ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240040
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: TOM ANGLEBERGER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Christiansburg is now on the sidelines in determining what happens next to old downtown post office building.
Town Council stood firm on its final offer Tuesday to purchase the downtown post office building, even though the Postal Service has already rejected it.
The 4-3 vote appears to doom any chance for the town to own the downtown landmark, unless it fails to sell on the open market next month.
"I think its pretty much a dead issue right now," said Councilman Jack Via, who had advocated the purchase.
Council split 3-3 on upping the bid after discussing it in a closed-door session Tuesday night. Mayor Harold Linkous, who only votes to break ties, opposed raising the bid. He could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
"It was somewhat predictable, but it was a disappointment," Via said. "It's an opportunity that will not readily present itself again."
Councilman Scott Weaver also believed the building would be a good thing for the town to own, but he thought raising the bid would be a mistake. The $295,000 price suggested by the Postal Service is out of line, he said.
"It's not worth that. I don't think any appraiser in town would appraise it at that price," Weaver said. Moreover, the Postal Service should have given the building to the county for free as soon as they decided to move out, he said.
Instead, the town's historic post office will be sold to the highest bidder when the larger, new post office is opened this summer behind the Marketplace shopping center, located in the annexed area 21/2 miles from downtown Christiansburg. The Postal Service will advertise the building for sale and is expected to set a May 22 deadline for bids.
Some had hoped to see the town purchase the building and use it as a museum, Chamber of Commerce office or other public facility. With those hopes in mind, Town Council did approve a bid for the property. But last week, council members learned their bid had been rejected by the Postal Service.
The town's offer was simply not close enough to the $295,000 the Postal Service is hoping to get, according to postal official Pat Ferrari. The bid wasn't even high enough to be considered in the bidding process, she said. The town has not revealed what it offered the federal government for the building.
If no suitable bid is made, said Ferrari, the Postal Service would re-evaluate its plans for the building and might hold an auction, try to sell it again later or negotiate with the town again.
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