AN UPDATE ON THE SPADAFORE BUILDING

By Brenna, Preserve WV AmeriCorps

​Big Things are Happening in Fairmont – An Update on the Spadafore Building

In my short stint as an AmeriCorps member I have been privy to witness a fantastic boom in historic preservation and reuse in Fairmont, WV. In a little over nine months  I have experienced the opening of six new business, with a seventh to open next month and all within our historic downtown.

To celebrate these wonderful accomplishments Main Street Fairmont is hosting a series of Main Street Mondays, in collaboration with the City of Fairmont, to officially welcome three new restaurants to the historic downtown.

The second Main Street Monday took place Monday, May 16, at Fox’s Pizza Den (previously known as the Spadafore building), 94 Fairmont Ave., Fairmont. Restaurant owner Mark Offut, co-manager Steven Hammond, Fairmont City Council members, Marion County Commission members and members of the Main Street Fairmont Board of Directors were all in attendance. City Manager Robin Gomez presented Fox’s Pizza with a special proclamation in thanks for contributing to downtown Fairmont’s continuing revitalization.

Owner Mike Offutt and his partner Adam Rohaly, formed Fuzzy Mammoth Development LLC  with intentions of purchasing this historic building to breathe new life into a once blighted area. Offutt and Rohaly then bought the Spadafore building together to redevelop into a restaurant and fashionable downtown apartments.  Along with other local businesses, Fox’s hopes to revitalize historic downtown Fairmont.

“I am really excited about what is happening downtown,” Hammond said. “We really wanted to contribute to the revitalization OF downtown. I think that the more people who come here, not just to our restaurant, but to other restaurants around us in the downtown area, the more this is   going to build up. It’s an exciting time right now.”

The Spadafore Building, c.1928, is a three story Art Deco influenced building that was listed on the National Register as a contributing structure in 1995 when Fairmont perused their historic downtown nomination. This building may sound familiar as it was the center of a Historic Preservation Review Commission (HPRC) dispute back in 2012 when the Fairmont Community Development Partnership(FCDP) looked to demolish the building to make way for a parking lot in the interest of another historic structure rehabilitation. For more information check out the PAWV newsletter volume XIX, number 2, Summer 2012.

Other Main Street Mondays are planned during the month of May. The Freight House, location 101 Fairmont Ave., was celebrated with a ribbon cutting Monday, May 9th. The Downtown Grill, 323 Adams St., will be celebrated with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Monday, May 23.