ON TAP FROM ThE PuB

By Tom Field

Executive Summary:

Repurposing older commercial buildings and sites is not an old idea… just a good one.

From old haunts to nuance

How did this happen?

In less than a three month period, we received news about three commercial buildings/sites that were sold or slated for a new use. That’s not unusual. But the fact that I worked at all three, and all three were significant milestones in my professional journey? A crazy coincidence. Or… I’ve worked too many places. Or… I’m just old.

I’ll go with coincidence.

The first announcement was a cool-architectural gray and red-trimmed tech office in the then-exciting (ok, still-exciting) Roanoke Centre for Industry and Technology. Its first occupant, Bell South Communication Systems, was an employer that embodied all that one thinks of when one thinks of the 1980’s dot-com bubble and rapid growth of corporate America clamoring for a position on Fortune 500. Oh, do I have stories. I was a young marketing manager, who, among other tasks, got to run all over the country setting up trade shows and client cruises and ad campaigns. My office—when I was in it—was a sweet spot among the C-suite, with a huge picture window overlooking the golf course. I once watched a hawk devour a rabbit (like watching a nature show documentary—or our company taking over other PBX accounts). The new occupant—Virginia Transformer Corp—should be a good fit.

The second announcement was a neat, slug-block, compact office building off Starkey Road that housed an efficient production area just-below-ground level, while offices perched above. This was built by and for the Jefferson family, who ran Dominion Graphic Services, that later became part of Source4. I had worked with both as a customer for years; but also took a short contracting role when the business expanded to other revenue