ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 21, 1996 TAG: 9609230027
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
A regional drainage project and the Roanoke Valley's next industrial shell building are being proposed for location on U.S. 460 East, a corridor that some local officials believe could become a commercial center serving residential development in Roanoke, Bedford and Botetourt counties.
Attention in recent months has focussed on a 70-acre tract on the south side of 460 owned by Fralin & Waldron Inc., a Roanoke County realty developer.
The tract, the largest undeveloped piece of land fronting 460 in Roanoke County, has been divided into 30 acres of commercially zoned land along the road and 40 acres at the rear that the developers envision as a business park with some low-intensity industrial uses. It could become the site for the region's next shell building, according to John Stroud, secretary of the Roanoke Valley Development Foundation. A shell building is completed except for its interior, which can be finished quickly when an industry decides to expand or relocate to the area.
Stroud, who also is president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the foundation's board has tentatively identified the tract for a shell building, but a final decision will not be made until environmental tests and negotiations with Roanoke County on construction of an access road are completed.
If approved, the shell building would encompass 75,000 square feet and have the potential to double in size. That's the same plan used for two other shell buildings the foundation has developed in the Center for Industry and Technology and Botetourt County's EastPark Commerce Center.
Fralin & Waldron worked with Roanoke County's economic development department to apply for the shell building. The two also have cooperated in a regional drainage project that could open up about 30 acres surrounding the company's land for additional commercial development.
Most of that land is divided into tracts too small for their own retention ponds, so Fralin & Waldron agreed to locate a regional pond on its property to serve the larger area. Roanoke County is designing the drainage system and has $105,000 to spend on its construction.
The project's first tenant - Acme Business Machines - plans to move to a one-acre lot next to the Fralin & Waldron property next spring or summer. The company's president, Bob Sell, said his current location on Williamson Road in Roanoke is too small.
"We've outgrown it about five years ago," he said.
Roanoke County economic development director Tim Gubala said another, larger company is looking at an adjacent site.
Gubala said the 460 East corridor was identified as one of six "economic opportunity areas" by the county in 1992 but has been considered a potential area for increased development for much longer. In 1992, four large undeveloped tracts were being eyed by the county for commercial development, but two of those have since been rezoned and subdivided for residential projects.
That leaves two large undeveloped tracts, both owned by Fralin & Waldron, as well as smaller ones lining 460. Gubala and Richard Whitney, president of Fralin & Waldron, said they expect most development to be commercial because residential growth in Roanoke, Botetourt and Bedford counties is creating demand for regional retail centers along the corridor.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: map showing location of Fralin & Waldron tractsby CNBcolor STAFF