularly theater and art center Olin Hall and the campus library.
In a letter to High Street residents, the college stated it wanted only to gain control of the street so that its campus security would have jurisdiction there and so that it could improve conditions for pedestrian traffic.
But several of the residents who packed council chambers Monday said that while they had no problems with the college's intentions, they did not want to give the college an opportunity to close the street in the future.
The residents stated a number of reasons for wanting to keep the street open - the convenience of a quick access to downtown Salem, the safety barrier it could cause if closed during flooding or a snow storm, and simply closing to the public one of the most attractive streets in the city.
Council agreed with the residents, rejecting the request, but promising to work with the college to address its safety concerns along the street.
Michael Maxey, vice president of admissions services for the college, said he is pleased with council's expressed willingness to meet the college's needs.
"I'm optimistic everyone will come out a winner," he said.
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