ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250051
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
New River Community Services is close to signing a contract to renovate a building the organization plans to use for its central offices.
Executive Director Lynn Chenault said he hopes construction can begin as soon as next week, and that the building at 700 University City Blvd. can be occupied by May.
The contract, which is in the final stage of negotiation, will bring the total cost of purchasing and renovating the building to approximately $2.4 million, he said.
That figure is about $300,000 higher than original cost projections, Chenault said. That's a 14 percent difference.
Community Services will cover the additional expenses internally by shifting money from reserve funds or by using the proceeds from buildings the organization is selling to consolidate offices at the new location, he said.
Earlier this year, Community Services obtained a $1.6 million loan through the Montgomery County Industrial Development Authority to renovate the building.
All eight construction bids for the project, opened last month, exceeded renovation cost estimates. Since then, Community Services' architect has been negotiating with the lowest bidder, Martin Brothers of Roanoke, to reduce costs, Chenault said.
Those negotiations shaved about $225,000 off the project's specifications, Chenault said. Most of the eliminations involved cosmetics or the grade of building materials, he added.
"We didn't feel we could compromise on certain things," Chenault said, explaining the $300,000 overrun.
Plans still call for total replacement of the building's heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
The building has been empty for about five years. Its last tenant, Virginia Tech, pulled 200 employees out of the building after widespread complaints about respiratory problems, believed to have been caused by a lack of fresh-air circulation.
Community Services bought the building in December for $900,000 through its nonprofit holding corporation, Mountain Empire Services. The $1.6 million IDA loan will enable Community Services to pay off a short-term note and put $1.1 million into the renovations.
When completed, the building will house about 125 full-time Community Services employees in a main office. The organization, which is the area's largest social services provider, plans to consolidate operations from seven of 15 satellite locations around the New River Valley.
Chenault said that work can begin as soon as the construction contract is signed. "Hopefully, we'll be able to sign a contract within the next few days," he added.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB