The first time I read correspondent Virginia’s Bridges’ sentence about Liberty Warehouse’s 2.4 acre roof, I thought it might be a mistake.

It wasn’t. Greenfire Development partner Michael Lemanski drives the point home as he leans over a cardboard model of downtown Durham and puts his right index finger on top of the warehouse building.

“Ten thousand roof penetrations,” he says.

What he means is nails, or technically maybe screws. The historic building between Rigsbee Avenue and Foster Street is dotted with skylights from the days the sun illuminated the tobacco warehouse floor. In just the space represented by his finger, there are probably 10,000 holes.

And over time, they leaked. Until May 14 when Greenfire says a poor drainage system led to the collapse of part of that 2.4 acre roof and a flood of bad PR the company is still trying to mop up.

Greenfire Development's plan to convert the SunTrust Building into a luxury hotel has met one term for financial incentives from the city.

The Durham company has obtained demolition permits for work inside the 17-story downtown landmark, meeting a July 31 deadline for $4.2 million.

Greenfire partner Steve Mangano and Durham Inspections Director Gene Bradham said obtaining the permits meets the criteria set out in the incentive agreement approved by the city council and last year.

"We're excited," Mangano said. The company has not revealed further details of its financing arrangements, or a groundbreaking date, but before receiving the public incentives it must complete renovation and receive an occupancy permit before July 31, 2013.

If Greenfire meets that deadline, it will receive $3.2 million in cash and a $1 million loan from the city. Durham County has also pledged $1 million if construction is finished on schedule.

First of 2 parts

Michael Lemanski unlatches the balcony window and swings it open onto Main Street, as he recalls the day the apartment’s first tenant told him about this dream he’d had. Or was it?

“I heard this ‘Pop! Pop! Damn, dude’s been shot!” the tenant told him. “I don’t know if it was a dream or what.”

It wasn’t.

Just months after moving into the remodeled Baldwin Building, the tenant had heard gunshots. A man had been killed across the street.

It was the third shooting outside a downtown club within 18 months, says Lemanski, a partner in Greenfire Development. From 2003 to  2005 there were five shootings downtown, he says.

So when Greenfire got a call a few weeks later from the club owner, his alcohol license revoked, Lemanski said Greenfire had no choice. The owner was ready to sell but wanted cash. He gave the developers two weeks.

And, he added, “there’s another possible buyer, and he may be a drug dealer.”

How big a loss to the Bull City is Assistant City Manager Alan DeLisle's departure? An e-mail from interim finance director Keith Herrmann gives a good overview.

DeLisle oversaw some ofthe city's signature projects. Jim Wise reports in this morning's News & Observer (reported on this blog yesterday afternoon) that Minor League Baseball has concerns with the pace and quality of renovations to the Historic Durham Athletic Park. "Someone  has to replace Al as the point person to nurture this relationship and ensure MiLB stays committed to Durham for the long term," Herrman writes.

The Greenfire developers, who envision remaking the center city as a place where people can live, work and play, is an even bigger concern. Greenfire has bought more than 25 properties in and near downtown. Its 17-year, 13-property project of building and renovation inside the Downtown Loop alone represents an investment of $295 million. But the public-private partnership deal is complex, Herrman tells City Manager Tom Bonfield. "Who takes ownership of the various agreements?"

And then of course there is the Durham Performing Arts Center. Cool building, no doubt about that, but naming rights are lagging. The city can force the developer to pay 60 percent of whatever comes up short, but it's on the hook for the remaining 40 percent, plus interest on anything that later comes in against the developers' share. "Who takes over the City leadership of the DPAC oversight committee upon Al's departure?" asks Herrman. "We need to designate a 'theater persn.'"

DeLisle is leaving Durham to take over the Downtown Development Corp. of Louisville, Ky. He starts his new job Feb. 2.