The developer renovating the former Shenandoah building into apartments says he’s mainly using out-of-town contractors because Roanoke ones are much more expensive — a situation, he says, that arose just in the last year and a half. Bill Chapman says even with paying out-of-town workers’ room and board, it is still far less expensive that hiring local contractors. He is the second developer to voice concerns this week about construction costs for a Roanoke project. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
