The antebellum mansion that served as the Villa Heights recreation center in northwest Roanoke in recent decades has been added to the Virginia Landmarks Register.
Built in 1820, the house was owned by Lt. Col. Elijah McClanahan, a War of 1812 veteran. The original Federal-style architecture was renovated in the early 20th century with Classical Revival features on the interior and exterior and has been known as the Compton-Bateman house.
The mansion served as a city recreation center from the late 1950s until 2007 and was damaged by a fire in 2011. The Roanoke City Council in December voted to sell it to the nonprofit Restoration Housing, which plans to use historic tax credits to restore the building for possible use by another nonprofit that serves children. The house was added to the state register Thursday during a quarterly meeting of the State Review Board and Board of Historic Resources.
Obtaining a designation for the state landmarks or federal historic registers enables a property owner to seek historic tax credits, according to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Other spots in Abingdon, Augusta County, Lynchburg, Richmond, Shenandoah County and Wytheville were added to the register last week, as well, and details are online at www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/boardPage.html.
Published March 20, 2018 in The Roanoke Times.
