Development Projects in West Virginia
Whether it is a new company coming to West Virginia or an existing business park or modern community expanding to accommodate new tenants, development is key to moving the Mountain State forward. Not only do development projects create jobs, invigorate the construction industry, impact the economy, aid growing industries, encourage entrepreneurship and spur community growth, but they also serve as a reminder of the vibrant landscape and wealth of natural resources available throughout West Virginia. The following projects are a showcase of Mountain State developers meeting commercial, residential and recreational demands that prove West Virginia as an exciting place to live, work and play.
ATV TrailCamp at Coaldale
By Amanda Larch
While West Virginia provides numerous outdoor recreational activities, the popularity of ATV trail riding has been at the forefront for the past few years with developments along the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in Southern West Virginia.
Todd Boggess, president and CEO of E.T. Boggess Architect, Inc., dreamed of improving some of these ATV trails and providing lodging for out-of-state visitors. He purchased an 8-acre property in Coaldale, WV, in 2017 that is now the site of the ATV TrailCamp at Coaldale.
While searching for financial assistance to aid in the development, he came across the Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) Pilot Program, which supports development on land mined prior to the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and is funded by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining and Enforcement.
“The fact that our project is all about economic development, creating jobs and supporting local industry needs meant we were checking all the right boxes for the AML Pilot Program,” he says.
The Mercer County Development Office is sponsoring the project and overseeing the administration of the $1.8 million AML grant.
“This project puts abandoned property back into productive purposes,” says
Executive Director John O’Neal. “It creates investment and jobs in our state and contributes to the ongoing growth of the ATV industry in Southern West Virginia.”
In 1906, 22 coal miners died in a mine explosion in Coaldale. Remembering them and showing appreciation for coal miners past and present is an important aspect of the project. As such, the lodging accommodations at the camp will be named after various coal miners, and the property will also include West by God Coal-Fired Pizza, a restaurant that pays homage to the area’s coal mining history.
The ATV TrailCamp at Coaldale will also utilize an efficient wastewater treatment system on-site—the first system of its kind to gain approval in West Virginia.
“Many wastewater treatment systems that counties and cities have to implement cost millions of dollars,” says Boggess. “This system alleviates high initial costs by being modular, expandable and able to work into existing conditions easily.”
Located between Route 52 and the Pocahontas Trailhead for the Hatfield-McCoy Trail in Mercer County, the first development phase of the project is scheduled to be completed this fall.
“Our team will be able to provide a true destination-type resort to accompany the already popular Hatfield-McCoy Trails,” says Boggess. “We are looking to revolutionize this industry and redefine what an ATV resort is by building upon positive developments in our area and taking our experience to another level.”
Harbor Point Development
By Mona Mondo
Harbor Point Development, located in Williamstown, WV, is a new community that will be comprised of luxury waterfront townhomes, a private harbor for boating enthusiasts and a welcoming commercial village.
The unique vision for Harbor Point began more than 10 years ago when local builder and long-time Mid-Ohio Valley resident Mark Mondo came upon an untouched swath of land along the Ohio River. An avid boater, he had always dreamed of building a marina that would be a safe and convenient harbor for fellow boat enthusiasts to enjoy.
“After more than 10 years of permitting and installation of infrastructure on our 90 acres, I am pleased to be able to report that we are now in business,” says Mondo, owner and developer of Harbor Point. “We are currently renting boat slips in our beautiful inner harbor marina and completing the first six-unit townhouse building. In the commercial business park along Route 14, we are beginning construction of buildings for tenants and building owners. We are proud to become a part of the beautiful city of Williamstown. We look forward to creating a unique opportunity for so many folks who would like to be a part of our family at Harbor Point.”
The structural integrity of the six-unit townhouses is uncompromising with 60-foot steel piles driven straight to bedrock. Framing for all six homes and the high-pitch roofs have also been completed, and exterior details such as crown molding, exterior insulation finishing systems and painting are underway. Future plans for the development include two additional six-unit buildings and a series of duplexes in the gated community. Townhomes are currently being pre-sold, and the model home will be available to visit this summer.
Environmental studies and preparation were undertaken to ensure the land could be responsibly developed. A bird sanctuary and walking paths have both been incorporated into the plan for Harbor Point, and archaeological digs yielded some incredible artifacts of the land’s past inhabitants. To acknowledge the historical significance of those who previously called this area home, a display of the findings dating back thousands of years will eventually be available to peruse.
The Harbor Point Marina, which boasts a state-of-the-art floating concrete decking system, is currently in operation. Plans for this boating season include the addition of a bath house with private showers and restrooms, access to potable water, electricity for boat slip renters and a fueling station with both diesel and gasoline for all boaters. The secluded harbor is accessed by a channel off the Ohio River, providing protection from wake, wind and debris.
Harbor Point’s commercial village offers the opportunity to build to suit or lease space, and several businesses are in the planning stages for their new locations.
Menards at WestRidge
By Holly Childs
WestRidge Business + Retail Park, a dynamic mixed-use development in Morgantown, WV, offers a variety of office and flex space as well as shops, restaurants, hotels and recreation. While WestRidge Corporate Park offers Class A office space to tenants like Leidos, Steptoe & Johnson and MVB Bank, its retail park is now anchored by an exciting development—home improvement superstore Menards.
The store will be just over 173,000 square feet plus an approximately 28,000-square-foot covered garden center and delivery staging area. A detached warehouse and lumber yard of about 53,000 square feet is also being incorporated into the impressive 15-acre site. Representatives from Menards, the nation’s third-largest home improvement chain, are excited about the regional opportunities they see in the greater Morgantown market.
The schedule for completion of the Menards store construction is all set to coincide with the summer 2021 opening of the other soon-to-be announced initial shopping center tenants at WestRidge, including Bass Pro Shops. In addition, other exciting new-to-market national tenants will be occupying just over 100,000 square feet of space built by WestRidge to match each retailer’s prototype.
While the past few months have presented unprecedented challenges that have impacted retailers perhaps more than any other sector of the global economy, the national retail tenants at WestRidge have continued to move forward in the midst of this uncertainty, which speaks to their commitment and belief in the Morgantown area being a solid investment.
“The economic growth and diversity of Monongalia County makes us a shining star in the state of West Virginia,” says Monongalia County Commission President Ed Hawkins. “The commission has been a partner in the development of WestRidge from its inception, and we couldn’t be happier about the progress that is being made there, especially given the circumstances. These retailers are affirming what all of us here already know—Monongalia County is a place you want to be and West Virginia is a great place for bringing new investment into underserved markets.”
Construction has continued to move forward despite the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 50 workers on-site each day, construction, engineering and design consultants have implemented preventive and protective measures that have allowed them to proceed safely while making sure this exciting future development continues moving forward to bring new jobs and investment to Morgantown.
Tabler Station Fresh Step Cat Litter Plant
By Tiffany Lawrence
Recognizing West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle as the ideal place to grow its business, The Clorox Company is in the process of obtaining approvals to build a cat litter facility in the Tabler Station Business Park outside of Martinsburg, WV. The Martinsburg site will join two Kingsford Charcoal plants in Mineral and Tucker counties, making West Virginia the only state in the U.S. with three Clorox facilities.
The state-of-the-art facility will produce Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter products, estimated to bring $190 million in economic investment to the region and create approximately 100 new local jobs with competitive pay above the county average. According to Clorox’s Vice President of Product Supply Michael Holly, there were multiple reasons Berkeley County was chosen for the company’s latest project. The area’s existing infrastructure, proximity to Interstate 81, skilled local workforce and rail access for material transportation were all factors that made it the perfect fit.
“We know West Virginia is a great place to do business. We have a wonderful track record here, and we’re looking to build upon it,” says Holly. “We believe in doing the right thing, which means becoming ingrained in the communities where we live and work, supporting local initiatives that align with our values and practicing sustainability.”
Under the guidance of Margaret Butts, the facility’s business support manager, Clorox is eager to continue its long tradition of building community partnerships. In 2019, the company awarded more than $6 million in product donations across the nation and $4.6 million in corporate community cash grants to those localities.
The company also maintains ambitious goals to reduce its environmental impact. In recent years, The Clorox Company has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent, and more than 99 percent of its paper-based packaging is made from recycled or certified sustainable virgin fiber. Additionally, Clorox has 16 zero-waste-to-landfill facilities, with the Tabler Station facility slated to join these ranks.
Company officials worked closely with local and state leadership throughout the approval process and hosted two open houses to share plans with the community. The Berkeley County Council approved the sketch plan in March, and the project is now in the process of meeting preliminary plan requirements. Site preparation is projected to start this summer with hiring to begin in 2021. According to Plant Manager James Holly, the facility is on track to be operational in 2022.
“We don’t do this often, so it says a lot when we move into an area,” he says. “We’re really invested in the Eastern Panhandle and look forward to a long partnership.”
Development in West Virginia’s Opportunity Zones
By Andrew Davis
Opportunity zones serve as a new way to bring development dollars to areas that need it most: underinvested census tracts throughout the country where there have been significant business closures, including 55 tracts in West Virginia.
Opportunity zone incentives include deferment of capital gains taxes that are invested into businesses within opportunity zones and exemptions for the profits made on those investments if they remain in place for 10 years. West Virginia has one of the most aggressive opportunity zone incentives wherein any new business created inside an opportunity zone becomes exempt from state income taxes for 10 years.
Developers and entrepreneurs are using these incentives to meet the demands of local markets and impact local economies nationwide. The Opportunity Appalachia program is providing funding to projects and businesses to pay for technical assistance needed to move their projects to completion, such as market research and demand assessments, operations planning, developer identification, creation of investment prospectus, preparation of pro forma financial projections and structuring of project financing. These tools and materials will be used to convey the investment readiness of selected projects. Appalachian Community Capital, a Virginia-based Community Development Financial Institution, is administering the Appalachian Regional Commission POWER grant-funded program alongside the West Virginia Community Development Hub, New River Gorge Regional Development Authority and partners in Ohio and Virginia.
Opportunity Appalachia is supporting the renovation of the historic Prichard Hotel in Huntington, Staats Hospital Building in Charleston, Tygart Hotel in Elkins and Cohen Building in Grafton as well as a high-speed internet data center in Huntington with a fiber network serving the lower Kanawha Valley. These five projects will also be listed on the Opportunity Exchange, an online marketplace, to help connect with investors.
In addition to the direct benefits provided to the five selected West Virginia projects, the program has the potential to benefit opportunity zones throughout the state by raising their profile to a national level. In rural areas like West Virginia, though, opportunity zones may have the greatest potential for connecting local investors with projects in their own backyards. Within the state, they can be viewed as a new way for business leaders, entrepreneurs and individuals with capital gains to identify the places where their focused investments can have the greatest impact.
