F. Van Landingham Lane, Jr.
Francis Van Landingham Lane, Jr., graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in 1965. Activities in which he participated included Latin Club, Pep Club, Keep Virginia Green, basketball, and serving as homeroom treasurer. After high school, Van attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for two years before transferring to East Tennessee State University where, in 1971, he received a B.S degree in Business with a major in Marketing.
Not completely satisfied with employment opportunities available in his home area at the time, Van traveled to Boulder, Colorado, where he began his professional career as a laborer in the apartment building trade. Determined to learn the construction business from the ground up, he advanced to being an apprentice carpenter and then to a regular carpenter. In November of 1972, Van moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he was again employed as a carpenter in the construction of apartment buildings. In June of that year, he moved to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where he was employed in the construction of both condominiums and single family homes. His next move was to Grass Valley, California, where he and an associate built spec houses from 1974 to 19777.
Returning east, Van was engaged in construction at Charlotte, North Carolina, for a brief period before moving to Stafford, Virginia in 1978. He became a licensed carpenter contractor and built larger single family homes near Wolf Trip, Fairfax, and Manassas. In Loudoun County, he was carpenter contractor for the prestigious 50 home “Locust Hill” development. In 1982, he became a general contractor and organized Preferred Construction Company. Moving to Leesburg, he acquired several tracts of undeveloped land and proceeded to build high quality upscale homes. It was in this period that he constructed two 12 unit apartment at Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for lease primarily to students at Shepherd College. He also built and owns a 36 unit apartment at Strasburg, Virginia, where a plant expansion by Shenandoah Valley Press created a need.
It was in 1993 that Van decided to return to the Roanoke Valley with his initial project being to build for his family a prestigious waterfront home at Smith Mountain Lake. As managing partner, Van then formed North Salem Development Company with two other investors and proceeded to acquire the 70 acre Baptist Children’s Home property off Carrollton Avenue in North Salem where he planned and developed “The Hill” and “The Lawn,” the former containing 74 lots for construction of high quality custom built single family homes providing an exceptional view of the Roanoke Valley, and the latter to accommodate 23 quality single family homes targeting those preferring a homeowners association that provides building and lawn maintenance.
In addition to becoming a premier builder and developer, Van has also proven to be an exceptional parent. Van found himself with sole responsibility for rearing his young daughter, Angel, and on occasion took her with him to construction projects that were under his supervision. Even so, maximum precautions were always taken to look out for her care and safety. Today, she is a beautiful young lady attending Radford University and understandably, very proud of her father. Van resides at Smith Mountain Lake with his wife of fourteen years, Sharon, and two step-daughters, Lori Chaney and Michelle Ohm.
While Van has been dedicated to his profession as a builder and developer, it was not prevented him from being of service to others through participation in community projects and benevolent acts. Since returning to the Roanoke Valley, he supported the 4-H Equestrian Riders program at the Baptist Children’s Home through construction of much needed stables. He also helped found the Jon Roberts Golf Tournament that has become an annual event with proceeds going to provide scholarships for deserving graduates of Botetourt County High School, where Jon Roberts was a teacher and coach before his untimely death.
In recognition of his outstanding career achievements, Francis Van Landingham Lane, Jr., was inducted in the year 2000 into the Salem Alumni Hall of Fame established by the Salem Educational Foundation and Alumni Association.
