Photos by Shay Barnhart | The Roanoke Times

Four structures in the 1100 block of Clement Street in Radford were slated for demolition this week to make way for the Tyler Place development. One of those structures, a former fraternity house, caught fire late Tuesday in what firefighters are calling an arson.

Smoke rises from the remains of a vacant house at the corner of Clement Street and First Avenue in Radford about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday as staff from Price-Williams Realty survey the damage. The house caught fire late Tuesday night.

Fire crews were called to 1030 Clement St. about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday for the blaze that broke out on the second floor of the former Kappa Sigma fraternity house near the Radford University campus, fire Chief Lee Simpkins said.

Investigators had not found the starting point of the fire as of Wednesday afternoon, Simpkins said.

Utilities to the house and two others nearby had been shut off since they were vacated last month in preparation for demolition, said developer Jeff Price. The three houses were to be torn down later this week to make way for Tyler Place, a mixed-use development of office space, retail and high-end housing aimed at students, Price said.

"It was a surround-and-drown operation," Simpkins said. "Because it was a vacant building, we didn't want to jeopardize anyone by sending them in there."

The department also had been called to a fire on the house's first floor at about 3:30 a.m. Friday, Simpkins said. That incident was contained to the first floor, where two mattresses were set on fire in a hallway, he said.

The building's windows had earlier been knocked out by vandals, and it had been used in recent weeks for police and fire training.

Tyler Place will take up much of the block bounded by Tyler and First avenues and Clement and Downey streets.

The plan originally included 34,000 square feet over five stories of retail, office and high-end rental housing with a five-story parking garage and a two-story restaurant with outdoor dining at a cost of $8 million to $10 million, Price said.

But because of economic conditions the project has been scaled back to three or four stories in two or three buildings at the cost of $6 million to $8 million, he said.

"We're in the process of working with the city," he said. "It's still the same concept just divided into more of a containable concept."

Demolition is still scheduled for later this week, Price said.

The fire "has no bearing on the new project," he said. "We're going start moving forward anyway."

Four buildings, including an apartment building and several businesses, have already been demolished for the project, and two more are still pending.

In August, the Radford City Council rezoned 2.59 acres of the site from B-1 limited business and R-4 multi-family to B-3 central business, and its members approved a special use permit that would allow the construction of a structure up to 75 feet tall. Plans to remove on-street parking from one-way Clement Street so it can be opened to two-way traffic were rejected in September.

Price said Wednesday that estimates the first building will be done by June 2010. Other buildings will be dependent on the economy rebounding, he said.

"The main thing is trying to find out who did this," Price said. "It would be better if they could have been torn down, but I'm just glad no one was hurt."

Anyone with information about either fire or suspicious activity at the site should call the Radford Police Department at 731-3624. Simpkins also encouraged neighbors to report any activity in or around the other vacant buildings on the street.