Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

A crowd gathers outside Hawthorne Towers in Roanoke just before the building was sold for $2.95 million Tuesday.

Clara Foley heads back to her apartment at Hawthorne Towers after the building was sold at auction Tuesday.

An out-of-state developer and part-time Claytor Lake resident who is completing office and retail projects in the Pulaski area is placing a bet on high-rise affordable housing in Roanoke, stepping forth Tuesday to buy Hawthorne Towers.

Robert Strenz bid $2.95 million for the 143-unit building at an auction. He said he expects to sign paperwork to close his purchase of the building from Roanoke Holdings LLC within 45 days.

"The building's a terrific building. When it gets renovated, I think it will be an asset for the tenants and for the town," Strenz said.

Built in 1976 and at one time called Shenandoah Homes, Hawthorne Towers is one of a small handful of affordable housing complexes in the Roanoke Valley. Residents pay less than $100 to $530 per month to live independently in efficiency or one-bedroom apartments with kitchens. Many are elderly or disabled, or both.

As its new owner, Strenz will draw upon what he said is 35 years of experience in both commercial and residential real estate development and ownership in four states. Though his primary residence is in Naples, Fla., he lives part time in the New River Valley, the homeplace of his wife, Cheri.

Among his area endeavors, Strenz has built three hangars at New River Valley Airport and said he plans 15 more. He also owns a heliport in Dublin and a helicopter.

John White, who directs economic development for the town of Pulaski, said Strenz has bought several pieces of property in the community and moved forward with renovations -- contributing to a resurgence of economic growth in a town hard hit by textile and furniture industry departures.

"There is a renaissance going on and, certainly, Bob is part of that," White said.

The town council last year appointed Strenz to a newly re-established redevelopment and housing authority, according to White.

In Roanoke, Strenz will have a chance to tackle one of the main issues that many cities are facing: improving access to decent and affordable housing for lower-income residents.

In years past and some more recent, Hawthorne Towers struggled with deadly fires, crime, finances and poor living conditions.

Between 1976 and 1989 three fires killed nine residents. In 2002, the night manager was killed. It fell into foreclosure in 2004, at which time the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development -- which provided rent subsidies for 57 units -- deemed the complex out of compliance with the agency's residential standards. HUD found such problems as missing smoke detectors, broken bathroom fans, faulty door hardware, parking-lot potholes and water-stained corridor ceilings.

But property manager Sherry Williams, who arrived in 2004, said the place is on the upswing with numerous improvements completed since HUD's negative assessment. Every occupied room has a working smoke detector, she said. There are waiting lists for both HUD-subsidized and regular units, she said.

Residents today enjoy free holiday meals, a food pantry, access to donated clothing and furnishings, a chess club and bingo, Williams said. They can attend on-site church services, funerals and even Narcotics Anonymous meetings and enjoy the protection of a community watch.

"Eighty-five [percent] to 90 percent of the people in here are very happy," Williams said.

Resident Coy Simpson agreed. He said many residents like Williams and have signed a petition urging Strenz to keep her. Strenz said he intends to.

In a sign of how attached some residents have become to Hawthorne Towers, memorial services for three former residents have been staged in the basement community room, Williams said. One of them was a veteran who was honored with a 21-gun salute just outside, she said.

Williams said the people behind Roanoke Holdings LLC declined to discuss specific reasons why they are pulling out.

A real estate prospectus said the company, listing a New Jersey address, bought the property out of foreclosure in 2004 for $900,000, spent nearly $1.3 million on improvements and is selling because of the breakup of a business partnership.

It will fall to Strenz to complete a long list of repairs that Roanoke Holdings began, said Charles Famuliner, director of multifamily housing in Virginia for HUD.

Strenz agreed. He said he will complete an estimated $250,000 in repairs and improvements, which include putting about a dozen nonfunctional rooms back in service.

"The place needs some attention. That's what I like doing," he said.