ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 11, 1997 TAG: 9701130103
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
A potential buyer has contracted to purchase the long-vacant former Heironimus building in downtown Roanoke.
The "sold" signs went up on the building Friday, but closing is at least 60 days away, according to a broker handling the negotiations.
The property is owned by the Edgar A. Thurman Foundation, which distributes funds to area institutions and charities, primarily those benefiting children.
Freda Carper, spokeswoman for Crestar Bank, trustee of the Thurman foundation, confirmed that a contract was signed Friday. But she declined to identify the buyer until the transaction closes.
Confirmation of the signing also came from Mike Waldvogel of Waldvogel, Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group Inc., agent for the sale. He, too, declined to name the buyer.
"That's good news," said Matt Kennell, executive director of Downtown Roanoke Inc. He had heard reports about the contract's signing, but nothing about the buyer or the potential use of the property.
The purchase price also was a secret, but the bank asked for $858,500 when the building went on the market last March.
The building has been vacant since January 1996 when the Heironimus department store chain closed its flagship downtown store, citing dwindling sales that made it no longer feasible to operate.
The structure actually is two connected buildings that together contain 102,000 square feet.
The main building at the corner of Church Avenue and South Jefferson Street contains four floors and a basement. It was built in 1905 for Thurman & Boone Furniture Co., of which Edgar Thurman was the principal.
The annex, which housed Heironimus' men's department, faces Jefferson Street south of the main building. It was built in the 1930s for Woolworth.
Heironimus moved into both buildings in the 1950s and remodeled them in 1970 and 1979.
A recent survey of retail space by Hall Associates of Roanoke found that 54 percent of downtown Roanoke's retail space is occupied. That compares with occupancy rates in the 80 percent to 90 percent range for most of the region's suburban shopping areas.
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