At the Virginia Main Street Downtown Intersections State Conference in Lynchburg, held July 22-24, South Boston town manager Tom Raab (above) and Echelon Resources executive Edwin Gaskins made a 45-minute presentation to a crowd of roughly 30 town managers and Main Street members on how to turn large, historical buildings from dilapidated hulks into useful structures. They recounted how Echelon Resources had renovated what is now Imperial Lofts in South Boston, transforming the shuttered Tultex plant into market-rate apartments and business incubator. Raab and Gaskins discussed various aspects of the project, including paperwork and renovation requirements. “We told them how we took a building that was probably going to have to be torn down and put a new roof on it and put in probably 45 new apartments,” Raab said. Echelon Resources plans to add another 15 apartments later.
SoVaNow.com / August 01, 2019