2006

Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation Project:

OVER $20 MILLION IN DOWNTOWN RE-INVESTMENT!

As a result of a project led by the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corp. (WNHAC), four buildings now have new owners. Since the project began, these new owners have invested a substantial amount of money into each of the facilities. WNHAC conducted architectural and engineering studies on these four large, commercial and industrial buildings to determine if they could be adapted for new uses. The buildings studied included the Stone & Thomas Department Store, Reichart’s Furniture/Helig-Myers, Wheeling Wholesale Grocery, and Zarnit’s Grocery. They are all contributing structures to the National Register of Historic Places district listing.

The studies effected positive results for each of the four buildings. Following the studies, Regional Economic Development purchased the Stone and Thomas building, and is now investing in its rehabilitation. Santco, Inc bought the Reichart’s/Helig-Meyers structure for expansion of their medical management and billing services business. Wheeling Wholesale Grocery was acquired by West Virginia Northern Community College as part of its College Square project, and Zarnit’s was purchased by Staley Communications, Inc. to serve as its new corporate headquarters.

“WNHAC is pleased to help in reviving Wheeling’s historic landmark buildings while at the same time assisting the city in its goal of attracting businesses to the downtown. This project is an excellent example of the economic benefit of historic preservation,” said Hydie Friend, Executive Director of WNHAC. WNHAC initially invested a total of $54,000 to conduct the studies, which led to over $20 million in economic development investment in the city’s downtown. This project is a positive example of how a smaller initial investment can often promote much larger, more permanent investment in preservation

2005

McDowell Organization Preserves Coal Heritage

In McDowell County, a former coal company store in the village of Ashland has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and will soon be the core of a job training incubator project. This development takes place as part of a joint partnership between for-profit Atlanta-based Ashland, LLC and S.A.F.E. (Stop Abusive Family Environments), a highly successful non-profit organization based in McDowell County. A KOA Kampground is being developed nearby that will benefit from the products and training to take place at the former store. A small café is being planned to serve ATV riders using the new Ashland Trail. The preservation of the old store building was a major catalyst for the project, and it will add to the growing list of coal mining resources being preserved in the Southern Counties.

2005

Panhandle Preservationists Honored At Conference

PAWV honored three eastern panhandle preservationists at the 2005 conference in Shepherdstown

• Walter Washington, owner of Harewood and President of the Jefferson County Landmark Commission was honored for his lifelong personal commitment to the heritage of his community.
• Carol Gallant, on behalf of Jefferson County Preservation Alliance to Save our Heritage, was honored for outstanding advocacy work in saving the Jefferson County Jail from demolition.
• Don Wood of the Berkeley County Historical Society was honored for his untiring leadership working to save and promote the heritage of Berkeley County.

2003

Lewisburg: A West Virginia Heritage Success Story

In case you have not heard about the success of Lewisburg, you should know that not many years ago the Greenbrier county town was down and nearly out.  Its two largest private employers had closed and its downtown historic business district was en route to the crumbling decline that most of the state’s districts have traveled.  Something happened to change the course of things in Lewisburg though.  And, that something was a pioneering effort in West Virginia Historic Preservation.

Economic Development based on Heritage Tourism was a key factor in bringing Lewisburg back to life.  It has propelled the community to a level no one dreamed of when it all began in the early 1980’s.  Today, the town is so well thought of that National Geographic included a glowing chapter on Lewisburg in its recent book on the 75 best small town visits in the nation.    Earlier, the 1999 best selling guide The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America carved out a chapter full of praise for the city’s achievements as well.

Why has Lewisburg gotten all of this recognition and how has it maintained its vibrant downtown commerce? Lewisburg’s leaders believe that the single best economic development possibility available to a West Virginia town is tourism based on historic preservation and cultural allure.